Application Security Testing Services

Application security testing services exist because applications fail in predictable ways: weak access control, unsafe handling of input, exposed secrets, outdated libraries and misconfigured settings. The OWASP Top 10 (opens in a new tab) lists the most common web application risk categories and is the usual starting vocabulary for testing.

Coverage normally includes:

• Your own source code and its design.
• Open-source and third-party libraries the application depends on.
• The running application, including login, sessions and user roles.
• APIs that mobile apps and partners call.
• Build and deployment configuration, where secrets often leak.

No technique covers everything. Automated tools give breadth on every change, and manual work gives depth where judgment matters, such as checking whether one customer can reach another’s data. For attacker-style depth on a finished system, add penetration testing.

Security checks work best when developers see results where they already work. A reasonable layout looks like this:

1. In the editor and on commit: secret scanning and lightweight static checks.
2. On pull request: SAST on the changed code, dependency checks and a human review that includes a security prompt.
3. On build: full dependency scan and a software bill of materials, which is a list of the components inside the software.
4. On staging: DAST and API tests against a production-like environment with test data only.
5. Before major releases: manual review of high-risk features such as login, payments and file upload.

The NIST Secure Software Development Framework (opens in a new tab) and the UK NCSC guidance for developers (opens in a new tab) describe these practices in vendor-neutral terms. Our DevSecOps services cover how to automate them end to end, and vulnerability assessment covers the infrastructure underneath.

Testing needs a definition of good. Three open resources help:

• OWASP ASVS (opens in a new tab): a list of verifiable security requirements at increasing levels of rigor. Pick the level that matches the sensitivity of the application.
• OWASP Web Security Testing Guide (opens in a new tab): a method for testers to cover the same ground consistently.
• OWASP SAMM (opens in a new tab): a maturity model for judging how your whole program is developing over time.

Findings can also be labeled using MITRE CWE (opens in a new tab) weakness identifiers, which lets teams search for fixes and track recurring patterns.

Tools can output a long list, and a long list gets ignored. Reduce noise with these habits:

• Triage first. A security engineer confirms or dismisses each result and tunes rules that keep misfiring.
• Fix by pattern. If the same flaw appears repeatedly, change the shared code or library rather than patching each place.
• Give guidance, not just names. Link each finding to a secure example; the OWASP Cheat Sheet Series (opens in a new tab) is a good source.
• Assign owners and dates, and track findings in the same system as other bugs.
• Retest every fix and keep a record of accepted exceptions.

Two things matter. First, AI assistants now write a large share of code in many teams, and generated code can contain flaws, so it deserves the same testing and review as human-written code. Second, AI can help with testing itself: ranking static findings, explaining a flaw in plain language and suggesting a fix for a person to review.

If your application includes AI features, test how they treat untrusted input and what data they can reach. The CISA Secure by Design (opens in a new tab) principles are a useful reminder that safety should be built in by the maker, not left to the customer.

• Fintech: API testing on a payments service, with manual review of how transfers are authorized.
• Healthtech: dependency scanning and secret detection on a patient-facing mobile app before each release.
• Marketplace: DAST on staging plus a manual check that buyers and sellers cannot view each other’s account data.
• Enterprise SaaS: a pipeline that blocks on exposed secrets and reports other findings to the owning team.

These are illustrative scenarios, not Kramate client results.

• USA: buyers often ask for evidence of a secure development process, and federal supply chains reference the NIST SSDF. Sector rules such as HIPAA and state privacy laws add obligations.
• UK: the UK GDPR requires appropriate security by design; the NCSC guidance above is a practical reference.
• Australia: the Australian Privacy Principles require reasonable steps to protect personal information, which includes secure software.
• Singapore: the Personal Data Protection Act expects reasonable security arrangements for the data an application holds.

Confirm which obligations apply to your product with legal counsel. Choose a partner whose working hours overlap with your developers so that findings are discussed while the code is still fresh.

• Number of applications, repositories, APIs and languages.
• Mix of automated tooling and manual review.
• Required ASVS level or customer assurance target.
• Release frequency, since each release drives testing volume.
• Tool licensing, if you do not already own suitable tools.
• Developer time to fix findings, which is often larger than the testing fee.

Application security testing services priced as a recurring monthly engagement suit frequent releases. A fixed price suits a one-time review of a defined product. Plan to start with the most exposed applications, then widen coverage as the process matures.

1. Experience with your stack, languages and frameworks included.
2. Pipeline integration, not only a report delivered at the end.
3. Triage included, so your team receives confirmed findings.
4. A named standard, such as ASVS, so results are comparable over time.
5. Developer-friendly fix guidance and time for questions.
6. Retesting built into the price.

Kramate engineers can lead testing or embed in your team. We start under an NDA, assign a dedicated project manager and share updates daily on Slack or Teams, with a demo or progress review at the end of each two-week round. All intellectual property, scripts and rules we create for you are transferred to you.

The same practices appear in our own work: peer code review, least-privilege access, encrypted devices and regular security testing. A free consultation leads to a detailed estimate within 24 hours, on a fixed-price, dedicated-team or hourly basis, with four to six hours of US Eastern overlap and full-day overlap elsewhere. Read how we work for the full cycle.

• OWASP Top 10 (opens in a new tab)OWASP
• Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF) (opens in a new tab)NIST
• Developers collection (opens in a new tab)UK NCSC
• OWASP Application Security Verification Standard (opens in a new tab)OWASP
• OWASP Web Security Testing Guide (opens in a new tab)OWASP
• OWASP Software Assurance Maturity Model (opens in a new tab)OWASP
• MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration (opens in a new tab)MITRE
• OWASP Cheat Sheet Series (opens in a new tab)OWASP
• Secure by Design (opens in a new tab)CISA