DevOps 2023: Make your Applications more secure using the Fuzzy Testing technique

Understanding Fuzzing in 2023 to make your Applications more secure

What is Fuzzy Testing?

Barton Miller first discovered Fuzz testing in 1989 at the University of Wisconsin.

Fuzzy testing or Fuzzing is a software testing method that works on invalid or random data from different sources. The invalid data (or FUZZ) are then fed into a software system that checks for coding errors and security loopholes present in the software or connected networks.

This type of security testing allows you to monitor the system for anomalies using automated or semi-automated techniques. This testing will enable you to describe the system testing process using a distributed approach. It is a predictive approach to find bugs within an application or software.

There are two security testing types- Static application security testing (SAST) and Dynamic application security testing (DAST). The SAST approach works on static applications and checks for known errors that may result in security vulnerabilities, while the DAST approach works on running applications to check for bugs. You can consider Fuzzy testing as DAST as fuzzy testing involves running applications to monitor how it responds to different input types and generates various errors.

Why to do Fuzzy Testing?

It is always a safe approach to assume that our application, software, or network are prone to errors or any vulnerabilities which need to be discovered, monitored, and removed. Thus make Fuzzy testing an essential part of the development and testing phase.

There are many reasons as why we should adopt Fuzzy testing into our environment.

• It allows you to detect security loopholes within the system.
• Based on assumptions, this testing is applied at the early stage of development that saves much of the time and cost to detect serious security threats.
• Fuzzy testing allows you to reach a convincing conclusion when combined with Black Box testing, Beta testing, etc.
• Hackers commonly use this technique.