Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Continuous Hacking is a security testing service that allows the hacking process to begin at an early stage in the software development cycle. Its purpose is to guarantee 100% testing coverage of the application.

Continuous Hacking: . Minimizes the cost of remediation (repair) of a vulnerable security risk while the software is in development rather than when it is in production.

Along our career trajectory we have been working with companies from different sectors, such as financial, transportation, industrial, consumer, communications, technology and utilities.

We ensure to constantly research and keep updated with the new techniques and changes related to cybersecurity and IT. Through blog entries we keep our team updated with the state of art.

The necessary inputs and requirements are:

Access to Git and a monitored environment in the branch are required, through automated Linux. The following environments are not supported:

Continuous Hacking includes source code analysis, application hacking (see question 5), and infrastructure hacking (see question 5).

A vulnerability is anything that represents a security risk (Integrity, Availability, Confidentiality, Non-repudiation) to the application.

An active author is a user with access to the Git repository who makes changes to the stored code in the repository during the analyzed month.

Automated tools, by themselves, are not capable of extracting sensitive business information, such as client or employee information. In our Continuous Hacking service, we use a series of tools which are acquired and developed by us at Fluid Attacks, as well as a detailed review process performed by our expert technical staff. We go the extra mile because automated tools present the following problems:

Continuous Hacking is first performed on the source code. This allows for hacking and development to occur simultaneously, which in turn minimizes the dependency on functional environments, as well as the need for coordination between hackers and developers. The decisions regarding which findings are prioritized for each sprint rest solely with the client. Unless we are dealing with a company with daily CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment), not all sprints generate code eligible for release and deployment, which improves the remediation (repair) time for detected vulnerabilities.

Standard Continuous Hacking covers 95% of all business applications being developed, as the subscription is based on the number of active developers in the project and this defines the amount of resources assigned to the project.

Based on our historical data, and thanks to our recruitment and training capabilities, as well as our ability to innovate internal processes, we are fully capable of taking on between 5 and 10 new applications each month.

To provide a proposal, we need to determine what the target of evaluation (scope) will be. So, we require the following information:

Note: It would be desirable to obtain the access credentials (standard user, not privileges) to the applications in cases where this will be included.

Regarding the health check estimation, the same considerations apply as for one-shot hacking, so the client should provide the above-mentioned information as well.

Yes. The service cost varies depending on the number of active authors identified in the project each month.

Continuous Hacking needs access to the source code because it is based on continuous attacks on the latest version available.

Continuous Hacking begins immediately after receiving the purchase order.

Month 0 begins the test setup and is the start of the monthly payment. A project leader is assigned who is responsible for managing the connection of environments, profiling, user creation, allocation of privileges, and all the necessary inputs to begin the review without setbacks.

No. Due to the operational model that supports Continuous Hacking, it can only be done remotely.

Yes. All applications covered by the contract for Continuous Hacking are assigned to a specific project leader who is available to attend all necessary meetings. We simply require sufficient notice of an impending meeting in order to schedule availability.

A project’s progress and current state is determined using the following metrics: . Source code coverage indicator. . Percentage of remediated (repaired) security risk vulnerabilities.

Continuous Hacking is contracted for a minimum of 12 months and is renewed automatically at the end of the 12-month time period. Continuous Hacking ends when we receive a written request through previously defined channels to terminate the contract.

You can cancel your contract at any time after the fourth month. Cancellation can be requested through any communication channel previously defined in the contract.

No. Even if 100% of coverage is reached, we continue checking already attacked source code to identify any possible false negatives, including components developed by third parties in our hacking process.

Fluid Attacks uses CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System), a “standardized framework used to rate the severity of security vulnerabilities in software.” It gives us a quantitative measure ranging from 0 to 10, 0 being the lowest level of risk and 10 the highest and most critical level of risk, based on the qualitative characteristics of a vulnerability.

Continuous Hacking has an interactive reporting platform, our Attack Surface Manager (ASM). ASM gives all project stakeholders access to details concerning vulnerabilities reported by Fluid Attacks. (We have the source code of all our products in our public repository.)

Continuous Hacking generates and delivers, through ASM, a technical report available in Excel and/or PDF format during the execution of the project contract. Once the project ends, ASM delivers a presentation and an executive report, also in PDF format.

Once Fluid Attacks reports a vulnerability, the main objective for developers is to eliminate it. Through ASM, a client company’s developers can access first-hand detailed information regarding a vulnerability in order to plan and execute corrective measures to remove it from the application.

For Continuous Hacking, communication takes place between developers and hackers on a day-to-day basis via ASM. In One-shot Hacking, communication is handled through the project manager (PM) as a single point of contact (SPOC).

Through ASM, any user with access to the project can request verification of a remediated vulnerability. A request for verification that a remediated vulnerability no longer poses a risk must be accompanied by notification from you that the planned remediation has been executed. We then perform a closing verification to confirm the effectiveness of the remediation. Results of the closing verification are then forwarded to the project team by email.

Continuous Hacking offers unlimited closing verifications.

One of Continuous Hacking’s objectives is to maintain clear and effortless communication between all project members. This is accomplished when you notify us because the message goes through ASM and by doing so, the entire project team is notified.

Within ASM there is a comment section. A client company can post its reasons for believing a vulnerability finding is not valid. Our experts and all other project members can then interface and discuss the relative merits of the vulnerability finding as well as the validity of it as a security risk, and a final determination can be made.

No. However, this decision is made entirely by the client, not by us, and the client assumes all responsibility for possible negative impacts of non-remediation. In ASM, under the treatment option, a client company indicates whether it will remediate or assume responsibility for an identified vulnerability.

No. Reports and ASM include information regarding all vulnerabilities, along with whether vulnerabilities were remediated or not. Your report and ASM will include all the information with nothing excluded.

Yes, with one condition. The code must be stored in the same branch in each repository. For example: If it is agreed that all attacks will be performed on the QA branch, then this same branch must be present in all of the repositories included for Continuous Hacking.

Yes, it is still possible to use Continuous Hacking. There are two possible options available:

We recommend that application development and the hacking process begin simultaneously. However, this is not always possible. To catch up with developers, we perform a Health Check (additional fees apply). This means all versions of the existing code are attacked up to the contracted starting point in addition to the monthly test limit. This allows us to catch up with the development team within the first 3 contract months. Then, we continue hacking simultaneously with the development team as development continues.

This is a risky choice. Not performing a Health Check means there will be code that is never going to be tested and, therefore, it’s not possible to know what vulnerabilities may exist in it; those vulnerabilities are not going to be identified. We guarantee that 100% of the code change is going to be tested, but what cannot be reached, cannot be tested.

Continuous Hacking is based on using Git for version control. Therefore, Git is necessary for Continuous Hacking.

Information is only kept for the duration of the Continuous Hacking contract. Once the contract has ended, information is kept for 7 business days and then deleted from all our information systems.

ASM uses an automated erasing process, removing all the project information from our systems and generating a Proof of Delivery signed via Docusign.

No. Continuous Hacking is independent of the client’s development methodology. Continuous Hacking test results become a planning tool in future development cycles. They do not prevent the continuation of development.

Yes. Fluid Attacks can schedule periodic presentations via teleconferencing. To set up a teleconference presentation, you will need to provide us with the emails of attendees and 3 optional time periods of 1-hour duration for the teleconference. We will then notify you of the best time for the teleconference based on your availability and ours, and send emails to your list of attendees inviting them to participate.

No. The client can use whatever repository they deem appropriate. We only require access to the integration branch and its respective environment.

Our designated team of hackers.

Yes, you can access the LinkedIn profiles of some members of our team on our people page.

Please refer to our certifications page for further information.

No. Reviewing your code in no way compromises your proprietary rights to that code.

Yes. Asserts is Fluid Attacks' automated engine, checking remediation of previously confirmed vulnerabilities. Asserts operates in the JOB of continuous integration. It can break the build sent by the programmer in the event of a breach of security requirements. We have recently released Asserts source code to our public repository.

We have improved the Continuous Hacking model to now include infrastructure within the Target of Evaluation (ToE). This includes the application’s ports, inputs, infrastructure, and of course the application itself.

We use Burp Suite for web testing, and CANVAS and Core Impact for infrastructure testing with additional exploits.

It is up to you, however, we recommend the use of HTTPS for application tests and SSH (git) for source code analysis.

The platform, ASM, runs in the cloud.

No. We use federated authentication. Google and Azure (Microsoft 360) are the entities which validate your user access credentials.

Yes, it is, and we recommend you do so. Using double authentication will increase the security level of your credentials. This will help prevent unauthorized users from accessing and compromising your information. This feature is enabled through Gmail or Azure.

The goal is 100% coverage. Therefore, there will be results regarding system vulnerabilities continuously throughout the contract period. We take into account all pushes to the tested branch, which are monitored using automated scripts (robots) that extract and analyze the changes made to the source code every night.

During the execution of a project, the following scenarios can occur:

One-shot Hacking includes one retest. Continuous Hacking includes infinite retests during the subscription time.

Once the setup has been completed, and everything is ready for the service to begin, the security tests start. The steps are as follows:

Asserts runs on any continuous integration platform that supports Docker (Docker engine 18.03.1) and has access to the internet.

Yes, it is available on the Asserts page.

According to the active authors model, it is possible to create a large cell with all the developers or to divide it into applications according to the client’s needs. When managing only one cell, it is important to consider the following: * All users in the project can see all the vulnerabilities of the application inside the same cell. * When the same vulnerability appears in several applications, the only way to identify/locate each one in each individual application is by checking the vulnerability report under the heading "location". There, it will specify where each vulnerability can be found.

Yes, it is possible under the condition that the new environment be the same branch environment where the source code is reviewed, thus allowing us to test the same version of the change both statically and dynamically.

It is possible to cause an accidental DoS during the hacking service. We recommend including only the staging phase in the scope. However, many clients decide to also include the production stage in the tests. It is unusual for us to take down environments because when we foresee a possible breakpoint, we ask the client for a special environment within which to carry out the test.

The service includes the environment of the reviewed code (see question 52). It is possible to include different environments for an additional fee.

All questions made through the vulnerabilities comment system, have a 4 business hours SLA. M - F from 8AM to 12 noon and 2PM to 6PM (UTC-5 Colombia = same as Eastern Standard Time USA). SLA is not contractually defined, it is our value promise.

Yes, 1M USD coverage.