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Rules of Engagement

When performing application security analysis, it is expected that the tester follow the Rules of Engagement as laid out below. This is to standardize the scope of application testing and provide a concrete awareness of what is considered "out of scope" for security analysis.

Rules of Engagement - For those requesting review

  • Web Application Firewalls can be up and configured, but do not enable any automatic blocking. This can greatly slow down the person performing the test.
  • Similarly, if a service is running on a virtual machine, ensure services such as fail2ban are disabled.
  • You cannot make changes to the running application until the test is complete. This is to prevent accidentally breaking an otherwise valid attack in progress.
  • Any review results are not considered as "final". A security review should always be performed by a security team orchestrated by the customer prior to moving an application into production. If a customer requires further assistance, they can engage Premier Support.

Rules of Engagement - For those performing tests

  • Do not attempt to perform Denial-of-Service attacks or otherwise crash services. Heavy active scanning is tolerated (and is assumed to be somewhat of a load test) but deliberate takedowns are not permitted.
  • Do not interact with human beings. Phishing credentials or other such client-side attacks are off-limits. Detailing XSS and similar attacks is encouraged as a part of the test, but do not leverage these against internal users or customers.
  • Attack from a single point. Especially if the application is currently in the customer's hands, provide the IP address or hostname of the attacking host to avoid setting off alarms.
Last update: April 20, 2021