Back in business: Software testing, information security and computer forensics

The last 2 months I was very busy with a lot of things except blogging on this site:
I founded a new social network about the behaviour of birds and together with SocialQuant, a company founded by my friend Dr. Morten Middelfart, we increased the online social Twitter-traffic for TestingSaaS and BirdBehaviour. Lots of fun and a lot tested and learned.

But, it started to itch again and after following an event organized by Testnet yesterday I was in the blogging mood again.
Why?
Well, the event was about information security and privacy.
Although the things said were not new to me I realized information security (infosec) and computer forensics depend on each other.
With infosec you want to defend information from wrongful behaviour by a third party.
This can be criminal behaviour, for which the evidence can be pertained by computer forenics specialists to use in legal court.
Yesterday, the first speaker from EMCS IT Services was saying government organizations were exploring the internet for criminal cyberbehaviour, but he did not say the evidence found for this has to be secured for forensic investigation. Finding the evidence is one thing, securing it and reporting it is something else.
To learn more about this, just have a look at Eforensics Magazine .
It's the same with software testing, bugs in the code and flaws in the documentation can be found, but this work is not effective without a sound description and report.
That's why I like software testing, information security and computer forensics.
It's all about interdisciplinary (functional, technical and legal) analysis and the way to visualize it in a report.
You can say that you found a bug, breach or forensic proof, but without a good report (with argumentation to back it) do not expect a pat on the back.

Using forensics for mobile testing

In May 2014 I started a new job as the QA engineer at Onegini.

It is a software company, which develops access management solutions for online services for insurance companies, webshops and financial businesses. 

Who is familiar with my social network TestingSaaS will not be surprised hearing this, because of my fascination with online authentication.

One of the many challenges I now have is to develop a testing approach for their mobile solution.That involves developing a test strategy, knowledge training, test automation and tool/device training.The hardest part here is the knowledge and tool training.

Mind you, the company uses the agile methodology and that means every two weeks a delivery of workable software. No time for on-the-job reading.Fortunately, another hobby of mine (yeah, I see software testing as a paid hobby :) ), computer forensics (not paid yet :) ), provides me the knowledge necessary to be able to test the mobile application.
Both for software testing and computer forensics (read mobile forensics) you need analytical skills to know what you have to analyse. For software testing this is identifying, analysing and documenting bugs and for computer forensics it is identifying, preserving, recovering, analysing and presenting facts and opinions about the digital information.Both disciplines require a sound understanding of the object under analysis.

For a couple of years now I write for the online magazine Eforensics Magazine ,where I use my testing skills to study forensics software. A great way to learn forensics and practise my software testing skills.


Eforensics Magazine also has special issues on Mobile Forensics, with a load of reading material on forensics and mobile operating systems. I am not a die hard programmer, but a forensics enthusiast. 
So Eforensics Magazine is my prime supplier of enough material to enhance my knowledge on mobile operating systems to test the Onegini solutions optimally.

Android, Blackberry, Apple, Windows Phone, it's a jungle out there, but I am ready to explore!