The Difference Between Security Bugs and Quality Bugs

An argument that security bugs and quality bugs ‘have equal values’ has become, more or less, a popular one, and that QA and security testing are the ‘same thing’. This article will technically disagree with all of these statements and explain the reason behind it.

First, let’s look at the basics.

What is a software bug? It’s an error or a flaw that causes a system to produce unexpected or incorrect results, or to behave in unintended ways. A security bug is another name for a vulnerability. It’s a weakness that can be exploited by the attacker to perform unauthorized actions within a computer system. The roles are as such: security testers look for vulnerabilities while QA looks for software bugs. Their goals are the main difference.

Just as all men are human beings, but not all human beings are men; while all security bugs are bugs, not all bugs are security bugs.

Now let’s take each claim one by one and dissect them.

1. Security Bugs’ Value = Quality Bugs’ Value

If a security bug causes a low risk vulnerability, then it certainly does not have the ‘same value’ as a non-security bug that causes the system to crash over and over again. Similarly, if a security bug can lead to a potential data breach, or worse, it doesn't equal the value of fonts not matching from page to page. Some experts believe that a regular may not cause a business harm as much as a security bug because if your system falls prey to the hacker, creativity is the only limit. Malicious actors are never short of ideas about how they can do the damage.

2. There’s no difference between QA and security testing

The goals of quality assurance and security testing are not the same, which is the main differentiating factor.

Security is a part of quality

This is my personal opinion. But why I think it’s true is because you can’t have a high-quality product that is not secure. I don't think anyone would like to call an application “high-quality” if it looks beautiful, works fast, and does all the desirable tasks but someone breaks in just a few hours after it’s released. There are various software testing types such as unit testing, integration testing, end-to-end testing, UX testing, regression testing, performance testing, security testing, and many more. The point is that these are the testing types that can be used to evaluate a product's quality and security is just one of them. Therefore, QA and security testing are not ‘the same thing’.

How Bug Management Tools Ensure Both Quality and Security?

There are various measures to take care of your security. If a security bug is putting your system to risk, then you should have bug management tools to help you deal with it. Their job is to work as a central repository where all the bugs are recorded once they are found and then you can assign certain bugs to a certain team member and track the progress. These tools also provide you reports with statistics and metrics necessary to make the right decisions, so that both your quality and security remain uncompromised.