Difference between Static testing and Dynamic testing

Differences	Static Analysis	Dynamic Testing
Definition	Tools used for static analysis will take your code as input and analyze each line for any insecure functions or coding practices. The tools are great at finding obvious high-risk flaws such as injections, which are the most often discovered findings during our web engagements. Static analysis is often used at organizations that are continuously improving or developing new content.	Dynamic analysis does not see the actual server-side code. Instead, it executes it no differently than what you do when you browse a website. The software or individual tester sits between the server and the browser while modifying requests to identify flaws in how the server reacts to them. In order to successfully evaluate an application using dynamic analysis, a skilled tester with advanced knowledge of the tool is required.
Strength	Quick in identifying obvious coding flaws.Can be run in parallel with development to reduce overhead at the end of the development life cycle	Covers all of the OWASP Top 10. Can be leveraged into checking for more sophisticated attacks by doing additional manual checks.
Weakness	Cannot identify subjective or business logic related issues Extremely slow in adopting new versions of programming languages Requires more effort than dynamic analysis when dealing with tool results 40% gap in covering the OWASP Top 10	Depends heavily on the qualifications of the tester. If the tester is not qualified, some findings will be missed. If you need help on choosing a penetration test company, visit our blog on “How To Choose The Right Penetration Testing Company For Your Business”
Example	A software development team might use static analysis tools like code review or automated scanners to detect common security flaws like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), or insecure access control. By performing static security analysis, developers can catch vulnerabilities early in the development process, reducing the likelihood of security incidents in the deployed application.	Using penetration testing or ethical hacking techniques, security experts can actively attempt to exploit weaknesses in the application, such as trying various input combinations to find injection points or probing for misconfigurations. Dynamic security testing provides valuable insights into the application's actual behavior and how it responds to potential threats, helping organizations identify and remediate vulnerabilities that could be exploited in a real-world environment.