The most difficult flaws to pinpoint in security, like in life, are your own personal flaws. We don’t have any trouble noting any of your shortcomings, fortunately. It’s almost our job. It’s a nice thing, too: One of the most valuable insights you can gain in strengthening your security program is understanding your vulnerabilities and how attackers can exploit them. With this in mind, B2Cyber’s Penetration Testing Services team will simulate a real-world attack on your networks, applications, devices, and/or people to show you how secure your essential systems and infrastructure are and what it will take to strengthen them.
What is penetration testing?
A penetration test, often called a pen test, imitates an online attack on your computer network to identify weak spots. In the context of online application security, penetration testing is typically employed as an addition to a web application firewall (WAF).
Pen testing include attempting to break into a variety of application platforms (e.g., APIs, frontend/backend servers) in order to find vulnerabilities, such as unsterilized credentials that are vulnerable to program injection threats.
The penetration test’s findings can be utilized to fine-tune your WAF security policies and address discovered vulnerabilities.
To beat a hacker, you must first become a hacker.
THE OBJECTIVE
Continuously testing the aspects of your IT infrastructure is a difficult and time-consuming operation. Recognizing the most recent attack strategies, as well as testing and reviewing your defences versus them, is essential for enhancing your cyber security posture.
VULNERABILITIES IDENTIFICATION
If you want to prevent today’s advanced cyberattacks, you need to do more than just run a scanning of your area to find weaknesses.
VULNERABILITIES EXPLOITED
It’s one thing to recognize that a weakness occurs; it’s quite another to be able to utilize that weakness and see how deep you can get into the network and systems.
PROFESSIONAL STRATEGY UNDERSTANDING
To truly secure your surroundings, you must first determine which attackers are most likely to attack your business so that you may better test your defences by imitating their advanced tactics.
Penetration testing advantages
ATTACK SURFACE MUST BE REDUCED.
To decrease the attack vector for today’s emerging attacks, discover and remediate vulnerabilities across your IT infrastructure.
IMPROVE SECURITY GAPS VISIBILITY
Gain an impartial view that reveals blind spots and provides visibility into security weaknesses that your internal IT teams may overlook owing to a lack of knowledge or awareness with the most recent threats.
EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF SECURITY TOOLS
Evaluate the security resources and software you’ve invested in to see if there are any weaknesses or gaps, and if they’re capable of stopping a cyberattack on your company.
SECURITY BUDGETS SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED.
Focus your security expenditures where they’re most needed, and you’ll save money in the long term by avoiding needless spending across the security environment.
What Are Phases of Pen Tests?
Penetration testing allows you to detect the most vulnerable security flaws before they are discovered by others. There’s a lot more to it than the action of invasion, though. Pen testing is a multi-phased, well-planned effort that includes the following stages:
Preparation & Strategy
Before a penetration test can start, the testers and their customers must agree on the test’s objectives so that it can be appropriately mapped and completed. They’ll need to know what kinds of tests to conduct, who will be informed of the test, how much information and access the testers will have to begin with, and other crucial factors that will assure the test’s effectiveness.
Exploration
Teams conduct several sorts of research on their objective during this phase. IP addresses, for example, can be used to determine data about firewalls and other interconnections on a technical level. On the personal level, even basic information like names, work titles, and email addresses can be extremely valuable.
Endeavor at Penetration and Attack
Pen testers can now start attempting to penetrate their enemy’s system, exposing security vulnerabilities and proving how far into the networks they can penetrate.
Monitoring and Research
Pen testers should generate a report that covers each step of the process, including what tools were used to effectively infiltrate the network, what security breaches were detected, other relevant information obtained, and repair suggestions.
Restoration and Clean-up
Pen testers should leave no evidence, and they should go back over networks and delete any artefacts left behind from the testing, as they could be utilized by a real hacker in the future. After that, a company can start making the required changes to address the gaps in its security system.
Re – test
Testing again is the greatest way to guarantee that an organization’s rehabilitation are effective. Furthermore, because IT infrastructures and the tactics used to exploit them are always developing, new vulnerabilities are bound to develop.
When Should You Perform a Pen Test?
To guarantee more continuous IT and cyber security monitoring, text penetration testing should be conducted on a regular basis. A pen-tester will demonstrate how newly found threats or vulnerabilities could be exploited by attackers. In addition to the analyses and evaluations that are needed by statutory requirements on a constant schedule, testing should be performed whenever:
- Patches for security are installed.
- Infrastructure and application upgrades are completed.
- The policies of end users are changed.
- There are new office addresses.
- The addition of network hardware or applications
In order to make their intrusion efforts more effective, attackers employ tools. Pen testers are in the same boat. Penetration testing technology is designed to supplement, not replace, human intelligence. It allows pen testers to focus on problem-solving by automating processes that need time but not mental effort. It’s never a question of choosing between vulnerability scanners and penetration testers when it comes to pen testing. Instead, it’s a matter of deciding which penetration techniques will be most useful to a penetration tester.
Penetration testing is usually done with a collection of tools that offer a number of features. Some are free to use, while others are for a fee. Some of these techniques are similar to those used by threat actors, allowing for a precise replication of an assault. Others emphasize the requirements of an ethical hacker, allowing for a greater focus on features that prioritize the end aim of confirming security flaws without harming production systems and prioritizing correction.
Penetration testing technologies are also being used by security teams to boost their in-house initiatives through intentional automating. Automation can improve the abilities of new testers by guiding them through essential testing methods with wizards; skilled testers can save time by automating tasks.
At the end of the day
Businesses must perform regular penetration testing to find vulnerabilities, close gaps, and ensure that cyber controls are working properly as attacks become more sophisticated and pervasive. By identifying weaknesses in its infrastructure (hardware), applications (software), and personnel, these assessments enable the business to take a proactive approach and define effective continuous safeguards that can keep up with the constantly evolving cyber threats.
Penetration testing is also known as ethical hacking or pen testing. In order to uncover exploitable holes in computer systems, networks, websites, and applications, it refers to the purposeful execution of simulated cyberattacks. In addition to finding security vulnerabilities, pen testing tools may be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a company’s security plan, regulatory standards, employee safety awareness, and the company’s capacity to notice and address security concerns as they arise.
A pen test can be conducted directly or with the help of security technologies. Penetration testing must uncover flaws that would allow the attacker network access in order to give important insights critical to the organization’s capacity to fine-tune its security policies and patch found weaknesses. Collecting data about prospective targets, detecting possible points of entry, attempting to break in – virtually or physically – and reporting discoveries to the organization’s security personnel are all components of the method.
What you will receive when working with B2Cyber:
- Executive summary report at a high level
- Technical documentation that enables you to replicate our results
- Validation of outcomes through fact-based risk analysis
- Proposals for rapid advance on a tactical level
- Long-term enhancement strategies are offered in the form of strategic suggestions.
