What Is Another Term Used to Describe the Vulnerability Analysis Step of Penetration Testing?

What is a pen exam?

A penetration examination, likewise called a pen test or ethical hacking, is a cybersecurity technique organizations use to identify, exam and highlight vulnerabilities in their security posture. These penetration tests are often carried out by ethical hackers. These in-firm employees or tertiary parties mimic the strategies and actions of an attacker in society to evaluate the hackability of an arrangement's figurer systems, network or web applications. Organizations can as well use pen testing to test their adherence to compliance regulations.

Ethical hackers are information technology (It) experts who utilise hacking methods to help companies identify possible entry points into their infrastructure. Past using different methodologies, tools and approaches, companies can perform simulated cyber attacks to test the strengths and weaknesses of their existing security systems. Penetration, in this case, refers to the degree to which a hypothetical threat actor, or hacker, can penetrate an organization's cybersecurity measures and protocols.

There are three main pen testing strategies, each offering pen testers a certain level of information they need to deport out their attack. For example, white box testing provides the tester all of the details about an organisation's system or target network; black box testing provides the tester no knowledge of the organization; and greyness box penetration testing provides the tester partial noesis of the system.

Pen testing is considered a proactive cybersecurity measure because information technology involves consequent, self-initiated improvements based on the reports generated by the test. This differs from nonproactive approaches, which lack the foresight to improve upon weaknesses as they arise. A nonproactive approach to cybersecurity, for example, would involve a company updating its firewall after a information breach occurs. The goal of proactive measures, like pen testing, is to minimize the number of retroactive upgrades and maximize an system'southward security.

What is the difference between pen testing and vulnerability assessment?

Pen tests are not the same as vulnerability assessments, which provide a prioritized list of security weaknesses and how to amend them, merely they are frequently performed together. Pen testing is often conducted with a particular goal in listen. These goals typically autumn under one of the following three objectives:

identify hackable systems
try to hack a specific system
comport out a data breach

Each objective focuses on specific outcomes that IT leaders are trying to avert. For example, if the goal of a pen exam is to see how easily a hacker could breach the company database, the upstanding hackers would be instructed to try and carry out a data breach. The results of a pen exam will not only communicate the force of an arrangement'southward current cybersecurity protocols, simply they will also nowadays the available hacking methods that can be used to penetrate the organization'due south systems.

Why is pen testing important?

The rate of distributed denial-of-service, phishing and ransomware attacks is dramatically increasing, putting all internet-based companies at run a risk. Because how reliant businesses are on technology, the consequences of a successful cyber attack take never been greater. A ransomware assault, for example, could block a visitor from accessing the data, devices, networks and servers it relies on to conduct business. Such an attack could result in millions of dollars of lost revenue. Pen testing uses the hacker perspective to identify and mitigate cybersecurity risks before they are exploited. This helps Information technology leaders implement informed security upgrades that minimize the possibility of successful attacks.

Technological innovation is 1 of, if not the greatest, challenge facing cybersecurity. As tech continues to evolve, so do the methods cybercriminals use. In order for companies to successfully protect themselves and their assets from these attacks, they need to be able to update their security measures at the aforementioned charge per unit. The caveat, however, is that it is often difficult to know which methods are beingness used and how they might be used in an assail. But, by using skilled ethical hackers, organizations can chop-chop and effectively identify, update and supercede the parts of their system that are particularly susceptible to mod hacking techniques.

penetration testing can be broken into six steps — Pen testing at a glance

How to do penetration testing

Pen testing is unique from other cybersecurity evaluation methods, as it can exist adapted to whatsoever manufacture or organization. Depending on an organization'due south infrastructure and operations, it may want to use a certain set of hacking techniques or tools. These techniques and their methodologies can too vary based on the Information technology personnel and their company standards. Using the following adaptable 6-footstep process, pen testing creates a fix of results that can help organizations proactively update their security protocols:

Grooming. Depending on the needs of the organization, this pace tin either exist a uncomplicated or elaborate procedure. If the organization has not decided which vulnerabilities it wants to evaluate, a meaning corporeality of time and resource should be devoted to combing the system for possible entry points. In-depth processes similar this are usually but necessary for businesses that have non already conducted a complete inspect of their systems. One time a vulnerability assessment has been conducted, however, this pace becomes much easier.
Construct an attack plan. Prior to hiring ethical attackers, an IT section designs a cyber attack, or list of cyber attacks, that its team should use to perform the pen test. During this step, it is also important to ascertain what level of system access the pen tester has.
Select a team. The success of a pen test depends on the quality of the testers. This pace is oftentimes used to appoint the ethical hackers that are best suited to perform the test. Decisions like these can be made based on employee specialties. If a visitor wants to test its cloud security, a deject expert may exist the best person to properly evaluate its cybersecurity. Companies also often hire expert consultants and certified cybersecurity experts to deport out pen testing.
Determine the stolen data type. What is the team of ethical hackers stealing? The data blazon called in this step can accept a profound bear upon on the tools, strategies and techniques used to acquire it.
Perform the test. This is ane of the well-nigh complicated and nuanced parts of the testing process, equally there are many automated software programs and techniques testers can use, including Kali Linux, Nmap, Metasploit and Wireshark.
Integrate the report results. Reporting is the most important step of the process. The results must be detailed then the organisation can incorporate the findings.

Learn more than well-nigh the massive SolarWinds hack and how it affects main information security officers' agendas.

This was last updated in May 2021

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