Ethical Hacking - Pentesting

A penetration test, or pen test, is a security test of IT infrastructure by exploiting vulnerabilities in a controlled manner, performed by penetration testers. These vulnerabilities may exist in operating systems, services, application flaws, improper configurations, or risky end-user behavior. Such assessments are also useful in validating the efficacy of defensive mechanisms, as well as end-user adherence to security policies.

The fundamental purpose of penetration testing is to measure whether systems or end users can be compromised and to evaluate the impact such incidents have on affected resources or activities. You can think of penetration testing as appointing a burglar to see if he can break into your house.

Yes, they evaluate your company's ability to protect its networks, applications, endpoints and users from external or internal hacking attempts. The tests provide detailed information on real, exploitable security risks to proactively identify the most critical vulnerabilities and what actions are needed. By regularly putting your cybersecurity security and security staff to the test, you no longer have to hypothetically wonder what an attack will look like and how you will respond. You will have a clear picture of how your company scores against hackers.

Penetration testing should be performed on a regular basis to ensure more consistent IT and network security management. In addition to regularly scheduled analysis and assessments required by regulatory mandates, tests should also be run whenever: 

• A network infrastructure or applications are added
• Upgrades to infrastructure or applications are done
• Security patches are applied
• End user policies are modified
• New office locations are established

Going through the results of pen tests provides a great opportunity to discuss plans going forward and revisit your security posture overall. Additionally, relaying these results with actionable insights to decision makers within the organization will better emphasize the risk that these vulnerabilities pose, and the positive impact that remediation will have on the business. 

While vulnerability scans (100% automated) provide a valuable picture of what potential security weaknesses are present, penetration tests (primarily performed manually) can add additional context by seeing if the vulnerabilities could be leveraged to gain access within your environment. Pen tests can also help prioritize remediation plans based on what poses the most risk.