Why should enterprises invest in penetration testing?

Penetration testing is a robust solution to safeguard critical data or a network from cyber-attacks and data breaches proactively.

Penetration testing or pen testing, often termed as ethical hacking, is a technique wherein simulated cyberattacks are being conducted for identifying, testing, and focusing on the vulnerabilities in the IT ecosystem of an enterprise in a proactive manner. Usually, such a test is being undertaken by companies with expertise in ethical hacking, who are able to evaluate whether the security posture of a company, including the systems, networks and applications could be hacked by an outside agent or malicious insider. Pen testing also enables companies to evaluate whether their systems are adhering to compliance regulations.

Penetration testing process

Usually, the penetration testing process is undertaken in five stages, with each stage focusing on a certain aspect of finding the vulnerability in the current IT ecosystem of the enterprise.

  • ·         Planning: This stage involves defining the goals of penetration testing, gathering information to understand the possible vulnerabilities in the systems and networks.
  • ·         Scanning: In the next step, the focus is to understand how the current system will respond to various hacking attempts.
  • ·         Getting application access: In At this stage, attacks on web applications are undertaken to find out the vulnerabilities. 
  • ·         Maintaining access: This stage focuses on understanding if the attacks on the system could be undertaken in a persistent manner.
  • ·         Reporting: A detailed report on the vulnerabilities is provided, with particular focus on the possibility of consistent attacks and data breaches.

Benefits of penetration testing

Pen test, which includes internal pen testing or internal penetration testing and external pen testing or external penetration testing is beneficial for organizations to identify unknown network susceptibilities, as well as provide an opportunity to enterprises for implementing robust solutions for preventing future attacks, safeguarding critical information and managing regulatory compliances in a proactive manner.

Some of the major benefits of penetration testing include:

  • ·         Identifying critical assets and IT infrastructure that could be at risk of hacking
  • ·         Mitigating or minimizing vulnerabilities in security posture proactively
  • ·         Scheduling tests, managing assessments and business requirements according to the threat environment
  • ·         Developing and implementing the highly customized remediation plan
  • ·         Monitoring analysis of results and getting detailed reports

Types of penetration testing        

    
Penetration testing

                                                                            

Going beyond customary automated vulnerability scans and focuses on undertaking advanced manual tests, penetration testing is conducted to ensure the elimination of any vulnerability or weakness in the security ecosystem. Some of the solutions offered in penetration testing include:

  • ·      Application testing: Such a test is conducted to find vulnerabilities in critical and risk-based web or mobile applications, along with securing them with immediate effect. This helps in securing applications from data breaches.
  • ·      Network testing: This test is conducted for identifying network vulnerabilities such as unknown back doors, configuration errors, or flaws in the system. Enterprises may conduct such testing to secure networks and devices, along with preventing unauthorized access.
  • ·     Cloud testing: In order to mitigate security risks such as human error or system misconfiguration in the cloud environment, such a test is being conducted. This helps in ensuring seamless cloud migrations and securing data on the cloud.
  • ·     Social engineering: In order to identify vulnerable devices or insecure endpoints, which could be the target for hacking by cybercriminals through creative social engineering methods, this kind of test is being performed. This helps the system to detect threats such as malware and phishing attacks on a real-time basis.

Fixing vulnerabilities

While penetration testing helps in identifying vulnerabilities in the IT ecosystem, it is also imperative to fix these vulnerabilities so that any future cyberattacks are not undertaken. Penetration testing experts help in fixing such identified vulnerabilities and safeguarding the data and system from being compromised by people with malicious intent.

Some of the remediation solutions that are being offered by such experts include safeguarding vulnerable system through robust identity and cybersecurity solutions, revoking privileges of compromised users to access sensitive information and preventing malicious insider from infiltrating the network. Further, it is also imperative to generate a comprehensive insights report, identifying potential future risks and its impact on the business, thereby, helping enterprises prioritize their future security investments.

As the threat environment is evolving on a consistent basis, it has become imperative for enterprises to conduct penetration testing at least annually and develop an inclusive IT security framework, which is in sync with the business goals of the enterprise. Conduct penetration testing of your IT security system today to expose weaknesses in enterprise networks, applications, and resources.

Location: 130 Rd, Kensington, KS 66951, USA

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