What is penetration testing and how does it work?

08 June, 2023
No Comments

What is Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing is an evaluation of the security approach intended to find and leverage security flaws and weaknesses in computer systems, networks, apps, or other forms of digital content. It is often referred to as ethical hacking or white hat hacking. Penetration testing’s primary goal is to imitate actual assaults in order to evaluate the target system’s security posture and offer suggestions for reducing potential risks.

What are the Types of Pen Tests?

Some of the common types of penetration tests are as follows:

Network Penetration Testing	This type of test involves finding holes in the network architecture of the company, comprising routers, switches, firewalls, and other network equipment. The objective is to evaluate the security measures in place and determine whether it is feasible for illicit entry or network intrusions.
Web Application Penetration Testing	The goal of this kind of test is to find weaknesses in web applications like websites, web portals, and web services. In order to influence the program or get unauthorized access, testers try to take advantage of security holes such as input validation issues, injection attacks, cross-site scripting (XSS), and authentication bypass.
Mobile Application Penetration Testing	This type of pentest is specially designed to evaluate the security of mobile apps across different platforms (such as iOS and Android) in light of the growing use of mobile applications. The program is tested for flaws that could be used to obtain confidential info, acquire illicit access, or carry out illegal activities.
Wireless Network Penetration Testing	The security of wireless networks, especially Wi-Fi networks, is assessed by this kind of test. In order to find flaws that could allow for unauthorized entry or data leakage, testers evaluate the efficiency of encryption, authentication techniques, and other security safeguards.
Social Engineering	Social engineering entails attempting to influence people within a business in order to gain illegal entry to systems or private data, while it is not exactly a technical test. Testing professionals may use strategies like phishing emails, fake calls, or physical impersonation to target human weaknesses and evaluate the company’s security awareness and training initiatives.
Physical Penetration Testing	The physical security measures of an organization, such as its buildings, data centers, or other sensitive sites, are evaluated as part of this exam. Attempts are made to circumvent security measures, gain unlawful physical access, or test the effectiveness of alarms, locks, and various other types of physical security controls.
Red Team vs. Blue Team Exercises	With a “red team” acting as the perpetrators and a “blue team” protecting the systems, this kind of test simulates a real-world attack situation. The blue team recognizes the attacks and reacts, while the red team seeks to get past the company’s defenses. The efficacy of the company’s safety tracking and identification systems, as well as its incident response skills, are both evaluated through this exercise.

What are the Benefits of Penetration Testing?

Companies may enhance their entire security posture by using penetration testing, which has a number of advantages. The following are some significant benefits of performing penetration testing:

Identify Vulnerabilities	A system, network, application, or other digital asset flaws, vulnerabilities, and weaknesses are found through penetration testing. Testers can find security issues that can go undetected by conventional security evaluations by imitating real-world attacks. This enables businesses to take preventative measures to reduce potential dangers prior to malicious intruders may take advantage of them.
Measure Security Controls	A method for assessing the efficacy of current security measures and controls is penetration testing. It assists in assessing the effectiveness of safety precautions such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), access controls, or encryption techniques. Companies can adjust their security defenses with the help of this data to make certain they are protecting customers adequately.
Real-World Simulation	The mainstream TTPs (tactics, techniques, and procedures) utilized by actual attackers are simulated during penetration testing. Many businesses can learn a lot about the potential effects of effective assaults and the scope of possible unauthorized access by taking on an attacker’s viewpoint. As a result, businesses are better able to assess their vulnerabilities in practical terms and decide which security measures to strengthen.
Risk Mitigation	Penetration testing aids businesses in prioritizing and addressing the most important security issues by detecting vulnerabilities and evaluating their potential effect. This makes it possible to invest in safety precautions that have the biggest impact on reducing potential risks and allocate resources in an efficient manner. It aids businesses in lowering the possibility of successful assaults and lowering the risk of system and data damage.
Compliance Requirements	Continuous inspections of security and penetration testing are necessary to meet the requirements of numerous regulatory frameworks and industries (such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and ISO 27001). By demonstrating attention to upholding a safe atmosphere and safeguarding confidential data, performing penetration testing assists firms in meeting these compliance obligations.
Incident Response Preparedness	The ability to assess a company’s incident response capabilities is made possible through penetration testing. Companies can evaluate their capacity to recognize, respond to, and recover from safety issues by imitating several cyberattacks. It enables businesses to develop their incident response plans and increase their resilience to cyber attacks by identifying any holes in incident response protocols, coordination, or communication.
Security Awareness and Training	Workforce security awareness can be increased by using penetration testing as a teaching technique. The use of social engineering approaches during the test assists companies in identifying areas that require more training or awareness campaigns. This helps the company develop an effective safety culture, which lowers the probability of effective social engineering assaults.

How To Do Penetration Testing?

There is a pattern in which the real-time procedure of penetration testing operates. In addition, we have given the basic details of the procedure of penetration testing in the following:

1. Planning and Scoping:

Determining the pentest’s targets and objectives is the first step in the procedure for penetration testing. The systems, networks, or applications that will be assessed are specified by the scope. The testing team works with the company in order to comprehend its needs, limitations, and any particular areas of worry.

2. Reconnaissance

The testers acquire data about the intended system or network during this phase. Figuring out IP addresses, network infrastructure, system architecture, and other pertinent information are all included in this. One option is to employ open-source intelligence (OSINT) methods, such as looking for material that is readily accessible to the public.

3. Vulnerability Assessment

The testers thoroughly assess the system they are testing to find any flaws. This may entail employing automated techniques to find system vulnerabilities, such as vulnerability scanners. To find any flaws that automated tools could have overlooked, the system may also be subjected to manual examination and analysis.

4. Exploitation

The penetration testers attempt to take advantage of vulnerabilities once they have been found in order to obtain unauthorized access or carry out malevolent deeds. They employ a variety of strategies, including attempting weak or default passwords, taking advantage of software flaws, or altering input to run malicious instructions. The objective is to identify the potential effects of successful assaults and the scope of accessible information.

5. Post-Exploitation

If the penetration testers are effective in exploiting a vulnerability, they might try to advance their level of access, obtain more sensitive data, or change locations inside the network. This makes it easier to evaluate the effects of a prospective attack in the actual world and spot pressing problems.

6. Reporting and Remediation

The penetration testers offer the company an in-depth evaluation after the testing phase is complete. The paper provides details on the weaknesses that were found, their possible effects, and repair advice. To strengthen its security posture, the business can then give the issues it has identified a higher priority and address them.

Best Penetration Testing Service

In order to give businesses hailing from varied niches and genres, Craw Security offers its Best Penetration Testing Service to all individuals and organizations regardless of their size, extent, scope, niche, and modus operandi.

Moreover, the end results an organization would find from the services of Craw Security will be fantastic. We have a proven track record of 100% customer satisfaction from our long list of contented customers. If you wish to give it a try to upgrade the security posture of your organization’s IT infrastructures, just give us a call at +65-935815400 and ask for a cost-friendly quote.

FAQs

About Penetration Testing

1: How often should you conduct penetration tests?

The industry, size, infrastructure complexity, legal constraints, and pace at which a company makes modifications to its systems and applications are some of the elements that affect how frequently penetration tests are conducted.

Industry Standards and Regulations,
Risk Profile,
Infrastructure Changes,
Major System Updates or Deployments,
Regular Scheduled Testing,
Incident or Breach, etc.

2: What Are Pen Testing Tools?

Some commonly used categories of penetration testing tools are as follows:

Vulnerability Scanners,
Exploitation Frameworks,
Network Scanners,
Web Application Scanners,
Password Cracking Tools,
Wireless Tools,
Social Engineering Tools,
Forensic Tools, etc.

3: What is penetration example?

Network penetration testing is one of the examples that we can give from the cluster of the number of penetration testing types.

Conclusion

In the bottom line, we would like to say that due to the surge in the number of cyber attacks on various IT infrastructures, it has now become the need of the hour to take good quality VAPT Services in Singapore by a company that offers world-class penetration testing services in Singapore like Craw Security. To get a quote at the earliest possibility, call +65-93515400.