Unraveling the Concept of Penetration Testing

To effectively counter a hacker , it is crucial to adopt a hacker’s mindset !

Hacking through a company’s security protection used to require a lot of time and skill. However, today’s technological advances have made it more tranquilised than ever for bad actors to find an organisation’s most vulnerable points.

Penetration Testing , also known as ” Pen Testing “ or “Ethical Hacking” is the practice of testing assurance in the security of an IT system by identifying the weaknesses in the system that an attacker could exploit. The goal of pentesting is to minimise the number of retroactive upgrades and maximise organisation’s security to build a trust-worthy brand.

Penetration testing is typically performed using manual or automated technologies , or sometimes testers may use a combination of both. Automated tools have the advantage of thoroughness and consistency. These tests are repeatable , so they can measure progress or compare different installations. The manual approach lets testers use their intuition.

5 Main Reasons Why Penetration Testing is so Crucial

To mitigate the risk of a security incident , we need to be able to prevent, detect , respond and recover from such attacks. In the end, the main goal is to identify weaknesses in a network , machine or a piece of software. We have several side goals that pen testing activities can accomplish. Let’s discover the main four points below:
Data Security Assurance: In the contemporary business landscape, safeguarding data stands as a paramount concern. Failing to secure your company and customer data leaves you vulnerable to significant breaches in the future. A penetration test acts as a vital checkpoint, verifying that none of your data is accessible to skilled hackers. If any vulnerabilities are detected, the test promptly identifies them. Consequently, you can swiftly implement necessary system modifications based on the insights gathered from the test results. This proactive approach guarantees that your data attains the highest possible level of security, thereby fortifying your overall data protection measures.
Adherence to compliance security policies :Regulations such as HIPAA and PCI require particular types of safeguards. Not protecting your organization’systems can put you at risk of cyber attacks that can disrupt your business, cause reputational damage and result in hefty fines.  A penetration test can help ensure if the protections are in place and work effectively.
Incident Response Enhancement :Through penetration testing services, businesses can develop and refine their incident response plans. By understanding the potential entry points and attack vectors, organizations can streamline their response procedures, ensuring they are well-equipped to detect, contain, eradicate, and recover from security breaches effectively. This proactive approach not only minimizes the impact of incidents but also reduces the downtime and financial losses associated with cyberattacks. Ultimately, penetration testing serves as a critical tool in fortifying an organization’s resilience against evolving cyber threats.
Enhance Customer Trust : Data breaches can erode customer’s trust and potentially damage a company’s reputation. Penetration testing minimizes the risk of attacks and assures clients that their data is secure and protected.
Recognising and Ranking Potential Risks : Conducting routine penetration tests enables your company to assess the security of web applications as well as internal and external networks. This process aids in determining the essential security measures required to achieve the level of protection necessary for safeguarding your organization’s personnel and resources. By prioritising these identified risks, organisations gain a strategic edge, allowing them to anticipate potential threats and proactively thwart malicious attacks

Penetration Testing Strategies

External Testing : It takes the perspective of an attacker from outside who targets the assets of a company which are visible on the internet. For example , the web application itself, the company website, the domain name servers (DNS) , the FTP and the email. The goal is to gain access and extract data.
Internal Testing : In an internal test, a tester with access to an application behind its firewall stimulates an attack by a malicious insider.This is one of the most common internal manual penetration testing scenarios , which involves getting into the account of a team member whose credentials are compromised due to a phishing attack. Here, the objective is to secure the system from an attacker who already has access internally. It is important for any organisation to have dynamic and regular monitoring of their system.
Blind Testing :In such tests, the ethical hacker is given only the name of the company whose system they are testing with no background information. Also known as the “Closed Box Penetration Test “ , this type of test provides the software teams a real-time look into how a malicious threat actor gains entry into the system. This type of pen testing requires a considerable amount of time for recognition and can be exorbitant.
Double-Blind Testing : In this test, the security team has no idea whether the security test has been appropriately performed . This also means that the security experts have no time to strengthen their defences before an attempted breach. It is very similar to a real-life attack scenario. This type of pentesting can help test an organization’s security , response procedures and incident identification.
Targeted Testing : It is a commonly used pentesting where , an ethical hacker and security teams work hand-in-hand to keep each other apprised of their capabilities. Targeted testing offers valuable insights that provide real-time feedback on a hacker’s thought process and subsequent exploits. They are also called “lights-on” as everyone who runs the pen-tests knows that it is being carried out and the start & end time for the pen-test.

3 Important Categories used to approach Penetration Testing

An Ethical hacker may perform the testing internally or externally , with or without prior knowledge of the system. His main goal is to identify safety deficiencies in your network system that may open the door to the attacker. Let us review the three main penetration testing methods , each with a varying level of information provided to the tester before and during the assessment :

  1. Black Box penetration Testing : During this type of test, the penetration testers are provided with no prior knowledge or access to the system’s source code or configuration. Instead , the testers use their expertise to analyze the target system’s behavior and attempt to exploit any discovered vulnerabilities.
    The Tester literally goes in blind to find the vulnerabilities independently using both automated and manual Pen-Testing techniques, vulnerability scans , social engineering attacks Trial by error basis. The Black box Penetration test is also known as the “Closed-Box” Penetration Test.
    This particular test is one of the most accurate representation of “Real Cyber Attack“ because just like the hacker, the Penetration Tester too has zero knowledge about the systems running in the organization have to carry out the surveillance independently.
  2. Grey Box Penetration Testing : In this category of penetration testing, the tester is granted some more information to break into the client security system. Also known as the “Translucent Box” , here the tester requires a solid understanding of the target environment before any testing is attempted. This approach is used more commonly in controlled environments like military and intelligence agencies.
    Grey Box Pen Testing is quite essential to any quality assurance process, as it can help identify potential problems before they cause significant issues. It is crucial for complex systems , where a small error can have a ripple effect.
  3. White Box Penetration Testing : This kind of Penetration testing , also known as “Crystal” or “Oblique Box Pen-Testing” falls on the opposite side of the spectrum in which the tester is provided with an open access to all the information regarding the system and its architecture. This allows the pentester to go through all the possible areas to get a clear picture of the system and find the vulnerabilities in it. White Box testing aims to provide an in-depth security audit providing as much detailing as possible to the vulnerabilities.

Methodologies to Uncover the Vulnerabilities

Depending upon the purpose and objectives , there are various types of Pentesting that a company can use to audit the security of a business’s infrastructure. It is best to conduct these tests on your applications as part of your security regime. The most common ones are as follows :

  1. Network Security Testing: It is a service that businesses pay for , in order to discover their weakest points. In doing so , they allow the ethical hackers to attempt to break into their network by using any means necessary. This helps in evaluating vulnerabilities in the network infrastructure including servers, firewalls, routers and printers.
    Network Security Testing serves offers several benefits to your business like
  • Preventing Network & Data breaches
  • Understanding your network benchmarks
  • Identifying security flaws
  • Assessing risk
  • Web Application Test : Web application penetration testing focuses on discovering weaknesses of web apps or API’s . The web application testing should include :
    • Unit Testing : Testing parts of the code base through unit tests in Java and Python.
    • System Testing :  Testing the workings of the website at the level of user interface and features like login, sign-up which validate parts of the website working together
    • Acceptance Testing :  This is usually the final stage of testing in which the fully assembled application with data is tested in a live or pre-production environment. This involves testing with actual or mock users.
  • Client Side Testing :  This type of testing focuses on the vulnerabilities in the front-end of the organization such as Email Clients, Web Browsers , Microsoft Word , Adobe Acrobat, Macromedia Flash and others. Client Side security assessments are tedious if done manually.
  • Wireless Network Testing  :  Wireless penetration testing analyses the security of  the connections between devices connected to a business wifi including :
    • Smartphones
    • Laptops
    • Tablets
    • Bluetooth Devices

    and any other device that can connect to the internet. By putting the security of your
    wireless footprint to the test , penetration testers can evaluate your security and
    propose solutions to strengthen it.

  • Social Engineering : It is a technique used by ethical hackers to test and explore the security vulnerabilities from a cyber intruder practice.  It includes both physical and remote testing .
    • Remote Testing tries to trick a user into giving sensitive information such as their logon credentials.
    • Physical Penetration Testing  analyses ways where-in someone can physically gain access to sensitive data such as doors that have been left unlocked , financial files that have been left open on the employee’s desk.

The Bottom Line

With cyber-attacks increasingly sophisticated and forever on the rise , it is important than ever that organizations perform regular penetration testing to identify their black holes and ensure that cyber controls are working as intended. Think of penetration tests as regular medical check-ups. Consistently checking the robustness of cybersecurity measures is vital for any business.  These tests help the organization take a proactive stance in order to develop effective controls that are able to keep up with the ever evolving cyber threat landscape.