What is Penetration Testing, and How is it Done?
Digitalisation is crucial for any business these days. While it has many benefits, a computer system on the web without protection against cyber attacks can do more harm than good for any business. Hence it is the need of the hour for businesses to be aware of cyber attacks and the need to gauge the capacity of the cybersecurity system against possible attacks.
Penetration testing, also called pen testing, is how businesses can check the adequacy of security controls.
This article talks about pen testing and the different methods used in it.
What is pen testing?
Pen testing is how ethical hackers conduct planned cyber attacks on a company’s computer system to check its security vulnerabilities. It is an authorised process in which a company appoints hackers to check their digital infrastructure.
Pen tests are conducted by ethical hackers who are brought in by the company on contracts. They will be certified professionals who have commendable experience and expertise in pen-testing.
Conducting a pen test allows hackers to find and rectify the vulnerabilities of a system so that the computer system’s security is enhanced.
What are the different testing methods used in penetration testing?
- External testing- It is the primary level of testing. At this level, direct details are found in the company’s web and sought to leak valuable information about the website and hence gain access to the company’s digital infrastructure.
At this level, everything ranging from a company’s email to domain name servers(DNS) is analysed.
- Internal testing- In this type of testing, the attack is set from inside. It is a simulation of an employee using his credentials in an unauthorised way or an employee whose credentials were stolen through phishing.
In this case, the hacker(tester) doesn’t have to break the firewall as he is an insider or to pose as an insider.
- Blind testing- This type of test simulates an attack from a real black hat hacker and thus enables the company to know how an actual hacker would access their computer systems.
In this, the tester is only given the target company’s name into whose web he has to break into. This kind of penetration testing is also called closed-box testing.
- Double-blind testing- In this type of testing, the attack happens without the knowledge of the target company. These security systems won’t be hyper-vigil.
In this kind of attack, the company can understand how a hacker would enter their system and whether the company’s security services are adequate to combat it. This kind of testing is called a covert pen test.
- Targeted testing- Target testing is like a game of chess. It is a play between the security personnel and the hackers where each of them tries to outdo the other.
This kind of simulation is beneficial for the company as it is a great way for the security personnel to observe, learn and take opinions from a hacker. To put it simply, it is important to think of the hacker’s way to combat his attacks.
What is the next step after a pen test?
After a pen test, the ethical hacker who was brought on contract by the company hands over the testing results. This enables companies to strengthen their existing security systems by upgrading. These upgrades can include DDoS mitigation, new web application firewalls, etc.
