Everything You Need to Know About a Penetration Test

Cybersecurity companies are offering various amazing security services to customers. Most MSSPs are offering penetration testing to their customers. Penetration tests help companies in finding vulnerabilities in their network. You can find weak points in your network by conducting these tests. However, most companies don’t know about these penetration tests. In this article, we are going to talk about the penetration test.

Definition of a Penetration test:

Penetration tests are helping companies in finding vulnerabilities in your network. This will help you in finding the best security measures for your company. You can also test the security measures which you are already using. In this, trusted individuals will use different attacking methods for attacking your network. Penetration testing tools are very important for uncovering weaknesses in your network. They will use simulated attacks for trying to hack your network.

Penetration tests are very important for organizations. Governments and businesses have finally understood the importance of remote connections and connectivity. Computers are always vulnerable to various hacking attacks. White hat hackers can help you in securing your system from attackers.

How does it work?

Penetration tests can work in various different works. There is no perfect testing method that you can always use. Cyber threats are evolving with time and you can’t always use the same method for testing your network.

You need to first find a white-hat hacker who will conduct this test. They will select a randomized date and time for testing your network. Your team members can use vulnerability management tools for finding the IP addresses of different IT assets. The penetration team will then conduct various attacks on your network. They will try to break through your security controls. Your IT team will try to contain and stop the attack.

However, the penetration team needs to be careful while performing this test. Sometimes these tests can cause actual damage to your systems. Thus, in some cases, your entire network can crash.

Why you should run a test?

Some of the benefits of running a penetration test are:

1. It will help you in finding vulnerabilities in your network. You can create an incident response plan after finding these vulnerabilities.
2. It will increase cybersecurity awareness. Your organization management will give more importance to the cybersecurity.

These things will ensure that you can improve your business’s cybersecurity. However, penetration testing is not a perfect solution. Your network assets will change with time. Also, the threat landscape is evolving with time and you need to deal with different attacks. You need to regularly run these penetration tests for protecting your network.

The frequency of these tests will depend on your organization. If you have a very large organization, then your IT assets will change periodically.

There are various different penetration testing approaches. Some attackers can’t execute tough attacks. Thus, sometimes you can ignore advanced attacks. We are going to talk about common penetration testing approaches.

1. Black Box Penetration Test

In this, the testers don’t know anything about the internal software or code. They also don’t have any access to sensitive information or access credentials. This type of testing is actually very realistic. The tester needs to think like an actual hacker. They have to think about different attacking methods while searching for vulnerabilities. This is the most correct form of security testing. However, these tests have actually time limit constraints. The tester will have access to a limited period of time. They need to evaluate the system and hack into the network. However, a hacker doesn’t have any time constraints. They can invest a lot of time hacking your network.

2. Gray Box Penetration Test

In this, the tester knows about your system and network. They might have access to your lower-level credentials. You can also give your network map to testers. This test is also very realistic as hackers will only attack after gaining some information about your business. The best thing about this test is that it will skip the reconnaissance step. Thus, the tester can directly jump to the actual pen test. They can quickly test your network.

3. White Box Penetration Test

In this, testers will have access to your systems. They can check your system for misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and poorly written code. Also, they will check your security measures. This is a very comprehensive method but sometimes hackers can exploit from the outsider. They can use unconventional tactics for hacking into your network. Thus, you should perform a white box test with gray or black-box testing.

There are various penetration testing tools available in the market. These tools will scan your code for loopholes and malicious scripts. This will decrease the probability of a security breach. You can use these tools for testing your network. These are the key features that should be in a penetration testing tool:

• Easy to use: There are many penetration testing tools that are very hard to use. You need a lot of knowledge for handling these tools. Sometimes these tools will miss vulnerabilities due to misconfigurations. Thus, you should look for a tool that is easy to use.
• Automated verification: A good tool will automatically check all the potential vulnerabilities.
• Vulnerability Prioritization: A good tool will automatically arrange the vulnerabilities according to their severity. This will ensure that testers know about the important security gaps. They will try to exploit the important vulnerabilities first.
• Detailed Reporting: A good tool will also generate a detailed and customizable log report. This will provide more information about the vulnerabilities present in your network.

Conclusion

Penetration testing will help you in testing your security controls. However, you need access to a good IT security team for performing these tests. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire can help you in locating security gaps in your network. They will test your critical applications and data. This will ensure that your critical data and applications are protected from attackers. If you need more information regarding penetration testing, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.