With the use of technology, there has been an advent growth in cyber-attacks. These attacks may affect the IT infrastructure of a business to a remarkable extent. And hence, it becomes important for your business to carry out systematic penetration testing and vulnerability scans to detect vulnerabilities and make certain that the cyber controls are functioning. But what is penetration testing?
Penetration Testing
Penetration testing is an endorsed and proactive exertion to get to the IT infrastructure’s security by means of mindfully endeavoring to exploit vulnerabilities of the systems.
It compromises of the operating system, wrong configuration, service and application errors, and even risky end-user behavior. These evaluations are additionally helpful in adjusting the viability of defensive mechanism and adherence of end-user to the security methodology.
Penetration testing, which is in like manner called as pen testing, can be refined either through manual or automatic processes and is normally engaged towards the following endpoints.
Servers
Network endpoints
Wireless networks
Network security devices include routers, firewalls, and network intrusion devices.
Mobile and wireless devices
In any case, the primary concern to be noted is that the actual penetration test simply doesn't stop at this level. The basic goal is to go the degree that profound into the IT infrastructure to get to the electronic assets of an association.
The principle objective is to strike hard the first time through as well as to strike increasingly harder covertly at irregular occasions too.
What Does Penetration Testing Involve?
To uncover the vulnerabilities which can be found in type or kind of Web Application, there are three types of penetration testing which can be used, which are according to the following:
Black Box Penetration Testing
White Box Penetration Testing
Grey Box Penetration Testing
Black Box Penetration Testing: In this sort of penetration testing, a tester has no clue about the systems he/she is going to test. The specific person is just intrigued to assemble data about the target network or system. For instance, in black box testing, a tester just recognizes what result ought to be expected but has no clue about how the result will be shown up. He doesn't analyze any programming codes.
Advantages of Black Box Testing
A black box penetration testing has the following advantages –
A black box penetration tester need not has to be an expert, because such type of testing does not demand knowledge of a specific language.
A black box tester confirms inconsistencies in the actual system and the specifications.
Tests are commonly led with the viewpoint of a client, and not the designer.
White Box Penetration Testing: This sort of testing is comprehensive testing. In white-box penetration testing a tester is provided with all the required information about systems and also networks such as Schema, OS details, Source code, IP address etc. It is normally considered as stimulation of attack by an internal source. This kind of testing is also called as glass box, clear box, structural and open box testing.
A white box penetration tester likewise looks at the code inclusion and does different kinds of testing, including data flow testing, loop testing, path testing, and so forth.
Advantages of White Box Penetration Testing
A white box penetration testing has the following advantages –
A white box tester ensures that all independent paths of a module have been exercised.
A white box tester ensures that each legitimate choice have been affirmed alongside obvious worth and bogus worth.
A white box analyzer finds typographical mistakes and does linguistic structure checking.
White box testers can find the design errors that may have occurred considering the complexity between the reasonable movement of the program and the genuine execution.
Grey Box Penetration Testing: In this sort of testing a tester when in doubt gives halfway or confined information about the interior subtleties of the program system. This kind of testing can be considered as an assault by an external aggressor who had increased ill-conceived access to an association's system network infrastructure.
Advantages of Grey Box Penetration Testing
A grey box penetration testing has the following advantages
As a grey box tester does not need access of source code, it is non-intrusive and unbiased.
There's a reasonable contrast between a developer and a tester, so there is least danger of individual clash.
There's no need for giving internal information about the program functions and different operations.
Types of Penetration Testing
Network Service Tests – This is one of the basic types of penetration testing performed. Its purpose is to identify security weakness or vulnerabilities in the infrastructure of a company. This kind of tests can be done at the place of a business or remotely.
Web Application Tests – This is a penetration testing procedure, which is done to discover vulnerabilities or security weakness in web-based applications. It is generally considered as a deeper dive of the test and is more thorough and detailed.
Client-Side Tests - This type of penetration testing is done to discover vulnerabilities or security weakness in client side applications and can easily be hacked by hackers.
Wireless Network Tests – As the name suggests, it’s a type of penetration testing that involves examining of all wireless devices of a company including smartphones, laptops, notebooks etc.
Social Engineering Tests - This is a type of penetration testing that involves getting of confidential or proprietary information by tricking any employee of a company to bring out such items.
Advantages of Penetration Testing
There are numerous advantages of penetration testing; some of the advantages are mentioned below.
Detects and arranges security dangers: Penetrating tests assesses the capacity of a company to shield its applications, networks users and endpoints from inside and outer attempts to avoid its security controls so as to accomplish favoured or unapproved access to protected assets.
Penetration test offers comprehensive information on concrete and vulnerable security threats. By carrying out a penetration tests, an organization can proactively recognize which vulnerabilities are very serious, which are not worthy, and which are wrong positives.
Penetration testing bolsters companies intending to the general auditing/ compliance facets of methodology, for example, HIPAA, SARBANES - OXLEY and GLBA, and precisely reports testing necessities perceived in the government NIST/FISMA and PCI-DSS orders.
Activ ICT is one of the best cyber security consulting firms in Australia that offers its services all over Australia. The cyber security team of the company has good experience of providing cyber security services in various sectors, including banking, wholesale customer, and small-medium businesses, etc.
It exists to battle the expansion of malicious code and aides in early discovery and continuous checking of every single electronic resource. Various types of cyber security services offered by Activ ICT include managed next-generation firewall, site protect, cyber security audit etc.
