All about the pentest: the penetration test process and its benefits
With the rapid development of digitalisation, cybersecurity threats are becoming more sophisticated. It only takes a single weakness for a hacker to launch an attack against a company or organisation's IT system. But how can vulnerabilities be detected early and effective defences put in place? Penetration testing is the answer! But how does the penetration test take place? How can you help prevent attacks? In this article we will show you!
What is a pentest?
A pentest (penetration test) is a cybersecurity testing process that aims to identify weaknesses in an organisation's IT systems and verify their exploitability.
During the procedure ethical hackers - simulating the attackers' methods - are trying to get into the system by identifying vulnerabilities that a real cybercriminal could exploit.
The pentest is not only a technical assessment, but also a strategic tool to help companies improve their information security practices, avoid data theft and comply with industry standards.
Why is the pentest so important?
The digital world is constantly changing, and cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated with it. As new threats emerge every day, organisations need to not only respond to security challenges, but also proactively protect their systems.
A successful cyber-attack can cause serious problems, including:
- data loss and data theft
- business interruption
- financial losses
- legislative and regulatory implications
- competitive disadvantage
The pentest enables organisations to identify vulnerabilities in a timely manner and take action to address them.
Benefits of pentest for organisations
A pentest is not just a one-off inspection, but should be an integral part of your corporate security strategy. A single weakness can be enough to be abused by an attacker. A pentest helps to detect and eliminate these vulnerabilities in a timely manner, strengthening your company's defences against ever-changing cyber threats.
Now let's see the main advantages!
1. Preventing real cyber attacks
A well-timed penetration test can identify weaknesses that a hacker could exploit in a real attack. By identifying and fixing these vulnerabilities in a timely manner, a company can prevent data theft, ransomware attacks or other cyberattacks that could cause serious damage.
2. Increase customer confidence and brand reputation
Data security is now a competitive advantage. Customers are becoming more cybersecurity conscious and have greater confidence in companies that have a proven track record of operating secure systems. A successful pentest demonstrates that the organisation is doing everything it can to protect user data.
3. Compliance with legislation and industry standards
In many industries, legislation and standards require regular security audits of IT systems, for example:
- GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) - the EU data protection regulation, which requires data security to be ensured
- ISO 27001 - international information security standard
- PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) - a standard to ensure the protection of bank card data
- NIST and CIS standards - recommendations to improve the security of information infrastructures
A thorough pentest will help ensure compliance with these regulations, reduce legal risks and avoid fines.
4. Ensuring business continuity
A cyber attack can cause severe disruptions that can paralyse a company for days or weeks, making day-to-day operations impossible and resulting in significant business losses.
Pentest helps minimise such risks by identifying and eliminating vulnerabilities in systems before attacks occur. This allows the company to provide services to its customers without disruption from unexpected downtime or data loss.
5. Cost efficiency and risk management
Responding to a security incident and dealing with the resulting damage (e.g. data loss, fines, loss of business, reputational damage) can be much more expensive than conducting a preventive penetration test. Pentests allow a company to plan ahead and proactively manage risks, thereby reducing potential losses.
6. Human factor verification (Social Engineering tests)
Not all vulnerabilities are technical - in many cases, attackers exploit the human factor (e.g. phishing emails, manipulation, password sharing).
During the pentest, social engineering attack simulations can be carried out to help identify how vulnerable employees are to such threats and what security awareness training they need.
7. More effective security measures and improvements
The pentest results provide the company with concrete and targeted recommendations on how to strengthen its IT infrastructure.
These can be:
- System updates and configuration changes
- Implementing security protocols and procedures
- Using multi-factor authentication
- Strengthening password management rules
- Access rights review
What types of pentests exist?
There are different forms of penetration testing, depending on the system or attack vector being tested.
- Web application and API vulnerability scanning - Security analysis of web applications and APIs based on OWASP standards.
- Mobile application testing - Testing Android and iOS apps.
- Infrastructure testing - A comprehensive security audit of servers, network devices and cloud solutions.
- Testing thick client applications - Vulnerability analysis of local, installable software (e.g. Windows exe's).
- OSINT investigation - Analysis of public data to see what information has been leaked about an organisation.
- Social Engineering tests - Investigating the role of the human factor, for example through phishing attacks.
How is penetration testing done?
A comprehensive pentest consists of several steps to ensure that professionals can identify and analyse all possible vulnerabilities.
1. Gathering information
Testers first gather as much information as possible about the system under test, for example:
- Analysis of IP addresses and domain names
- Mapping of used technologies
- Analysis of publicly available information (OSINT)
This phase is crucial because the more an attacker - in this case, the ethical hacker - knows, the easier it is to find vulnerabilities.
2. Identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities
Once the information has been collected, the testers carry out vulnerability tests. Two main methods are used:
- Automated tools: Various software tools are used to search for known vulnerabilities.
- Manual tests: Experts use specific tests to try to exploit weaknesses.
Once a vulnerability is identified, testers test the depth to which an attacker can penetrate the system.
3. Attack simulation
In this phase, ethical hackers use various techniques to simulate an attack, such as:
- SQL Injection - attackers have access to databases
- Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) - malicious code can be injected into websites
- Privilege Escalation - obtain higher privileges in the system
- Social engineering - exploitation of the human factor (e.g. phishing)
4. Analysis of results and reporting
At the end of the pentest, the experts will produce a detailed report, including:
- The vulnerabilities identified
- The results of the attack simulations
- The assessment of risks
- Suggestions for solutions to eliminate the problems
Based on the report, the organisation can make decisions to strengthen the system's defences.
Don't let a hidden vulnerability put your company at risk! Contact us, and we help you create information security for your company!
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