What Is Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing, or pen testing for short, serves as a proactive measure to identify vulnerabilities within an organisation’s systems and networks. This process involves simulating real cyber-attack scenarios on IT infrastructure to evaluate its security posture and identify critical weaknesses in a system’s defences.

During a penetration test, cybersecurity professionals utilise the same tools and cyber-attacks as threat actors to pinpoint and demonstrate the organisational impacts of potential system weaknesses. Penetration tests typically simulate a variety of cyber-attacks that could threaten an organisation. They can then examine whether a system is resilient enough to withstand attacks from both authenticated and unauthenticated positions.

Given the proper scope, a “pen test” can dive into any aspect of an organisation’s IT and computer system. The outcome helps organisations identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in their security posture to subsequently take remedial steps before attackers can exploit them.

Pen Testers, also known as “penetration testers”, are highly skilled cybersecurity experts who evaluate the defence mechanisms of computer systems, networks, and applications for organisations to uncover any potential vulnerabilities. They help organisations identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities and weaknesses in their digital infrastructure.

The primary role of pen testers is to simulate real-world cyber-attacks on an organisation’s systems to identify potential vulnerabilities that could result in data breaches, account takeovers, and other security threats. Pen testers employ various approaches and tactics to breach security and gain access to confidential info or systems. Doing so, they help organisations understand their security weaknesses and the appropriate measures to mitigate them.

Penetration testing is a critical practice of immense value for fortifying an organisation’s security posture. This comprehensive approach not only helps identify potential risks but also offers a range of other essential benefits that contribute to safeguarding valuable assets and sensitive data.

1. Risk Identification and Prioritisation

Regular penetration testing empowers organisations to comprehensively evaluate their web applications, internal networks, and external systems’ security. Through meticulous assessments, organisations gain crucial insights into potential vulnerabilities and threats. This process unveils the security controls required to achieve the desired level of protection for the organisation’s employees and assets. The knowledge facilitates prioritisation, enabling proactive risk management and preventing malicious attacks.

2. Understand System Strengths and Weaknesses

Penetration testing is a powerful tool for identifying not only the vulnerabilities but also the strengths of an organisation’s security systems. By conducting thorough analyses, businesses can concentrate on enhancing their strong points while addressing any security weaknesses. This focused approach leads to more resilient security measures and improved overall protection against myriad cyber threats.

3. Enhance the Protection of Customer Data

In the digital age, safeguarding customer data is of utmost importance. And that’s where penetration testing plays a crucial role by meticulously identifying potential vulnerabilities that malicious actors could exploit to compromise sensitive information. By identifying and rectifying these weaknesses, organisations can mitigate costly data breaches and uphold the trust and confidence of their valued customers, thereby preserving their reputation and credibility.

4. Fulfil Compliance Requirements

In today’s regulatory landscape, businesses must adhere to stringent security and compliance standards set forth by industry regulations. Penetration testing assists organisations in meeting these requirements. An organisation’s commitment to safeguarding data and complying with industry-specific regulations is reflected in conducting thorough assessments and implementing the necessary security measures.

5. Proactive Prevention of Unauthorised Access

Penetration testing enables organisations to adopt a proactive stance in evaluating the true resilience of their IT infrastructure against real-world threats. By simulating real-world attacks, businesses can identify potential security gaps and vulnerabilities before malicious hackers exploit them. The organisation’s cybersecurity can then take appropriate measures to reduce the likelihood of successful cyber intrusions.

In conclusion, penetration testing is a pivotal practice that grants organisations visibility into the genuine threats to their security. By exposing potential vulnerabilities and providing actionable steps for remediation, this process prompts businesses to strengthen their security posture in a more targeted and methodical way. The benefits of regular penetration testing far outweigh any potential drawbacks, making it an indispensable component of any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.

Penetration testing involves a series of steps, each designed to probe and assess the security posture of an organisation’s systems. This systematic approach is as follows:

1. Planning and Reconnaissance: The first step in penetration testing is planning and reconnaissance. Information about the target systems is gathered to identify potential entry points for exploitation.
2. Scanning: Scanning uses various tools and techniques to gather information about the target systems. This step involves using various methods to obtain data that could point out any weaknesses in the target system.
3. Gaining Access: Once vulnerabilities are identified, the next step is to exploit them and gain unauthorised access to the target systems. Access is achieved using techniques like password cracking, social engineering, or exploiting software vulnerabilities.
4. Maintaining Access: After gaining access, the penetration tester maintains that access for an extended period to explore the target systems further and gather more information about potential vulnerabilities.
5. Analysis: In this phase, the pen tester analyses the test results and prepares a report outlining the identified vulnerabilities, methods used to exploit them, and recommendations for remediation.
6. Reporting: After completing the penetration testing, a comprehensive report of discovered vulnerabilities, their impacts, and mitigation suggestions is produced for review. This report includes information about vulnerabilities, their potential impact, and recommendations for remediation.

These steps can vary depending on the methodology used by the tester or the organisation. But most penetration tests typically involve multiple stages or phases to systematically identify and remediate potential gaps in a system’s security defences.

To ensure comprehensive security across different channels and threat verticals, specialised pen testers employ various types of penetration tests. Some of the most common types include:

Network Penetration Testing

Reconnaissance is performed on an organisation’s network infrastructure to find potential weaknesses that could be exploited during an actual attack. Network pen testing reveals how well-equipped your security teams are against threats and provides insights for threat modelling.

Web Application Penetration Testing

Web application penetration testing assesses the security of web applications and websites. Testers attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in the application’s code, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and insecure direct object references. The goal is to uncover potential weaknesses that could lead to unauthorised access or compromised sensitive data.

Wireless Penetration Testing

This type of penetration test evaluates the security of an organisation’s wireless networks, including WiFi and Bluetooth connections. Testers look for weak encryption, unauthorised access points, and other vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to gain unauthorised access to the network.

Social Engineering Penetration Testing

Social engineering pen tests mimic techniques used by attackers to exploit human error rather than software flaws, such as phishing, impersonation, pretexting, and baiting scams aimed at deceiving employees into divulging sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security.

Physical Penetration Testing

This method assesses the effectiveness of physical barriers, such as locks or biometric systems, in preventing unauthorised access to critical assets. Testers attempt to gain unauthorised physical access to buildings, server rooms, and other sensitive areas to evaluate the effectiveness of physical security measures.

Mobile App Penetration Testing

Mobile application pen testing evaluates the security of mobile apps running on various platforms (iOS, Android, etc.). Testers examine the app’s code and configurations to pinpoint vulnerabilities that could lead to unauthorised access or data leaks.

Cloud Penetration Testing

As more organisations move their data and infrastructure to the cloud, cloud penetration testing has become essential. This type of testing assesses the security of cloud-based services and configurations, ensuring that data and resources are adequately protected.

IoT (Internet of Things) Penetration Testing

With the increasing prevalence of IoT devices, assessing their security is crucial. IoT penetration testing involves evaluating the security of connected devices and their communication protocols to prevent potential cyber risks.

Each type of penetration test serves a specific purpose and helps organisations identify weaknesses in their security defences, allowing them to take appropriate measures to strengthen their overall security posture. Combining multiple types of penetration tests provides a deeper understanding of an organisation’s security landscape.

The level of access achieved in a penetration test depends on its goals, scope, and the permissions granted by the organisation. Prior agreement and authorisation from the organisation ensure compliance and prevent unintended consequences.

While these tools are valuable for penetration testing, they should only be used ethically and with proper authorisation. Unauthorised use of such tools may lead to legal consequences and harm systems or networks. Always ensure you have permission to conduct penetration testing before using these tools on any target.

The conclusion of penetration testing doesn’t signify an end but rather a transition into new stages. These phases are critical in improving your organisation’s security posture and include analysing results, reporting findings to relevant teams, implementing remediation measures, and performing retests.

Report Findings

Upon completion of penetration testing, it’s time to document and summarise any discovered vulnerabilities or weaknesses in a report detailing their severity, potential impact, and recommended remediation steps. This involves documenting and summarising the vulnerabilities and weaknesses found during the test. The report should give an exhaustive account of each defect, such as its level of seriousness, possible consequences, and recommended solutions.

Implement Remediation Measures

Once the vulnerabilities have been identified and documented, addressing them is critical. Remedial actions may involve patching software, updating configurations, or implementing additional security controls. The goal is to mitigate the identified vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of a successful cyber-attack.

Perform Retests

After the remediation measures have been implemented, it is crucial to perform retests to ensure that the vulnerabilities have been effectively addressed. Another round of penetration testing verifies that the identified vulnerabilities have been patched or mitigated. Retesting helps validate the effectiveness of the remediation measures and provides assurance that the organisation’s security posture has improved.

While Proofpoint does not offer penetration testing services, the company does provide solutions to support an organisation’s pen testing efforts.

Proofpoint’s Security Awareness Training programme includes phishing simulation tests to assess your organisation’s security posture and identify areas that need improvement. The programme also includes knowledge and culture assessments to help organisations understand user cybersecurity knowledge and programme gaps.

Proofpoint’s Targeted Attack Protection is a solution that provides protection against targeted cyber threats, such as spear-phishing and business email compromise (BEC). It includes threat intelligence, URL defence, and attachment defence.

Additionally, Proofpoint’s Information Protection and Cloud Security Solutions help organisations protect against data loss and insider threats across cloud applications, email, and endpoints. It includes data loss prevention, encryption, and user behaviour analytics.

Proofpoint’s machine learning and multilayered detection techniques can help to dynamically identify and block phishing, impostor threats, and other attacks that pen testing seeks to optimise. To learn more, contact Proofpoint.