Pentesting

pentest or ethical hacking

What is pentesting ?

A penetration test, also called a pen test or ethical hacking, is a cybersecurity technique that organizations use to identify, test and highlight vulnerabilities in their security posture. These penetration tests are often carried out by ethical hackers. These in-house employees or third parties mimic the strategies and actions of an attacker to evaluate the hackability of an organization’s computer systems, network or web applications. Organizations can also use pen testing to evaluate their adherence to compliance regulations.

White hat or Ethical Hacker ..

White hat hackers have permission from the organization to conduct security testing, and they work within the boundaries of legal and ethical frameworks. Their primary goal is to help organizations improve their security by discovering and reporting these vulnerabilities.

Ethical hackers use various tools, techniques, and methodologies to simulate real-world cyberattacks and assess the target system’s security posture. They often collaborate with the organization’s IT and security teams to remediate the identified vulnerabilities and prevent unauthorized access or data breaches.

White hat hackers can earn certifications like the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) or Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) to demonstrate their expertise and commitment to ethical hacking practices.

Need of Pentesting

1. Strengthen security processes and strategies: Executives at your organization can benefit from their knowledge of the security holes and the possible damage they could cause to the system’s efficiency and effectiveness. In addition to providing recommendations for their prompt remediation, a skilled penetration tester may assist you in building a solid information security infrastructure and determining where you should allocate your cybersecurity budget.
2. Uncover hidden system vulnerabilities before the hackers : A penetration test focuses on what is most likely to be exploited to better prioritize risk and use your resources effectively. The human element of a penetration test means that you can discover vulnerabilities that:

• Only appear through the combination of lower-risk flaws that attackers can exploit in a particular sequence.
• Depend on the human factor, as in the case of social engineering or human error, demonstrating the parts of security education that require work.
• Require additional validation after automated vulnerability screening of networks.

3. Competition and Rivalry : While your competitors may not be the one to perform cyber attacks on you, they could acquire this data indirectly. Cybercriminals like to publish their wins on public websites, such as Pastebin, or sell this information in the dark web in the form of cryptocurrencies. Your competitor may get hold of this information through one of the 2 possible ways and you may never know it. This goes back to the risk assessment to identify the threats to your proprietary data and its impact on your business.

4. Reputation of your organisation :Company’s reputation will definitely suffer when a data breach occurs and it is publicly announced. This may cause a loss of customer confidence and lead to a drop in revenue and profit. Your company’s share price will also be affected as the investors may worry about the above impact. As people get to understand about data privacy and how it affects them, the impact of a data breach will increase tremendously that could cause significant loss to the company.

Limitations of Pentesting

• Inconsistency. Pentesting is performed by specialized experts. However, the relative skill sets, backgrounds, tools, approaches, and strengths of these testers can vary substantially. Consequently, the outcomes and efficacy can vary from one engagement to the next.
• Constrained duration. Pentesting is a costly, resource intensive effort. Organizations may be able to enlist the services of a pentester for a single engagement, perhaps spanning a week or two, and repeating these engagements on an annual basis.
• Constrained testing scope. As the term would imply, pentesters are typically focused on penetration of networks, devices, and other assets. However, penetration is only a part of the entire cyberattack process, which also includes lateral movement, and ultimately the theft or unauthorized access or modification of data or assets.