Content 1. What is Penetration Testing? 2. What are the benefits with Pen Testing? 3. What are the different types of Pen Testing? 4. Who performs Pen Testing and what are the roles & responsibilities of Pen Testers 5. Differences between Manual and Automated Penetration Testing 6. What are the phases of Penetration Testing? 7. What are the different approaches to Pen Testing? 8. What are the important Penetration Testing Tools? 9. Conclusion

What is Penetration Testing?

Pen testing or penetration testing is an ethical hacking process which involves assessing an application or an organization’s infrastructure for different types of vulnerabilities. This process of pen testing helps to exploit the various vulnerabilities within the system and the reasons for these vulnerabilities include certain misconfigurations, poorly designed architecture, insecure code, etc.

Thus, by performing pen testing, it eventually helps to identify vulnerabilities and the process delivers actionable reports that clearly explain each vulnerability, specifically how to exploit them along with how to fix them. Essentially, each of the vulnerability identified is given a specified rating with which the actionable remediation should be planned by the organizations.

Typically, a pen test is an ethical attack simulation that is performed to validate the effectiveness of security controls in a particular environment and highlights the possible vulnerabilities. This pen testing process involves the usage of various manual or automated techniques to simulate an attack on an organization’s information security (in a well informed environment to the organization so there is no actual data loss). The ethical hacking process could be run be from on company’s infrastructure or on employees within the same organization to test the security.

Primarily, businesses that store and access sensitive or private data such as banks, financial institutions, healthcare providers, etc. should adopt this form of testing to safeguard them from any possible vulnerabilities. Thus, businesses adopting pen testing tend to achieve many benefits by leveraging this method of testing.

What are the benefits with Pen Testing?

– Helps to identify vulnerabilities that would remain unidentified otherwise

– Helps to discover new threats by any possible attackers or intruders

– Helps to identify real-time vulnerabilities within systems and web applications

– Helps to test the effectiveness of web application firewalls

– Helps to test cyber-defence capability of the organization

– Helps to identify and showcase real-time risks and vulnerabilities

– Helps to find any possible insecurity within the system infrastructure network or an application

What are the different types of Pen Testing?

Network penetration testing:

In this type of pen testing, the physical structure of the system is checked primarily to identify risks in the network of the organization. In this testing, the penetration tester performs tests in the organization’s network and tries to find out flaws in the design, operation, or implementation of the respective company’s network. Various components of the organization such as computers, modems, remote access devices are all checked by the tester to exploit the possible vulnerabilities.

Physical penetration testing:

This method of physical penetration testing is done to simulate the real-world threats. The pen tester acts as a cyber-attacker and tries to break the physical barrier of security. This test is done to check for the vulnerabilities in physical controls like security cameras, lockers, barriers, sensors, etc.

Web application penetration testing:

This method of pen testing is done to check vulnerabilities or weaknesses within web-based applications. The web penetration testing looks out for any security issues that might occur due to insecure development due to design or code and identified potential vulnerabilities within websites and web apps. This type of testing is most needed for online shopping websites, banking apps, and other eCommerce websites which deal with online transactions.

Wireless network penetration testing:

This form of pen testing is done to examine the connection between all devices like laptops, computers, tablets, smart-phones, etc, that are connected to the organization’s Wifi. This form of pen testing is done to prevent any data leakage that can happen while sharing data from one device to another device through the Wifi network.

Who performs Pen Testing and what are the roles & responsibilities of Pen Testers:

The penetration testing is conducted by pen testers who design and plan simulations and security assessments that are designed to probe any potential weaknesses within the system or IT infrastructure or web apps.

They are also responsible to document all the findings and deliver them to the clients or employees or to the organization. These pen testers perform the process of this testing either manually or by using certain set of automated tools and there are basic differences between these methods of testing.

Differences between Manual and Automated Penetration Testing

What are the phases of Penetration Testing?

– Pre-engagement activities

– Reconnaissance phase

– Threat modelling & vulnerability identification

– Exploitation phase & post exploitation

– Comprehensive reporting

– Resolution phase

– Re-testing phase

What are the different approaches to Pen Testing?

Depending up on the level of information that is available to the pen tester, there are three types of approaches to pen testing.

Black box:

Black box pen testing is also commonly known as external penetration testing. In this approach, the pen tester has no information about the IT infrastructure of the organization. This process appears to be more like simulation of real-world cyber-attack to check the vulnerabilities in the system.

Specifically, in this method, the pen testers act as cyber-attackers and try to exploit the vulnerabilities that exist in the system. This process usually takes a lot of time and can take even up to six weeks to complete.

White box:

White box penetration testing is also known as internal penetration testing, clear box, or even known as glass box penetration testing. In this approach of pen testing, the pen tester is provided with the complete information of the IT Infrastructure, source code, and environment.

It is a much detailed and in-depth type of pen test done wherein every area is checked such as the quality of code and the basic design of the application. Moreover, this type of pen testing approach usually takes two to three weeks to get completed.

Gray box:

In this approach of penetration testing, the pen tester is provided with partial information of IT infrastructure, and code structure. It is a more focused approach as the pen tester has partial knowledge or access to internal network or web application and can focus some effort on exploiting the possible vulnerabilities which typically saves a lot of time and cost.

What are the important Penetration Testing Tools?

SQLMap:

It is an open-source tool used in penetration testing to detect flaws with an SQL Injection into an application. It automates the process of penetration testing and this tool supports many platforms like Windows, Linux, Mac, etc.

W3af:

The web application attack and audit framework (W3af) is used to find any weaknesses or vulnerabilities in web-based applications. It is used to remove threats such as DNS, cache poisoning, cookie handling, proxy support, etc.

Wireshark:

This is an open source tool and is available for many operating systems such as Windows, Solaris, Linux, etc. With this tool, the pen tester one can easily capture and interpret network packets. This tool provides both offline analysis and live-capture options.

Metasploit:

It is one of the most commonly used penetration testing tools in the world. It is an open source tool that allows the user to verify and manage security assessments, helps in identifying flaws, setting up a defence, etc.

NMAP:

It is also called network mapper and is used to find the gaps or issues in the network environment of the organization. This tool is also used for auditing purposes.

Nessus:

It is one of the most trusted pen testing tools by many companies across the world. It helps in scanning IP addresses, websites, and completing sensitive data searches.

John the Ripper Password Cracker:

It is an open-source software which is used to detect vulnerabilities in passwords. This tool automatically identifies different password hashes and finds issues with the passwords within the database. Its pro version is available for Mac, Linux, Hash Suite, and Hash Suite Droid.

Conclusion:

Penetration testing is an effective testing process that helps to uncover the critical security issues of your system to check for exploitable vulnerabilities to their IT Infrastructure, or web applications. As cyber threats continue to increase, it has become essential for companies to keep their IT infrastructure, web apps and systems safe and secure from any possible threats and vulnerabilities. Therefore, penetration testing has become so important in today’s digital world with rampant cyber-attacks on the go.

TestingXperts with its team of highly skilled security and pen testers ensures the best pen testing services to give you the complete benefit and helps to identify any possible vulnerabilities within your systems or IT infrastructure or web apps. Get in touch with our security testing experts today.

The post Penetration Testing – A Basic Guide for Beginners first appeared on TestingXperts.

Security vulnerabilities are a reality faced by the digital world at a rapid speed. Given this reality, penetration testing (also known as Pen-Testing) has become a critical method for protecting systems and applications from security vulnerabilities.

Pen-test assesses the security posture and discovers possible defects that could allow malicious individuals/organizations to compromise the security’s main pillars, i.e. Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability.

Contents 1. Penetration Testing Role 2. What are the types of penetration testing? 3. Why Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS)? 4. Major Benefits of Penetration testing Services? 5. What are the tools for Pen testing? 6. Why Outsource PTaaS? 7. What factors should be considered while opting services from PTaaS provider? 8. Why Choose TestingXperts?

Penetration Testing Role

The goal of this exercise is to uncover vulnerabilities in a target system so the team of developers can take action to correct them. Talking about pen-testers, they act as real attackers, attempting to compromise the system to learn the effectiveness of the performed DDoS and cyber attacks.

What are the types of penetration testing?

Penetration Testing on Wireless Networks:

In this type of testing, all wireless devices that are used by an enterprise such as laptops, notebooks, smartphones, etc. are tested. This type of testing helps in finding vulnerabilities of admin credentials, wireless protocols, and wireless access points.

Physical Penetration Testing:

This type of penetration testing is practiced in order to stop the unauthorized control or access on the physical components such as sensors, cameras, motion detectors, etc.

Application Penetration Testing:

This testing practice discovers the security threats and weak points in a web application. It is the process that simulates the app from attacks by monitoring the systems and firewalls.

Social Engineering Test:

This testing practice will help an enterprise to find the threat actors who are trying to lure the employees with the methods of manipulation or influence for achieving control over system and enterprise’s sensitive data.

Network Penetration Testing:

In this testing method, the vulnerabilities and weaknesses in network infrastructure are identified. This method performs a thorough examination on several software packages such as MySQL, File transfer protocol, SQL server, Secure Shell (SSH), etc.

Denial of Service (DoS) testing:

This method of testing is performed in both ways, i.e. using automated tools and manual methods. And, the different types of Dos tests are classified as flooding attacks and software exploits. The DoS formats can occur in various formats such as half-open SYN attack, resource overload, flood attacks, etc.

Pen-tester is likely to make use of the standard hacking tools to check for vulnerabilities. However, various challenges are involved with the traditional pen testing model, which is the reason, companies are moving towards the new Pen Testing as a Service model comprising of data, technology, and talent to eliminate the security challenges for modern applications. This methodology applies a SaaS security platform to pen testing to boost workflow efficiencies.

Why Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS)?

A company’s security stance is continuously changing in-line with the growing risks. A traditional penetration testing services is a point in time evaluation. However, PTaaS involves a continuous cycle of testing and remediation. It suggests that to combat the changing security stance of the company, there must be an on-going program of testing and management. The PTaaS methodology recognizes, tests and validates the entire platform stack. From the operating system to the SSL certificate, PTaaS is about creating a system of automatic checks and monitoring to protect the smallest features of the software eco-system.

Major Benefits of Penetration testing Services?

– Continuous Security Management: PTaaS encompasses continuous security management through all-encompassing managed services

– Frequent Vulnerability Scanning: Unlike the traditional penetration testing, in PTaaS, you can receive access to regular vulnerability scanning report

– Automatic Track Changes: PTaaS comprises of an automatic track changes feature that would ensure traceability of improvements in the application security.

What are the tools for Pen testing?

OWASP:

The Open Web Application is a non-profit organization that is running several projects to improve the security of software. A few of the flagship tools of this tool are ZAP, OWASP Web Testing Environment Project, OWASP Dependency-Check, etc.

W3af:

This tool is popularly used to audit framework and protect the app from the web application attacks. Generally, this tool has three types of plugins namely, audit, discovery, and attack. It has a good number of features to prevent vulnerabilities such as cookie handling, DNS cache, proxy support, etc.

Acunetix:

This tool is known for providing complete automation penetration testing services. The security scanner scans applications available on JavaScript, single-page applications, HTML5, etc. With this tool, a tester can audit complicated web applications, clear the compliance issues, and manage the reports on web and network vulnerabilities.

BurpSuite:

The software of this tool known as a commercial product can work for web application scanning, crawling content, intercepting proxy, functionality, and many more. The main advantage of this tool is that it can be used in any environment like Windows, Linux, Mac OS, etc.

Wireshark:

This is an open-source tool known as a network protocol analyser. It is capable to run on various platforms such as on Linux, Windows, Mac, Linux, etc. The efficient features of this tool include displaying filters, live capturing, VoIP analysis, offline analysis, etc.

Metasploit:

This is an open-source penetration testing tool that enables a tester to access a number of features such as to verify vulnerabilities, to manage security, and more.

Aircrack-ng:

This is a complete suite of tools that effectively focuses on vulnerabilities that can affect Wi-Fi security. All the tools that are available are command line interface and have a need of heavy scripting.

SQLMap:

This is an open-source tool, widely used for identifying the issues related to SQL injection in an application. It supports a number of platforms such as Windows, Linux, Mac, etc.

Why Outsource PTaaS?

Outsourcing Pen Testing as a Service is a common practice for businesses across various industries. One major benefit of outsourcing pen-testing is to stay updated with the latest tools and cyber trends in the market. Outsourcing the Penetration Testing as a Service efforts can provide innovative and tailored methodologies that can create better quality and coverage. Almost all organizations perform these evaluations to validate their security stance across their IT domain and accomplish different supervisory requirements, mandating an independent security audit.

What factors should be considered while opting services from PTaaS provider?

– The provider should be able to correlate data and aggregate with multiple resources

– Should have testers who are able to perform multi-level tasks on the project

– Testers should have the ability to combine the workspace findings for reporting

– Need to build the confidence, put efforts to improve the growth and reduce the conditions of failures

– Should have the ability to generate reports in multiple file formats

– The teams must be able to customize report templates for every specific testing type

– Need to have the ability to track the trends from period to period

– Must be able to integrate reporting along with enterprise ticketing, risk, governance, and compliance

Why Choose TestingXperts?

Enabling a long-term partnership is something that a PTaaS approach brings into play. TestingXperts’ global pool of skilled testers and researchers with a diverse set of skills across the technology stack helps in providing the best services to eliminate the security testing challenges. Our PTaaS model combines data, technology, and talent to eliminate security challenges for modern web/ mobile applications and APIs.

The post Why Pen Testing as a Service Makes Sense first appeared on TestingXperts.

A pen test is generally performed to find vulnerabilities and fix them before an attacker does. Sometimes, the IT department is aware of the reported vulnerabilities but still needs an external expert to officially report them so that the management is sure of the vulnerabilities and can fix them properly. Having a second set of eyes to corroborate all the vulnerabilities is always a good security practice.

Let’s find out the reasons why performing pen-testing is important.

The post 5 Reasons why investing in penetration testing is important- Infographic first appeared on TestingXperts.