Penetration testing is a key tool for ensuring your business data stays protected. According to the government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2023, just short of a third (32%) of businesses and charities have experienced a cyberattack or data breach this year. Moreover, the number jumps up for medium businesses (59%) and large businesses (69%).
The average cost of a cyberattack for these organizations was £1,100, but again this figure increases for larger organizations. However, the medium and large businesses spent an average of £4,960 on each breach.
These figures remind us just how important it is to protect your business assets from prying eyes. Data theft and malware can damage your business financially, legally, and in terms of reputation.
Therefore, in such circumstances, penetration testing is one of the key steps businesses can take to secure their data and protect against cybercrime.
What is penetration testing?
Penetration testing is a systematic process whereby cybersecurity professionals, termed as “ethical hackers” or “penetration testers,” actively seek out vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and potential threats within an organization’s IT infrastructure. Moreover, the infrastructure can include websites, applications, networks, servers, and other digital assets.
The primary aim is not only to discover vulnerabilities but also to exploit them in a controlled environment. However, this helps organizations understand the real-world implications of these vulnerabilities if they were to be exploited maliciously.
Different Types of Penetration Testing
There are different types of penetration testing. They have their benefits and advantages. However, let us try to understand it all here.
1. External Network Penetration Testing
The external network penetration testing looks at your current wealth of publicly available information. However, with the help of the assessment, the teams try to gain access to data from external assets like websites, emails, cloud-based applications, and others.
2. Social Engineering Testing
Social engineering testing assesses the staff’s susceptibility to leaked secret information. It is an approach to gain the trust of an employee.
3. Physical Penetration Testing
The physical penetration testing stimulates the material breach of the security controls. The assessors may try to get access into your building and, after that, break into your office so that it provides ample proof of real-life vulnerabilities.
4. Internal Network Penetration Testing
Internal network penetration testing initiates where the external penetration ends. Under the particular simulation, the pentester plays the part of the insider in an attempt to harm. Besides, the pen testers look at the impact of the confidential information being disclosed unknowingly. After that, they use the data to control the employees better.
5. Wireless Penetration Testing
Some organizations become the victim of wireless security breaches. However, anyone near your internet connection across the wireless traffic flows across your organization by exploiting the vulnerability in your network. The wireless pentest can help you ensure that your wireless WIFI and wireless devices get proper safeguarding.
6. Application Penetration Testing
If you want to create, sell, and or use multiple applications, you need application penetration. This pentest pinpoints the application’s vulnerability. However, here, the assessors take a look at the flaws in the applications’ security protocol. It includes the missing purchases and the exploited pores in web applications. Therefore, the applications run on the internal network.
7. The Red Teaming Strategies
The red trimming penetration testing refers to a military reference. There, the attackers compete against the defenders. However, organizations that are tech-savvy hire external accessors. They pose a simulated attack on your network systems. Moreover, it uses a combination of the penetration testing that we discussed above. Thus the combined forces work to improve the forces against the actual adversaries.
How does penetration testing work?
One of the questions often searched on the internet platforms is how penetration testing works? We try to understand it in this section.
1. Planning and reconnaissance
This initial phase involves defining the scope of the attack, which includes identifying the systems to be tested and the testing methods to be used. Reconnaissance involves gathering as much information as possible about the target to find ways to infiltrate it.
2. Scanning
Automated tools, like vulnerability scanners, are used during this phase to understand how the target application will respond to different intrusion attempts. This phase can identify open ports, services in use, and potential vulnerabilities within the system.
3. Gaining access
This is the stage where actual penetration attempts occur. Testers try to exploit known vulnerabilities in the system using various tools and methodologies. The goal is to understand what kind of data can be accessed and manipulated.
4. Maintaining access
Here, the tester simulates what a malicious hacker would do to create a backdoor for themselves – essentially understanding how malware can remain in the system undetected and reap long-term havoc.
5. Analysis
After the testing, a detailed report is prepared. This report outlines the vulnerabilities found, data accessed, and recommendations for securing the system.
It’s worth noting that these steps are conducted with the utmost professionalism and ethics. Penetration testers always operate with explicit permission and a defined scope to ensure they don’t cause unintentional harm.
What are the benefits of penetration testing?
A. Identify vulnerabilities
Before malicious hackers can find and exploit them, pen-testing helps in uncovering those weak spots. By understanding these vulnerabilities in a controlled setting, organizations can better plan their defense mechanisms.
B. Compliance with regulations
Many industries have standards and regulations that require regular security assessments. Penetration testing helps ensure that an organization is compliant, avoiding potential fines or sanctions.
C. Protect customer trust
A breach can lead to the loss of critical customer data, which can severely damage the reputation of a business. By actively seeking and mending vulnerabilities, organizations safeguard their customers’ data and trust.
D. Cost savings
Addressing vulnerabilities post-breach can be significantly more expensive than proactively identifying and fixing them. Penetration testing, therefore, can lead to substantial long-term cost savings.
E. Enhance security posture
Regular penetration tests ensure that an organization’s cybersecurity measures are always up-to-date and robust. This fosters a culture of continuous improvement and vigilance.
To remain competitive and secure in today’s market, penetration testing should be an integral part of every UK business’s cybersecurity strategy.
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