Discover why penetration testing is essential for the health and security of your organizations systems and infrastructure, as we also reveal the massive financial damage in the wake of security incidents.
As companies are digitizing their business operations and processes, we tend to underestimate the new technology risks we are exposed to. One of the major risks is hackers exploiting a vulnerability that exists within your IT infrastructure. The possibility that the hacker could take full control of your IT infrastructure becomes extremely likely once they gain entry into your internal network. According to a study conducted by Microsoft and Frost & Sullivan:
A large-sized organization in Asia Pacific can possibly incur an economic loss of US$30 million, more than 300 times higher than the average economic loss for a mid-sized organization (US$96,000) [in the case of a breach]; and cybersecurity attacks have resulted in job losses across different functions in almost seven in ten (67%) organizations that have experienced an incident over the last 12 months.
To mitigate the risk of a security incident and avoid the cost of a cyber attackthe cost of a cyber attack, we need to be able to prevent, detect, respond and recover from such attacks. We can prevent many attacks by making sure we remediate all known software vulnerabilities and performing regular security assessments to identify possible unknown vulnerabilities. However, we can never guarantee that a system is secure forever. We will need to have a proper procedure on how to detect, respond and recover from incidents. Here, we will be focusing on why we need to perform a security assessment, such as penetration testing on our IT infrastructure so that we can prevent these nasty incidents from happening.
Penetration testingPenetration testing, also called ethical hacking, white-hat hacking, or pentesting, is a form of security assessment that tests a computer system, networknetwork, or software application to find security vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit. The scope of penetration testing can vary depending on our requirements. It could range from a simple single web application penetration test to a full-scale penetration test on the company, also known as Red-Teaming or Adversarial Simulation.
How much is your business worthis your business worth today? How crucial to your business is your IT infrastructure? How much would it cost if that IT infrastructure is disrupted for a day? Basically, this thought exercise is a risk assessment of your business. It uncovers the risk you are exposed to and its impacts. You can either choose to do it on your own or engage an expert to conduct an independent risk assessment. The result of the risk assessment should provide you with a list of prioritized objectives that you need to achieve in order to secure your business. Depending on the likelihood and impact of the threats, penetration testing can be one of the top priority objectivespenetration testing can be one of the top priority objectives.
As we continue on, we will touch on various impacts and threats that your business may face. These threats should be properly addressed if the risk is deemed significant to your business.
Penetration testing also known as pen testing or ethical hacking has become an essential part of any organization’s cybersecurity strategy. But why is running penetration tests so important? In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explain what pen testing is, outline the major benefits it provides, and make the case for why regular penetration testing is a must for protecting your business.
What is Penetration Testing Exactly?
Penetration testing refers to the practice of launching authorized simulated cyber attacks against an organization’s computer systems, applications or networks. The goal is to uncover security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by real-world hackers before the vulnerabilities can cause any damage.
Penetration tests are conducted by ethical hackers known as penetration testers. These experts use various tools and techniques to mimic the behaviors of malicious hackers. By exploiting vulnerabilities they find, pen testers help organizations identify risks and improve security defenses.
There are several different types of penetration tests:
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Network penetration testing targets an organization’s entire infrastructure and looks for external or internal vulnerabilities.
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Application penetration testing focuses on finding flaws in websites, apps and APIs.
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Social engineering testing evaluates human vulnerabilities by using phishing, vishing and other deception tactics.
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Physical penetration testing assesses the security of physical locations and devices.
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Cloud penetration testing aims to find risks unique to cloud environments.
No matter the type, the process typically follows the same steps: planning, information gathering, identifying vulnerabilities, exploiting flaws, post-exploitation and cleanup, and reporting.
5 Benefits of Penetration Testing
Regular penetration testing provides organizations with many advantages that make it a foundational part of a proactive cybersecurity program. Here are five of the top reasons businesses rely on pen testing:
1. Identify overlooked vulnerabilities
Penetration testing uncovers vulnerabilities that may be missed by automated scans and internal audits. Because pen testers manually simulate real-world attacks, they can find security gaps that automated tools would overlook. These include unknown flaws, misconfigurations, risky end user practices and more.
For example, say a network vulnerability scan finds an open FTP port that presents a security risk. An internal audit flags this issue, and the port gets firewalled.
A penetration test would go further by showing that the FTP server is still vulnerable to brute force attacks that firewalling alone doesn’t prevent. By exploiting the flaws they find, pen testers identify vulnerabilities that pose actual risk.
2. Provide validation of security controls
Penetration testing validates that existing security controls like firewalls, antivirus software and access controls are working as intended.
When pen testers circumvent or defeat security controls during an attack simulation, it exposes gaps in the organization’s defenses. Management gains assurance that security solutions are performing properly when penetration testers are unable to penetrate systems.
3. Meet compliance requirements
Many industry regulations and standards call for regular penetration testing. Examples include PCI DSS for organizations that process payments and HIPAA for healthcare organizations.
Penetration testing provides evidence of compliance by revealing potential vulnerabilities threat actors could exploit to breach compliance. Organizations can then remediate these issues before an audit.
4. Improve risk management
Penetration test reports give security teams detailed insights into real risks facing the organization based on vulnerabilities threat actors could leverage in an actual attack.
Armed with this information, security leaders can prioritize remediation efforts based on risk severity. By fixing high-risk vulnerabilities first, organizations get the most bang for their buck improving cyber defenses.
5. Enhance security strategy
Perhaps most importantly, penetration testing fuels a risk-based cybersecurity strategy. Testing provides a reality check on the organization’s security posture based on vulnerabilities likely to be used in real attacks.
Security teams can use this threat intelligence to improve their overall strategy. For example, penetration tests may reveal widespread phishing vulnerabilities. The organization can then invest more in security awareness training for employees.
Why Regular Penetration Testing is Essential
Penetration testing provides the most value when performed on a regular basis. As technology and threats evolve rapidly, new vulnerabilities open up constantly.
Regular penetration testing, especially for critical systems, helps ensure organizations:
- Continuously identify new vulnerabilities as they emerge
- Validate that new controls put in place actually reduce risks
- Meet frequent compliance testing requirements
- Adapt security strategy as the threat landscape changes
Many experts recommend conducting penetration tests at least annually. More frequent testing quarterly or monthly may make sense for high-risk environments.
Organizations combining regular automated scans with manual penetration testing can take a layered approach to identify a broad range of vulnerabilities. This allows security teams to efficiently keep security defenses aligned with the current threat landscape.
Final Thoughts
In today’s cyber crime-ridden world, taking a proactive approach to security is a must. Penetration testing provides organizations with threat intelligence they can’t get anywhere else.
By mimicking real-world attacks based on vulnerabilities threat actors exploit, penetration tests reveal actual risks to the business. Security teams can use this information to improve defenses, meet compliance and make strategic decisions.
When performed regularly, penetration testing provides ongoing validation that security controls are working. At the same time, it arms organizations with actionable data to continuously adapt protections against evolving threats.
In short, penetration testing is one of the most effective ways to identify overlooked vulnerabilities and make sure your organization is not an easy target for cyber attacks. That’s why regular penetration testing is considered essential for managing today’s cyber risks.
Competition and Rivalry
Losing your company’s proprietary data will be disastrous, especially if this data is in the hands of your rival companies. 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.
Penetration testing can help to mitigate the threats of the above risks that your business may face. However, good security practices should be adopted in order to secure your business. By taking a risk-based approach on cybersecurity, you will address the prioritized threats and review your business risk exposure continuously.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The same secure system today isn’t the same a few weeks from now. This is especially true for organizations that maintain and develop software. Configurations change, and so does the threat landscape. It is thus important for organizations to regularly conduct penetration testing on their critical assets.
What is Penetration Testing?
Why is penetration testing important?
Penetration testing helps in validating the security of an organization’s systems, applications, and networks. It is used to find security weaknesses before criminals do. Penetration testers (or “pentesters”) launch simulated attacks to find security holes. This process helps an organization find and fix flaws before a criminal can exploit them.
What is a penetration test?
What is penetration testing? A penetration test, or “pen test,” is a security test that launches a mock cyberattack to find vulnerabilities in a computer system. Penetration testers are security professionals skilled in the art of ethical hacking, which is the use of hacking tools and techniques to fix security weaknesses rather than cause harm.
What does a penetration tester do?
Penetration testers penetrate areas the customer defines with an approved range of exploits, looking for specific vulnerabilities. Penetration testers test the organizational security policies, develop countermeasures, and implement defensive resolutions to security issues. How does pen testing differ from automated testing?
Should a business do a penetration test?
Many independent cybersecurity experts and businesses provide penetration tests as a service. And while pen testing can be carried out in-house, external ‘ ethical hackers ’ can offer greater insight, as they have no prior knowledge of the system. However, the nature of the business lends itself to complications.
