How to Implement Penetration Testing Consulting Services
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In the wake
of increased cyber security attacks on organizations in every industry,
companies are looking for ways to improve their security posture. Nowadays the
saying that it is not a matter of if you will get hacked, it’s a matter of
when, has never been truer. For organizations that are just starting to make
cybersecurity a priority, implementing penetration testing consulting services
is a critical first step.
What is
Penetration Testing?
The goal of a penetration test is to
keep your organization’s confidential and critical data safe from malicious
attacks. During a penetration test, the tester will test to see how they can
leverage the vulnerabilities in your environment to steal and tamper with
important data. By acting as a hacker, they can patch these vulnerabilities
before they are exploited with malicious intent. Unlike vulnerability testing,
where the tester is looking for weaknesses in an environment, in a penetration
test, the tester is searching for ways to exploit these vulnerabilities. By
testing out the ways in which a hacker could exploit vulnerabilities, the
engineer can evaluate if your security controls are strong enough to counteract
a security breach.
Why Should
You Implement Penetration Testing Consulting Services?
Compliance with industry standard
security policies is a top priority for many organizations. Non- compliance
with standards can result in expensive fines. Aside from just meeting the
standards of your industry, having good security posture is critical during
this time of increased cyber-attacks. Keeping employee, company, and customer
data safe should always be a top priority for all organizations. A breach of
customer data can not only cause you to lose money, but you can also lose your
customer’s trust in your organization. When you implement penetration testing
consulting services, a team of security experts will test your organization’s
security environment with the aim of securing weaknesses before they are exploited
by a hacker. This is an important step in maintaining the security of your
company and customer information.
How Does a
Pen Test Work?
Penetration Testing Consulting
Services can be performed in either an automated or manual manner. The benefit
of conducting automated testing is that during an automated scan, your security
environment will be continuously scanned and rescanned without prompting. The
benefit of a manual penetration test is that the tester can use their own
intuition as a certified ethical hacker to find false positives or gaps in the
automated test. Many security experts recommend a combination of the two in
order to get the best results. The typical steps associated with penetration
testing consulting services include:
·
Automated Security
Scanning: commercial scanning tools will be used to identify any potential
vulnerabilities
·
Report
Development and Interpretation: the results of the scan will be analyzed, and
false positives will be reviewed
·
Network
Architecture Review: review and identify any weaknesses in the network security
design
·
Manual
Exploit Testing: validate weaknesses that were found in the automated report in
a manual in-depth test
·
Security
Policy Review: review organization's security policies and find areas of
weakness
·
Automated
Security Re-Scan
3 Types of
Penetration Testing Consulting Services
·
Internal Penetration Testing: Simulates an
attack coming from the inside of the company. This could be either a malicious
employee or someone that has taken over an internal account
·
External
Penetration Testing: During an external penetration test, the engineer will
simulate an attack coming from the outside of an organization. This involves
scanning for open ports, probing services or login attempts.
·
Web
Application Penetration Testing: This type of penetration test is designed to
help you meet the best practices for PCI, HIPAA, or Red Flag industry
standards. During this test, the engineer will attempt to gain unauthorized
access to systems connected to a web application.
Why Regular
Testing is Critical
It is critical to implement
penetration testing consulting services on a regular basis because it allows
you to be proactive instead of reactive in your security approach. A
penetration test evaluates the weaknesses in your environment at one point in
time. At any point there can be additional weaknesses that can be taken
advantage of by a hacker. By conducting these tests regularly, you can patch
these weaknesses before a hacker finds them and exploits your data.
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