Companies, these days, comprise a complex architecture. There are different networks, applications, cloud technologies, DDOS protection mechanisms, etc. Different staff members are assigned to different departments. For example, some teams handle networks, while others may follow up with clients directly. The complex system within an organisation may get things done successfully at an alarming rate. But, it also exposes the vulnerabilities of your company, thereby making it easier for hackers to attack your business and gain access to sensitive information.
As per a Clark School study at the University of Maryland, hacker attacks on computers with internet access are reported every 39 seconds on average. In short, hackers affect one in three Americans every year. Here comes the role of penetration testing. It lets you identify the loopholes in your company’s information systems so that you can fix those and eventually disappoint your hackers.
What Exactly Is Penetration Testing?
Let’s say you have written a dissertation. But you aren’t sure if your work is 100% error-free or not. So, chances are you will opt for quality dissertation help & proofreading help in the UK to let the proofreaders identify the pesky errors and take care of them. Outcome? You get to hand over a perfect dissertation to your professors.
Similarly, penetration testing is like proofreading the safety of the information systems within your organisation. It entails the art of identifying vulnerabilities and digging deep to fathom how much a target can be compromised. From servers to computers, everything within your system is exploited during the testing to uncover the vulnerabilities and all the potential risks associated with it.
Is Penetration Testing Really Important?
64% of companies have experienced web-based attacks in 2020 alone. And the global average cost of a data breach is nearly $3.9 million for most small and medium-sized businesses. Public-traded companies have reported a data breach of approximately $116 million. The US FBI noticed a sharp 300% increase in reported cybercrimes since COVID-19. All in all, penetration testing is mandatory irrespective of the size of your business.
7 Main Stages of Penetration Testing
Now that you know what penetration testing and its importance, let’s see how to perform this testing to ensure the safety of your organisation. You can break down penetration testing into seven main stages. Each stage plays a unique role in strengthening the information systems within your company.
1. Agreement phase
This stage is all about clearing the air about testing between both the parties- The ethical hacker (The one who will do the testing) and the client. Both the parries define the goals and objectives of penetration testing. This ensures that the entire process moves in the right direction.
The common objectives of penetration testing are:
- Enhance the security of the personnel infrastructure
- Have IT security confirmed or approved by an external third party
- Identify the loopholes and vulnerabilities in the security of technical systems.
You should also make it clear to the ethical hacker that he/she can’t bring down the production server despite the testing being done at non-peak hours. Both parties should sign a non-disclosure agreement even before the test begins.
2. Planning and reconnaissance
You may have hired an ethical hacker to get this test done successfully. What if that hacker knows nothing about the information systems in your company? After all, penetration testing is mainly about protecting the information systems. The hacker has to get hold of as much information as possible about the target.
The information can be anything related to your organisation. For example, the hacker can gather IP addresses, mail servers, domain details, network topology, etc. This stage is quite time-consuming. But, it will help with further stages of penetration testing.
3. Scanning
The penetration tester will have to use automated tools to scan the targets in an attempt to discover vulnerabilities. These tools usually consist of their own databases, thereby sharing details regarding the latest vulnerabilities. The attacker sends probes to the targets and records the target’s response to multiple inputs.
Here are the three aspects testers usually uncover:
- Network Discovery– Discovers additional systems, servers and other devices.
- Host Discovery– Determines open ports on these devices.
- Service interrogation- Interrogates ports to uncover actual services which are currently running on them.
In the case of a web application, the scanning can either be static or dynamic. Static scanning lets you scan the application code using an expert application vulnerability analyst or a YTool. Remember, all the scanning aims at identifying any kind of vulnerability functions and logic.
4. Gaining access
By now, the testers have already identified the vulnerabilities within your information systems. Now it’s time for them to exploit the vulnerabilities so that they can gain access to the target. The target can be a secured zone, a server, system or even a firewall. Remember, you will not be led to this stage by all vulnerabilities. So, identify the ones that are exploitable enough to help you gain access to the target.
5. Active intrusion attempts
This step must be performed when you need to verify the potential vulnerabilities that were identified in the previous stage. You also got access to your targets in the previous step. Now it’s time to check whether the access is persistent or not. Testers have to make sure the access is maintained even if the system is modified, rebooted or reset. Attackers tend to use this persistence while they live in the system and develop knowledge about it over a period of time. Eventually, they exploit the information when the time is right.
6. Final analysis
This phase is where the tester has to evaluate the vulnerabilities present in the system in the form of potential risks. The tester must also assure the transparency of the vulnerabilities disclosed and the tests done. In reality, this step is where the attacker tries to get the data, compromise the system, launch the attack, etc. In penetration testing, this step is usually limited to prevent the mayhem on your network.
The final analysis looks like this in penetration testing:
- The tester places a dummy flag in the critical zone or perhaps in the database.
- The aim of this phase would be to get that flag.
- So, the tester has to reveal the contents of the flag to ensure practical exploitation of the network.
7. Report preparation
The final step involves the collection of evidence of the exploited vulnerabilities. Then the tester reports it to the executive management of your company for further review and action. Your company now knows the potential risks in your information systems. It is up to you what action you would take to address the risks.
Wrapping Up,
The most important thing for any organisation is persistent business growth or business continuity. And unpredictable cyber attacks can make it impossible to maintain business growth at any cost. With the increase in the number of cyberattacks every month, all businesses should conduct a thorough penetration testing at least once a month.
Author Bio:
John Mark is an assistant professor at a reputed University in the United Kingdom. He also provides dissertation writing help to students at MyAssignmenthelp.com. Clara loves to play soccer on the weekends.
