For organizations looking to begin penetration testing, two available options include online (automated) and offline (manual) tests. While automating allows for more frequent and faster testing, manual testing has its own unique benefits in the form of customization and trust.
Is your organization ready to start penetration testing? Schedule a consultation to find out!
Choosing Between Offline and Online Pen Tests
Penetration testing is one of the most advanced and impactful ways to ensure organizational systems are protected against attackers. By simulating attacks, security teams can study how real-world cybercriminals would operate to prevent them and mitigate potential damage.
But first, organizations need to pick the right approach for them by considering:
- How manual or offline penetration testing works and its pros and cons
- What automated or online penetration testing is and what makes it unique
- How the two stack up against each other in various use-case contexts
Ultimately, the best kind of pen test varies by organization, depending on its needs. Working with a subject matter expert, like a virtual CISO, can help internal leaders make the decision.
What is Offline Penetration Testing?
Offline penetration testing most often refers to pen testing activities conducted by a human or team of humans rather than via (only) scripts. The simulated attacks may happen when your systems are fully online, or they may occur in an isolated environment when systems are down.
Offline penetration tests vary widely, with common threads relating to the specific utility that a human tester can provide. In some cases, they involve physical elements in addition to virtual ones. For example, a pen test might include a tester physically entering an organization’s office and attempting to install malware onto an end device through physical media, like a flash drive they sneakily plug into an unaccounted-for workstation. Tests may comprise tactics like these exclusively, or they may be paired with simultaneous attempts to breach systems virtually.
Unique Benefits of Manual, Offline Testing
The biggest benefits of offline penetration testing have to do with their customization options:
- Pen tests can be configured to the exact specifications and needs of an organization.
- Past incidents and highly niche risks are easier to account for in customized tests.
- Organizations build relationships with pen test teams, facilitating all parts of the process.
- Pen test teams are uniquely positioned to facilitate remediation after testing proper.
- With repeated testing, past results have a cumulative impact on future control design.
Another critical if hard to measure advantage of offline or manual testing over online penetration testing tools is the trust factor. Working with a human pen testing team, organizations can vet their simulated attackers and go into the testing process with a greater assurance of security.
Potential Drawbacks of Offline-Only Tests
The customization that offline, manual tests make possible comes at greater average resource costs. To begin with, the sticker price for running a single manual offline pen test will usually be higher than the sticker price for conducting an automated online test (which may even be free).
And, beyond the price, an online test is likely to take much longer to complete and require more internal resources and assets allocated before, during, and after the test is completed. Working with a tester or test team to identify the scope, negotiate starting positions, and analyze findings are all major commitments that might include bandwidth from high-level IT staff and leaders.
What is Online Penetration Testing?
Just as offline penetration testing does not necessarily mean pen tests that occur without a connection to the internet, online pen testing does not just mean conducting a pentest online.
The term most often refers to automated pen testing. This is when organizations use tools to conduct pen test exercises without the need for human actors present for all parts of the test. Some or all exploitation and escalation can be carried out by algorithms and other AI tools for faster and more frequent testing. Analysis of test results may also be automated, or that part might be delegated to a team of internal or external security advisors to facilitate remediation.
Unique Benefits of Automated, Online Testing
The biggest benefits of online penetration testing tools come from the ease of individual tests:
- Running an automated pen test requires far fewer resources, dropping costs drastically.
- Because of lower resource costs, tests can be run more frequently, including regularly.
- Greater volume and capacity also allow for a greater variety of pen tests to be run.
- Management of automated tests can be handled efficiently internally or outsourced.
- In any case, internal teams have more bandwidth for remediation and maintenance.
For these reasons, online or automated pen tests offer great value for organizations that need to conduct penetration tests regularly or those that need to run many different kinds of pen tests.
Potential Drawbacks of Online-Only Tests
When conducting a pentest online, free and low-cost tools may seem incredibly appealing at first. However, there are some downsides to these options that organizations should consider.
Fully automated pen testing tools available online often lack the specificity and customization that make penetration testing so effective. This is doubly true of tools available at low or no cost, which often offer bare minimum functionality. In cases where these test tools are used to satisfy regulatory or client demands, they can be insidious if they give the appearance of security.
Penetration testing with unknown providers and services is uniquely risky because it opens systems up to the exact conditions that would qualify as an incident or emergency if they were brought on by real attackers. Without a vetting process, who’s to say they can’t be real?
Which Kind of Pen Testing Should You Use?
Ultimately, if your organization requires more frequent testing, without many scruples as to how the test is conducted and what kinds of results it generates, a pentest online scanner or similar tool might be best. If you require more bespoke pen testing for specific vulnerabilities or due to risks unique to your industry, location, or other factors, you should likely opt for offline testing.
Other things to consider before starting your pen testing program include what kinds of tests you want to run (external, internal, or hybrid) and which assets you want to target (networks, web apps, etc.). External tests simulating unknown attackers at scale are well-suited to many widely available automated tools. Internal and hybrid tests that are inherently more specific to your organization’s infrastructure are typically better suited to an offline, manual approach.
Additionally, compliance might factor into your decision. Applicable regulations might explicitly require penetration testing at particular intervals (i.e., PCI DSS). For these, having a repeatable, automated system might be best. Or, regulations might have looser requirements for similar kinds of testing (i.e., HIPAA), which might make a more customizable approach a better fit.
Optimize Your Penetration Testing Today
When choosing between online and offline penetration testing tools, organizations need to weigh the benefits of frequent testing against those of more impactful individual tests. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution that works best for every organization. Working with a security advisor will help you select the best pen testing option for your specific needs and means.
At RSI Security, we’re committed to helping organizations like yours keep staff and client information (and all other data) protected. We know that the right way is the only way to do that, and penetration testing is a tried-and-true best practice, whether fully automated or bespoke and in-person.
To learn more about our offline and online penetration testing, contact RSI Security today!