Rather than waiting until an attack occurs, more and more companies are turning to ethical hacking and, in particular, penetration testing to secure their cyber environments. Pen testing enhances risk management plans by revealing preventable cyber-attacks. Read to learn about the different types of pen testing and how they can secure your business with this comprehensive guide.
What Is Penetration Testing?
A penetration test, also known as a pen test, is an intentional attack on hardware or software to determine vulnerabilities that could be exploited in the future. Rather than waiting until an attack occurs, more and more companies are using ethical hacking, more specifically penetration testing, as a best practice for cybersecurity..
Pen tests often have two goals: to establish how thoroughly a system’s integrity can be compromised and to determine how much user or company data can be accessed. Pen tests can vary based on how deeply ethical hackers can infiltrate systems, apps, or hardware. When conducting a pen test, security teams usually look at injection vulnerabilities, broken authentication, broken authorization, and improper error handling.
Why Is Penetration Testing Important?
Pen testing provides crucial insight into where weaknesses may lie in an organization’s cybersecurity approach. Pen testing takes a step beyond threat assessments that only assess for common system weaknesses, but instead a pen test will identify vulnerabilities unique to that specific organization. Instead of allocating funds to mitigate damage post-attack, pen testing can uncover coding errors, verify the effectiveness of security controls, and pinpoint new software bugs, emphasizing critical threat vectors needing further attention. In addition, many regulations now require penetration testing, including HIPAA and PCI DSS.
Positive Technologies published a report about their findings and insight gained from their penetration testing activities in 2023. It detailed the pen testing result commonalities among all 39% of the organizations in the RAEX-600. The tests highlighted prevalent vulnerabilities and suggested strategies to enhance cybersecurity resilience based on empirical data and case studies. The image below highlights the major vulnerabilities pen-testing revealed and notes whether those vulnerabilities fell into the medium, high, or critical threat range. Implementing testing and reporting like this in your organization will provide a baseline for understanding your common threats and will indicate next steps to strengthen your security.
Image source: https://www.ptsecurity.com/ww-en/analytics/pentesting-results-for-2023/
Vulnerability Assessments vs Penetration Testing
While vulnerability assessments and pen testing provide valuable insights for cybersecurity teams, they serve distinct purposes and are complementary tools that should be used together for comprehensive security assessment.
Vulnerability Assessment
A vulnerability assessment examines a company’s environment, ranks risks, and takes stock of current security controls. These assessments are resource centered, in other words, they look at what resources face the greatest threats and then allocate security budgets to address those critical risks.
Pen Tests
In contrast, pen tests are testing-centered and these tests exploit and escalate situations to identify the weaknesses of networks, applications, and physical locations. When engineers complete the pen test, they will provide a report identifying the risks to the client. As noted above, pen testing looks for all weaknesses, not just those commonly expected for companies in certain industries.
What is the Difference Between Pen Testing and a Vulnerability Scan?
Another commonly misunderstood concept is a vulnerability scan. These scans can be conducted automatically and search for known vulnerabilities, whereas pen-testing (usually manual) looks for new vulnerabilities. For example, a vulnerability scan may compare available system patches with patches a company actually implemented, but it does not seek out new vulnerabilities. Some well-known scanning tools are Nessus, GFI LANGuard, Rapid7, Retina, Qualys.
Types of Testing
Broadly speaking, there are two types of pen tests: “white box” and “black box.” White box testing occurs after a vulnerability assessment and after a company discloses system information. Conversely, black box testing leaves the exploration to the pen tester, meaning the extent of the exploitation relies on the tester’s hacking and information gathering skills. Within these two categories, there are five types of pen testing a security expert may conduct.
Network Service Tests
Network pen testing assesses the client’s network infrastructure for access points. This kind of test encompasses both locally run tests, to identify internal gaps, and remote tests, to identify externally accessible vulnerabilities. Typically, a network pen test will look at firewall configuration, IPS deception, DNS attacks, and software modules. Firewall configuration may also encompass stateful analysis testing which monitors active network connections and determines what network packets are allowed through the firewall.
Client-Side Tests
Client-side testing, also referred to as internal testing, looks at local problems, such as when a user accesses an application on his/her device. For example, browsers and packages, like Microsoft, Adobe, or Photoshop, may have application flaws that manifest differently on users’ computers. Client-side attacks will be more focused and targeted than trying to breach a large company’s network perimeter. According to InfoSec Institute, client-side penetration testing should answer the following questions:
- How reliable is the security posture of an organization?
- Are there any vulnerabilities?
- What harm can an attacker do by exploiting these vulnerabilities?
- How can a malicious actor exploit a vulnerability?
- Are the access rights and privileges for employees set correctly?
- How can the detected weak points be closed in an economical and sensible way?
Wireless Network Tests
Wireless network tests evaluate the devices and connectivity of wireless networks. These tests will analyze protocol configuration, access points, DoS attack vectors, and signal leakage (the range the network covers outside of the designated coverage zone). Pen testing is particularly beneficial for companies offering wireless services for improved customer satisfaction. For example, we have all been warned about the dangers of logging on to cafe networks. In the past, poorly protected networks used LAN (Local Area Network) which uses Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), a now outdated and extremely insecure form of wireless network protection. It’s important to note that a wireless network pen test encompasses more than simply Wi-Fi; it also covers Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices that interact with the network.
Social Engineering Tests
Social engineering tests target the human network by attempting to “penetrate” through the security training employees should have received. Pen testers may conduct remote or physical tests. A remote test utilizes electronic means, such as an email, to try and deceive an employee into granting access or revealing sensitive information. Phishing campaigns serve as a remote example and are often successful because they use the target’s wants,(such as a free vacation) or needs (like a bank account verification) to trick the target. A physical attack involves interaction with people at a facility. For example, a pen test team may pose as a maintenance team and try to bluff their way inside the building.
Web Application Tests
Web-based applications tests look at browsers and plug-ins related to web applications. Conducting a web app penetration test involves endpoint security on both the consumer side and backend. A pen tester will consider the functionality, usability, security, compatibility, and performance of web apps. Functionality encompasses links, defaults/error messages, cookies (i.e., files that remember user sessions for easier returning to a website), HTML, and CSS. For usability, engineers check navigation and content. For web app security, interface and database testing are the used vectors, as well as session access and payment information processes which act as other common testing vectors.
Automated vs Manual Penetration Testing
Companies face two options when determining how to initiate penetration testing. They can use an automated system or they can hire a human team that will manually conduct the pen testing. In most cases, companies choose to implement a combination of automated and manual testing. Regardless, many regulations, including PCI DSS, FISMA, MARS-E, HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, and ISO require some kind of penetration testing to achieve compliance.
- Manual – With manual testing, expert engineers collect data, run a vulnerability test, try and exploit the identified vulnerabilities, and finally compose a report with suggestive corrections. If using manual testing, companies can more easily tailor a pen test by either conducting a focused manual test or a comprehensive manual test. Comprehensive tests involve situational details, more scenario-based tests compared to focused tests.
- Automated – Automated pen testing is faster and can be run by less knowledgeable people. Additionally, they are often more efficient and can be run automatically. Automated pen tests may be ideal for smaller companies that cannot afford to hire expert engineers. The major weakness of automated testing is that it cannot “think like a hacker” to the extent that an individual can. In other words, a human pen tester possesses the ability to analyze situations better. Additionally, an expert can run multiple tests at once, whereas not all automated systems can multitask.
Using Third Parties
Third parties can be a great resource when it comes to pen testing, but it’s important to understand the pros and cons before signing a contract.
The Pros – In the case of penetration testing, many experts agree that third party penetration testing enhances accountability and provides an unbiased assessment of security control effectiveness. If you don’t have an experienced internal team that is qualified to conduct pen tests, unskilled employees attempting to run such tests may cause downtime and performance issues. Hiring a third party offers a cost-saving option for companies that cannot afford to hire a full-time pen tester.
The Cons – If research is not done on the third party, a company may hire an unqualified team. Consequently, a company endangers its sensitive/proprietary information. As experts so often note, the more people who have access, the more at risk data faces. Thoroughly vetting any potential third party and having clear guidelines in contracts reduces the risk. Lastly, information could be lost while a pen test is being conducted, so backups, as always, are a good idea.
Lastly, information could be lost while a pen test is being conducted, so backups, as always, are a good idea.
Get Started with Pen Testing Today
Pen testing provides companies with vital knowledge for strengthening their internal and external security controls. Moreover, such testing highlights a company’s dedication to both consumer privacy and compliance requirements. If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of a penetration test, contact RSI Security today.
