Why is Penetration Testing Important

Cyber security and penetration testing can seem complex. Terms like ethical hacking, infosec and pentesting might seem confusing to those outside of the industry. It is not always obvious how penetration testing fits into cyber security overall. Here we will explain everything you need to know about penetration testing, and answer some commonly asked questions.

What is Penetration Testing AKA Pentesting?

Penetration testing is more commonly known as pentesting to those who work in the industry.

Pentesting is a simulated cyber attack on a computer system, network, or web application to test its defences and identify vulnerabilities. The goal of a penetration test is to determine whether a system can be compromised and, if so, how and to what extent.

It involves trying to exploit weaknesses in the system in order to gain unauthorized access or perform other malicious actions. Pen testing can be used to test the security of a system from both internal and external perspectives, and it can be performed manually or using automated tools. It is an important part of maintaining the security of a system and is commonly used by organisations to ensure that their systems are secure and compliant with industry standards.

What is Web App Pentesting?

Web application penetration testing is a type of penetration testing that focuses specifically on testing the security of web applications. It involves trying to exploit vulnerabilities in a web application in order to gain unauthorized access or perform other malicious actions.

Web app pen testing can be used to test the security of a web application from both internal and external perspectives. It typically involves simulating attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF), or other attacked attacks such as those featured in the OWASP top ten. It also includes testing for other vulnerabilities such as weak passwords, lack of input validation, and insufficient authorization and authentication controls.

Web app pen testing can help organizations identify and fix vulnerabilities in their web applications before they can be exploited by attackers.

Why is Penetration Testing Required?

There are several reasons why penetration testing may be required:

Compliance: Some regulatory frameworks, such as PCI DSS and HIPAA, require organisations to perform penetration testing to ensure that their systems are secure and compliant with industry standards.
Security assessment: Penetration testing can help organizations identify vulnerabilities in their systems and evaluate the effectiveness of their security controls. By simulating a cyber attack, organisations can get a better understanding of their system’s defences and identify areas for improvement.
Risk management: Penetration testing can help organisations manage risk by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in their systems before they can be exploited by attackers.
Quality assurance: Penetration testing can be used to ensure that a system or application has been developed securely and is free of vulnerabilities.
Customer trust: By demonstrating that they have undergone penetration testing and that their systems are secure, organisations can build trust with their customers and stakeholders.

Overall, penetration testing is a valuable tool for organisations seeking to ensure the security and integrity of their systems and to protect against potential cyber threats.

Is Penetration Testing Legal?

There are a number of situations in which a pentest may, in fact, be a legal requirement. This depends on the laws and regulations that apply to an organisation.

Ethical hacking and pentesting can be a grey area legally without proper consent. This is why pentesting companies like ours, will go to lengths to agree a realistic proposal with our customers and ensure that signed authorisation to test is in place, signed by an appropriate signatory of the target organisation. This ensures that our customers are fully informed about what to expect. This also ensure that both the customer and the testers are fully aware of the scope of the engagement and will endeavour to stick within the confines of the agreed proposal.

Common examples of situations where a pentest may be a legal requirement include:

PCI DSS

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of security standards that apply to organisations that handle payment card data. PCI DSS requires organisations to perform regular pentests in order to identify and address vulnerabilities in their systems that could compromise the security of payment card data.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a US law that applies to healthcare organisations and requires them to take certain steps to protect the privacy and security of patient data. HIPAA requires covered entities (e.g., healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses) to perform regular risk assessments, which may include pentests, in order to identify and address vulnerabilities in their systems.

GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European Union (EU) law that applies to the processing of personal data of individuals within the EU. GDPR requires organisations to take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the security of personal data, which may include pentests in certain circumstances.

ISO/IEC 27001

Under ISO/IEC 27001, organisations are required to perform regular risk assessments to identify potential threats to their information assets and to implement controls to mitigate those threats. Penetration testing can be used as part of this risk assessment process to identify vulnerabilities in the organization’s systems and to evaluate the effectiveness of the controls in place to protect against those vulnerabilities. Additionally, ISO/IEC 27001 requires organisations to implement measures to prevent and detect security incidents, and penetration testing can be used to test the organisation’s incident response and recovery capabilities.

Other industry regulations

In addition to the above examples, there may be other industry-specific regulations that require organisations to perform pentests or other types of security assessments. For example, financial institutions may be required to perform regular security assessments under banking regulations, and government agencies may be required to perform security assessments under government cybersecurity standards.

It is important to note that the specific legal requirements for pentesting will vary depending on the laws and regulations that apply to an organisation and the specific nature of the organisation’s operations and data. Organisations should consult with legal counsel and review applicable laws and regulations in order to determine their legal requirements for pentesting.

When is Penetration Testing done?

There are several common scenarios in which penetration testing is done:

During development: Penetration testing can be done during the development process to ensure that a system or application has been built securely and is free of vulnerabilities.
After deployment: Once a system or application has been deployed, penetration testing can be used to identify any vulnerabilities that may have been missed during development.
On a regular basis: Some organisations perform penetration testing on a regular basis, such as annually or every few years, as part of their overall security strategy. This helps to ensure that their systems are continuously secure and up to date.
In response to a specific event: An organisation may choose to perform penetration testing in response to a specific event, such as the deployment of a new system or application, or in response to a cyber attack or security incident.

How does Penetration Testing Impact Cyber Security?

Penetration testing can have a number of impacts on an organisation’s cyber security posture:

Identification of vulnerabilities: Penetration testing can help organisations identify vulnerabilities in their systems that they may not have been aware of, allowing them to fix those vulnerabilities and improve their overall security.
Evaluation of security controls: By simulating a cyber attack, penetration testing can help organisations evaluate the effectiveness of their security controls and identify any areas where those controls may be insufficient.
Improved incident response: Penetration testing can help organisations identify gaps in their incident response plans and improve their ability to respond to and recover from a security incident.
Increased awareness: Conducting penetration testing can help raise awareness among employees and stakeholders about the importance of cyber security and the need to protect against threats.

Overall, penetration testing can play a valuable role in helping organisations improve their cyber security posture and protect against potential threats.

What is the Difference Between Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Assessment?

Penetration testing is a holistic simulated cyber attack against a computer system, network, or web application. This type of testing is done by ethical hackers to test defences and identify vulnerabilities. The goal of a penetration test is to determine whether an attacker could gain unauthorized access to a system and to evaluate the security posture of the system.

A vulnerability assessment is a scan of a computer system, network, or web application to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by an attacker. The goal of a vulnerability assessment is to identify vulnerabilities, but not to exploit them. A vulnerability assessment is typically less in-depth than a penetration test, and it may not involve actively trying to gain unauthorized access to a system.

In summary, a penetration test is a more comprehensive and hands-on evaluation of a system’s security, while a vulnerability assessment is a more automated and superficial scan for vulnerabilities.

What are to the downsides? Is Penetration Testing Worth it?

The short answer is yes. It is always better to know and understand the risks before they are exploited. That being said, there are a few common reasons why some people may dislike pentesting services:

Cost: Pentesting services can be expensive, particularly for large organisations with complex systems and networks. This can be a barrier for some organisations, particularly smaller businesses or those with limited budgets.
Disruption: Pentesting can be disruptive to an organisation’s operations, as it involves simulating an attack on the organisation’s systems and may require temporary shutdowns or other disruptions to normal operations. This can be inconvenient for some organisations, particularly those that rely on their systems for critical functions.
False positives: Pentesting can sometimes generate false positives, which are identified vulnerabilities that turn out to not be actual vulnerabilities after further investigation. This can be frustrating for organisations, as it can require additional time and resources to investigate and verify the validity of identified vulnerabilities.
False negatives: On the other hand, pentesting can also sometimes miss real vulnerabilities, known as false negatives. This can be a concern for organisations, as it means that vulnerabilities may go unidentified and unaddressed, leaving the organisation at risk of a cyber attack.

We acknowledge that there are reasons why some people may dislike pentesting services. Regardless, it is important to note that the benefits of pentesting, such as, increased security and protection against cyber attacks, will always outweigh any drawbacks.

How can System Secure help with your pentesting requirements?

Our objective is to identify vulnerabilities in an organisation’s systems, networks, and applications, and to provide recommendations for remediation. We use a variety of advanced tools and techniques to test the security of an organisation’s systems. Many of these tools and techniques are proprietary and have been developed over years of testing. This allows us to perform more advanced testing and provide unique insights to our customers..

Our pentesting services are beneficial for organisations of all sizes. We can help you to identify and fix vulnerabilities before they are exploited by malicious hackers. It can also help organisations to comply with industry regulations and standards that require regular testing of security controls.