What is Penetration Testing and How Does It Work?

 

What is Penetration Testing and How Does It Work?

A penetration test, also known as a pen test, is an attempt to evaluate the security of an IT infrastructure by exploiting vulnerabilities safely. These flaws can exist in operating systems, services and applications, incorrect configurations, or risky end-user behaviour. Such assessments can also be used to validate the effectiveness of defensive mechanisms and end-user adherence to security policies. 

Manual or automated technologies are typically used in penetration testing to systematically compromise servers, endpoints, web applications, wireless networks, network devices, mobile devices, and other potential points of exposure. Once vulnerabilities on a specific system have been successfully exploited. Testers may attempt to use the compromised system to launch subsequent exploits at other internal resources. Specifically by attempting to incrementally achieve higher levels of security clearance and deeper access to electronic assets and information via privilege escalation.

Information about any security vulnerabilities exploited successfully through penetration testing is typically aggregated. And presented to IT and network system managers to assist those professionals in reaching strategic conclusions and prioritizing related remediation efforts. The primary goal of penetration testing is to assess the feasibility of system or end-user compromise and to assess the impact such incidents may have on the involved resources or operations.

It might be helpful to think of penetration testing as attempting to break into your house by yourself. Penetration testers, also known as ethical hackers, assess the security of IT infrastructures by attacking, identifying, and exploiting vulnerabilities in a controlled environment. Instead of inspecting the windows and doors, they examine servers, networks, web applications, mobile devices, and other potential entry points for flaws.

How Does a Penetration Test Work?

There is no one comprehensive testing method that everyone uses for penetration testing. Part of this is because cyber threats are constantly evolving, and pen tests must simulate whatever attack methods the organization is likely to encounter.

A penetration test’s “broad strokes” include the following:

1. Assigning a person or group to act as “white hat” hacker(s) to carry out the test on a randomized date and time.
   
   
2. Members of the vulnerability management team scan the IP addresses of various assets on the network to identify assets. That use services or operating systems with known vulnerabilities.
   
   
3. The penetration testing team carried out a series of simulated attacks on the network using various attack methods. These attacks could target known vulnerabilities discovered during the preliminary scan.
   
   
4. As if the attack were real, the organisation is attempting to contain, stop, and investigate it (depending on how the attack is conducted. The cybersecurity team may not know it is a pen test instead of a real attack).
   
   

The pen test team must exercise caution when carrying out the test. If the test is performed incorrectly, it may cause actual damage to the target systems. Resulting in network congestion or system crashes for some network assets.

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Source-link: https://dev.to/ahanash46390872/what-is-penetration-testing-and-how-does-it-work-5dcb