All you need to know about pentests

While companies rely on computer networks and the internet increasingly, cyber threats like hacking, malware and identity theft are lurking around every corner. A penetration test is the ultimate confirmation that your system is secure. In this blog, we provide an overview of pentesting, its importance in strengthening cybersecurity, and the different phases and methods of pentesting.

In today’s digital age, organisations and individuals store vast amounts of sensitive information online. Cybersecurity is, therefore, vital to companies and consumers. In addition, it is critical for building trust between individuals and organisations. Cybersecurity safeguards digital information from theft, unauthorised access, and breaches. However, cyberattacks can cause significant damage to an organisation’s reputation, finances, and customer data. 

Why penetration testing?

Penetration testing is critical to an effective cybersecurity program because it provides valuable insights into their security posture and helps them identify vulnerabilities before cybercriminals can exploit them. In addition, it’s cost-effective and involves simulated real-world cyberattacks, including manual in-depth testing and analysis. There are several pentest methods; every test consists of subsequent phases.

Pentest phases

First, we’ll explain the pentest phases. It all starts with preparation and scoping: define what you need to protect and whom you need to protect it from. Next comes the vulnerability identification phase, which involves using various techniques to identify security vulnerabilities, starting with automated tools and progressing to manual in-depth testing. In the following exploitation phase, ethical hackers will attempt to exploit any vulnerability to demonstrate the impact of a potential attack and determine the extent of the damage that somebody could cause. A hacker may cause it. The last phase is about reporting and recommendation: documenting the findings and providing suggestions for improving security, including ranking vulnerabilities by using a combination of exploitability, scope, and impact.

Methods of penetration testing

When it comes to pentesting, there are three standard methods:

• White-box testing. This testing method is the least representative of a real-world attack since the ethical hacker fully knows the system and its internal workings. However, this method gives you more findings as most of the time can be spent exploiting the target.

• Black-box testing. This testing method is the closest representation to a real-world attack since the ethical hacker has no prior knowledge of its internal workings. But this method is time-consuming since the ethical hacker needs time to gather information about the target
• Grey-box testing. This form of testing involves testing a system with partial knowledge of its internal workings. This method takes the best of black-and-white box testing with fewer drawbacks.

Recap

Penetration testing is critical to any effective cybersecurity program because it gives organisations valuable insights into their security posture. Pentests provide insights into how secure applications are by evaluating the effectiveness of existing security controls, such as the software development lifecycle, patch management, firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and access controls. Pen testing is always executed in phases with different methods. The weapon of choice depends on your wishes, running technologies, business size, budget and other factors. How often you should pen test depends on several unique business elements. 

Pen testing by CPro

Experience peace of mind with CPro, your trusted partner for comprehensive and seamless pen testing solutions. Penetration testing by CPro means expert human hackers perform all tests. We offer pentests in all sorts and sizes, including infrastructure and web. Of course, we provide you with a decent pentest report. Our experienced and certified specialists have years of experience in cybersecurity and do their work without any hassle or expensive price tags. We don’t lock you in. Our value add is our expertise and ability to deliver work that achieves goals. CPro is reliable and proactive, ensuring that you do not have to worry about the security of your data and systems. Discover how we can help!