What Is Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing, also referred to as pen testing, is a simulation of a cyber attack that organizations conduct to identify security vulnerabilities within their systems. By finding weaknesses through a simulated cyber attack, organizations can pinpoint areas that need improvement before a cybercriminal can exploit them. Penetration testing helps organizations address issues in their systems to prevent unauthorized access, meet compliance requirements and minimize the risk of phishing attacks.

Continue reading to learn how penetration testing works, its different types and various penetration testing methods your organization can use to protect your data.

How penetration testing works

A penetration test has five stages: preparation, reconnaissance, penetration, reporting and remediation. To begin penetration testing, your organization must determine what needs to be tested, the goals of the test and which white hat hackers you will enlist to conduct it. Next, white hat hackers will learn about your organization’s security system and search for vulnerabilities. If they find any, they will attempt to penetrate your organization’s network, mimicking what a cybercriminal would do to gain unauthorized access. Once the penetration stage is complete, white hat hackers will report their findings, including the vulnerabilities they found in the data they were able to access. The final step involves restoring your systems to their original state, allowing your organization to patch vulnerabilities and make updates to protect your data.

Types of penetration testing

The main types of penetration testing are network, web application, wireless and social engineering penetration tests.

Network penetration test

A network penetration test assesses how secure a network is against a simulated cyber attack, searching for security vulnerabilities that a cybercriminal could take advantage of. By conducting a network penetration test, your organization can identify weaknesses that could be exploited to compromise your network. These pen tests can help prevent data breaches, which could otherwise result in financial losses and damage to your organization’s reputation.

Web application penetration test

A web application penetration test is a security test that simulates a cyber attack on a web application. The goal is to identify weaknesses within the web application to ensure sensitive data stays protected. Since web applications often have access to private information, it’s important to run web application penetration tests to make sure data is being protected in the event of a cyber attack.

Wireless penetration test

A wireless penetration test evaluates a wireless network’s security and the safety of devices’ connections to it by simulating a cyber attack. This includes computers, phones or other Internet of Things (IoT) devices that connect to your organization’s wireless network. By conducting a wireless penetration test, you can better protect these devices against future cyber attacks.

Social engineering penetration test

A social engineering penetration test measures how an organization’s employees respond to a simulated cyber attack. Your organization can run a social engineering penetration test by launching a simulated phishing, smishing or vishing attack. Based on employees’ instincts and reactions, you can identify areas for improvement and train employees on security awareness to prevent cybercriminals from gaining unauthorized access via human error.

Penetration testing methods

In addition to there being several types of penetration tests, you can also conduct penetration testing in a variety of ways, including external, internal, blind, double-blind and targeted testing.

External testing

External penetration testing involves performing a simulated cyber attack from outside your organization. The goal is to identify potential entry points, or attack vectors, that cybercriminals could use to gain unauthorized access.

Internal testing

Internal penetration testing simulates a situation in which a cybercriminal has internal access to your organization’s systems. The goal is to determine how much damage an insider threat could cause. For example, someone within your organization might negligently use a weak password, or an individual might intentionally seek to sabotage your organization from within. Internal testing identifies security vulnerabilities that exist, particularly for individuals with internal access.

Blind testing

When your organization knows that a simulated cyber attack is going to happen, this is known as blind testing. Although your organization can prepare for this penetration test, the white hat hacker is kept more in the dark, relying on limited information or only public information about the company. Blind testing helps get your organization realistic results of what data a cybercriminal could access if a real cyber attack were to occur.

Double-blind testing

Double-blind testing occurs when neither your organization nor the white hat hacker knows that a simulated cyber attack is happening or has any information about it. This kind of testing simulates a real cyber attack on both sides because no one can prepare in advance since it happens randomly.

Targeted testing

To evaluate the security of a specific area, or target, within your organization, you should run a penetration test through targeted testing. This simulates a cyber attack to identify security vulnerabilities within a particular part of your organization’s systems. For example, if you want to ensure that the part of your organization’s system containing sensitive data is secure, run a targeted test to determine security vulnerabilities in that area.

What happens after a penetration test is done?

Once you successfully complete a penetration test, the real work begins. The first step your organization should take is to review the white hat hacker’s results and findings. Look for what security vulnerabilities were found and the entry points exploited during the penetration test so you can determine where to start when developing a remediation plan. Based on the findings, create a plan to prioritize patching the various security vulnerabilities. You may also plan to run a follow-up penetration test to ensure that updated systems are no longer vulnerable to simulated cyber attacks.

Protect your organization with penetration testing

Your organization can benefit from running penetration tests because they improve security by identifying weaknesses that cybercriminals could exploit in a simulated and controlled environment. It is essential to conduct penetration tests regularly to keep your systems as secure as possible and prevent cybercriminals from gaining unauthorized access to your data, devices or network.