Penetration Test Software

Know Your Exposure

Penetration testing - or pen testing - is best described as an evaluation of an organization’s cybersecurity posture through the uncovering and exploitation of security weaknesses.

These vulnerabilities can exist anywhere - in your operating systems, in flaws in your services or software applications, through improper device or software configurations, in end-user behavior. No single test or approach can test all of those vectors of risk, and few companies can afford to dedicate the time, budget, or effort to such an exhaustive barrage of tests.

But today’s business environment requires us to grapple with maintaining regulatory compliance - whether your industry follows PCI-DSS, CMMC, GDPR, NIST, or other standards. All of those standards require a baseline security posture but also an informed diligence against evolving cybersecurity risks.

And so, the best penetration testing practices require judicious, thoughtful use of the highest value tests to maintain compliance, mitigate risk, and clarify your security posture.

The tests and approaches we recommend to nearly every client are:

  • Vulnerability scan validations
    • Dozens of vulnerability scanners exist on the market and collating the data they provide is a vital part of improving your security posture.
    • If vulnerability scanning represents checking every window, door, latch, and panel in a building to see which are locked or unlocked, the next step is to understand what valuables are behind each unlocked door.
    • A good penetration testing approach will help you recognize the extent of each vulnerability. The best approaches help you prioritize your remediation efforts within regulatory, budgetary, and operational constraints.
  • Web application tests using SQL injection and OS command injection
    • Cybersecurity is a dynamic discipline, and so, too, should your penetration testing approach.
    • Web crawling, web server attacks, database and backend network probing - all of these avenues need to be tested for the extent of their vulnerabilities.
  • Phishing campaign simulations
    • Social engineering will always be a difficult security flaw to protect against; phishing uses our most human, social instincts against us with convincing emails or lies targeted at the busiest, most distracted parts of our organization to harvest credentials and probe human tendencies.
    • The best defense is to promote awareness through internal phishing campaigns to identify and educate vulnerable employees and users about recognizing phishing attempts to protect your entire ecosystem.

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