We explain why a penetration test is an essential security measure for any company
Penetration testing may raise many questions in your team. Regularly, we get asked about the purpose of a Penetration test. A reasonable question because an unknown team of pentesters will try to get past your network security controls. And do things that are indistinguishable from real-world cyber-attacks.
Before agreeing to a simulated attack on your network infrastructure, you need to know exactly what the purpose is. What you will get out of it? What issues you have to deal with for the sake of long-term improvement?
Unfortunately, there isn’t one answer that suits all organizations. Our penetration testing services use a variety of methods, depending on your security needs and objectives.
Contact us through our website and we can set up a free consultation.
Discover and eliminate security risks
The main objective of a penetration test is to identify security weaknesses in a network, machine, or piece of software. Once that is clear, the vulnerabilities can be eliminated, or the weaknesses can be reduced before hostile parties discover them and exploit them. To make that specific to your situation, you have to consider several questions:
– What types of risks are you most concerned with?
– Do you have specific compliance requirements based on the work you do and the information you handle?
– What level of data protection do you require?
– What risks are inherent in the type of business you do?
– Determining Your Cyber Security Objectives
Once you have assessed your needs, you can translate them into objectives. You may be primarily concerned with assessing your technical defences, such as web application firewalls (WAFs). There may be a particular application you want to test. You may want to be sure that a certain type of information (i.e. personal or credit card data) has adequate protection.
Each objective implies a distinct security testing scenario. Different approaches will have their own targets and methods. They will vary in methodology and coverage.
Part of a compliance program
Some types of organizations require adherence to specific standards. Systems that comply with the ISO 27001 standard have to prevent the exploitation of technical vulnerabilities. Penetration testing isn’t an explicit requirement, but it’s one of the best ways to demonstrate compliance.
Businesses that handle credit card data need to follow PCI security standards for sensitive data. Penetration testing built around requirements is an important part of a security assessment. Acting on the results of a test will help to minimize the risk of penalties or lost business due to non-compliance.
Would you like to know more about how penetration testing can help your organization? Contact us here.
Read more about:
‘Penetration testing, vulnerability scanning and risk assessment. What is the difference?’
‘7 Tips on How to Get the Best out of a Penetration test‘