Penetration testing

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Request a security audit as well as change recommendations and implementation monitoring.

The result of our actions will be a report showing where the holes are and what should be done to patch them. Such tests are intended to help the client improve security and thus avoid cyber attacks

To avoid falling victim to a hacker, you must think like a hacker... a few words about Penetration Testing

Maintaining the security of the IT environment while remaining operational is a challenge for most organizations. One way to check the effectiveness of your solutions is to perform penetration tests. Pentests enable you to test your security measures against hacker attacks.
Penetration testing refers to the IT infrastructure security process of assessing given resources (e.g. networks or applications) for security vulnerabilities and vulnerabilities to cyber threats. Pentests are nothing more than controlled hacker attacks, carried out according to the principle: "in order not to fall victim to a hacker, you have to think like a hacker."
Organizations should conduct pentesting regularly to ensure they are adequately maintaining the cybersecurity of their assets.

What are penetration tests? Detailed explanation

Penetration tests / pentests are simulated hacker attacks on IT systems. Their aim is to actually assess the security status of given IT resources. These resources can be networks, all types of applications (web applications, IoT devices, mobile applications, desktop applications, on-board computers) and the entire IT infrastructure.

Pentests analyze areas for potential security errors caused by, among others:
incorrect configuration
security vulnerabilities
weaknesses in technical or procedural solutions
insufficient user awareness.
Effective penetration tests should resemble real hacking attacks as closely as possible. They should also end with a report that, in addition to the detected vulnerabilities, will also include solutions to eliminate these vulnerabilities or limit the possibility of their use by real cybercriminals.
Penetration testing/pentesting is also referred to as ethical hacking, pentesting or IT security testing.

What types of pentests are there?

There are usually three types of penetration tests. They depend on the level of knowledge about the researched area:
Black Box Pentest (black box test) – the pentester does not know anything about the tested area and does not have access rights to the diagrams/architecture; is used to simulate an external attack.
White Box Pentest (white box test) – the pentester has full knowledge of the test area and has access rights and access to diagrams/architecture; is used to simulate external and internal attacks.
Gray Box Pentest (gray box test) – something between Black Box Pentest and White Box Pentest; in this case, the pentester may receive partial information about the area being examined.

Who conducts penetration testing?

Systems analysis is carried out from the perspective of a potential burglar, i.e. the so-called pentester/ethical hacker.
Penetration testers should know the tested environment as little as possible, and preferably they should not know it at all and come from outside the organization they are testing. Because only then are they able to objectively look at the examined area and spot the most gaps and inaccuracies. A professional tester will certainly notice errors missed by the programmers who built the system.

Pentesters should not only be well-versed in cyber threats, but also know the latest methods used by hackers.
It is also possible to perform penetration tests yourself. Then the tests are carried out using special software. However, these tests will not be as effective as those performed by qualified, professional pentesters.

How often should you perform pentests?

The more often organizations perform penetration testing, the better. However, it is worth establishing a certain regularity and performing pentests periodically. The optimal solution would be to perform tests once a year and when major changes occur in given areas or new solutions or systems are implemented.
Importantly: periodic pentesting meets the requirement art. 32 section 1 letter d GDPR stating the need to regularly test, measure and evaluate the effectiveness of the applied security measures.

How much do penetration tests cost?

Therefore, it is difficult to talk about specific costs, because each time this service requires an individual valuation. Penetration testing prices depend on several factors: the area being tested, the complexity of the work performed and the time that must be devoted to it.

The power of cyber resilience lies in pentesting
Cyberattacks can disrupt the operation of any company, damage its reputation and result in fines. Therefore, every organization should conduct penetration testing regularly to understand and fix the weak points of its IT infrastructure. Thanks to pentests, enterprises can better manage cybersecurity and improve corporate security cyber resilience strategy and – above all – avoid hacker attacks.