Why do penetration testing

The PCI DSS also requires that businesses test security controls annually and perform segmentation checks every six months. Subsequent assessments on these controls should also be done after any major change has been made.

A penetration test can be broken into three steps:. Do You Need a Penetration Test? Find out Here. Unlike a real attacker, penetration testers have a set number of hours used to test a given environment. The possibility that the hacker could take full control of your IT infrastructure becomes extremely likely once they gain entry into your internal network.

To mitigate the risk of a security incident and avoid the cost of a cyber attack the cost of a cyber attack , we need to be able to prevent, detect, respond and recover from such attacks. We can prevent many attacks by making sure we remediate all known software vulnerabilities and performing regular security assessments to identify possible unknown vulnerabilities.

However, we can never guarantee that a system is secure forever. We will need to have a proper procedure on how to detect, respond and recover from incidents. Here, we will be focusing on why we need to perform a security assessment, such as penetration testing on our IT infrastructure so that we can prevent these nasty incidents from happening. Penetration testing Penetration testing , also called ethical hacking, white-hat hacking, or pentesting, is a form of security assessment that tests a computer system, network network , or software application to find security vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit.

The scope of penetration testing can vary depending on our requirements. It could range from a simple single web application penetration test to a full-scale penetration test on the company, also known as Red-Teaming or Adversarial Simulation.

Here are four reasons why businesses should consider conducting a penetration test on themselves:. How much is your business worth is your business worth today?

How crucial to your business is your IT infrastructure? How much would it cost if that IT infrastructure is disrupted for a day? The testing is often stopped when the objective is achieved, i. The worst situation is to have an exploitable vulnerability within infrastructure, application or people that you are not aware of, as the attackers will be probing your assets even if you are not. Breaches, unless publicised by the attackers, can go undetected for months.

Organisations need to scan the external available infrastructure and applications to protect against external threats. They also need to scan internally to protect against insider threat and compromised individuals. An experienced penetration tester will also present you with a list of recommendations for their timely remediation as well as help you develop a reliable information security system and prioritize your future cybersecurity investments.

Even though a penetration test may involve the use of automated tools, the focus is still on the manual skills, professional knowledge and experience of penetration testers. Undoubtedly, penetration testing plays a crucial role in terms of protecting your business and its valuable assets from potential intruders.

However, the benefits of a pentest extend far beyond network and data security. These standards require company managers and system owners to conduct regular penetration tests and security audits with the help of professional security analysts. For instance, the PCI DSS Payment Card Industry Data Security standard requires organizations that handle large volumes of transactions to conduct both annual and regular penetration testing after any system changes.

Security attacks may compromise your sensitive data, which leads to the loss of trusted customers and serious reputational damages. Moreover, a pen test may grow in time and complexity if the system requires additional scope.