Penetration Testing

Your Vulnerability data is only as accurate as it is current 

Penetration tests offer a holistic test of complete security posture

Why use Penetration Testing / Ethical Hacking?

A regular risk-based assessment of your cyber security Simulate creative thinking by a motivated a capable hacker Tests determine how well your organisation's security policies protect your assets by trying to gain access to your network and information assets in the same way a hacker would.  To support assessment of compliance  Pre / Post go-live for a new system / application  As an independent check on external service providers / vendors

To support audit requirements  As part of an incident response  To exercise incident detection and escalation Allows exercise of multiple mechanisms; Intrusion detection  Host-based security  Security event logging  Password strength  Incident response  Security awareness  Security processes  Patching processes  Coding standards adherence  True risk often emerges from a combination of lesser vulnerabilities.

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Penetration Testing Service Types

Annual Quarterly Automated

On-demand Subscription based Remote and outside services

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Benefits of Penetration Tests

• Present the feasibility of an attack and the potential risks from such an event taking place.
• Explain the business impact of the vulnerabilities being discovered and exploited by a malicious user.
• Demonstrate what a hacker / malicious user would be able to achieve.
• Expose issues which an automated scanner would not always identify.
• Cover logic based applications (i.e. web applications) in depth from a user’s perspective.
• Assess Vulnerabilities
• Test Defenses
• Comply with Regulations 

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Internal & External Network Penetration Tests  
May include (but not limited to):

Databases Operating Systems Credential capture Mainframes Network Infrastructure Middleware Routers / switches / load-balancers Single sign-on Remote network access devices

Remote administration Name /allocation services Backup Common Services File sharing Access control Endpoint Devices Cloud platforms

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Internal Penetration Testing  

An internal security test takes place on the customers premises, where all systems including servers, workstation and network devices are accessible.

Internal tests can include wireless testing, firewall rules review, VOIP assessment, server forensic audits, architecture review and more.

Testers explore if your network is properly segmented using VLAN best practices.

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External Testing 

External network security assessments are a one-off in-depth assessment of your externally facing, perimeter network. This can include testing for proper load balancing, SSL configurations, and DNS settings. These assessments are often conducted in conjunction with a web application test.

Internal

External

Network Vulnerability Scan Validation of Scan Results Manual Pen Testing Most Exploitable Findings Unauthenticated Web App Scanning Layer 2 Testing (Broadcast, ARP) Vertical Escalation Segmentation Testing Any Exploitable Vulnerabilities (Targets) Horizontal Escalation (Targets) Attack Chains Data Exfiltration Testing Enterprise Escalation Testing From Client Subnets Horizontal Escalation (Enterprise) Any Exploitable Vulnerabilities (Enterprise) Client Side / Browser Attacks Advanced Protocol Attacks Password Analysis

Network Vulnerability Scan Unauthenticated Web App Scanning Validation of Scan Results Manual Pen Testing Most Exploitable Findings Any Exploitable Vulnerabilities Vertical Escalation Horizontal Escalation Attack Chains Escalation To Adjacent Systems Limited Phishing Client Side Attacks Social Engineering Custom Protocol Attacks Escalation To Internal Network

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How does Penetration Testing DIFFER from Vulnerability Scanning?

Vulnerability scanning evaluates a system for potential vulnerabilities or weak configurations, is largely automated and can only ever find a subset of security issues. Penetration testing, on the other hand, is a manual process performed by a human. A penetration tester will use tools as a part of their work, but they apply their human ingenuity to exploit vulnerabilities and illustrate what an attacker might be capable of when targeting a particular system. 

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