Page 65 - Cyber Defense eMagazine forJune 2021

Penetration testing essence

Being one of the most sought-after QA types nowadays, penetration testing serves to uncover security
vulnerabilities, safeguard sensitive clients’ data, and minimize any application risks, which directly
increases brand image and boosts client retention rates.
Unlike ethical hacking, certified specialists perform these verifications, smoothly spot diverse solution
weaknesses, and will never behave in a way “black-hat” hackers act, probing companies’ systems and
applying obtained data for criminal gain.

Penetration testing role for business: 4 major benefits
So, what are the major perks of implementing ongoing penetration testing? There are at
least four advantages that may change business workflows for the better:
1. Prevent any damage to public image or loss of money. In addition to reputational damage led
by an extensive decrease in customer base, companies may lose tremendous sums of
money by paying multi-thousand ransoms for the attackers to keep the business.
2. Enable business resilience. Serious hacks of malicious users can briskly lead to dissolving any
activities. Without timely detecting and troubleshooting existing security
loopholes, organizations may experience a continuous exposure to high-level risks.

3. Save a great deal of time that could be otherwise spent on recuperation. Recovery
procedure after being subjected to a cyberattack is a time- and effort-consuming process fraught with
challenges like a significant decrease in operational capabilities for many months thereafter.

4. Attain compliance with strict regulations. International standards may impose monthly penalties in
case of inconsistency with set requirements. In addition, PCI DSS states that it’s vital to
fulfill penetration testing both annually and after any considerable changes introduced to the
system.

When to conduct penetration testing?
Unfortunately, organizations remember to carry out this activity when it’s too late, and a breach has
already occurred, thereby extending a virus within a company or stealing highly sensitive data.
To prevent this devastating scenario from taking place, broad-minded companies involve penetration
testing experts each time they plan to release an application, introduce substantial modifications, apply
new security patches, or pass the analysis scheduled by the demands of diverse international
regulations.

3 approaches to performing penetration testing

Depending on whether the QA engineers possess a profound knowledge of the solution under test or
have to explore this data on their own, let’s determine 3 techniques used to fulfill these verifications and
boost organizational security:
1. Black-box testing. In the scope of quality assurance activities, the engineer has no or little data
on the client’s software and has to discover the ways of entering system infrastructure. It allows

Cyber Defense eMagazine – June 2021 Edition 65
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