Penetration Testing, commonly referred to as Pen Testing, involves a series of simulated cyberattacks assessing companies’ resistance to cyber risks, which often are accompanied by technical and executive reporting to help organisations improve their security protocols. Whether they include Bond-like exercises in which incognito security experts are trying to break into an organisation’s premises, or simply detecting holes in security postures by bypassing software protections in place, penetration testing proves an effective way to provide enterprises certainty they need that cyber attack threats loom. Read below to understand how you can use this to better recognize cyber risks that might be a threat to your business.
Password Attack
National Cyber Security Centre urges businesses in the UK to correctly implement security passwords with free and effective measures to prevent work PCs and laptops from being the target of malicious cyberattacks. The list of recommendations, among other things, suggests companies use ‘two-factor’ authentication (also known as 2FA) for critical accounts and helping staff cope with password overload e.g. by limiting the need for periodical passwords changes, that often result in employees coming up with even more predictable login details.
But regardless of the number of high-profile advice, password management remains a difficult problem for IT staff, with companies failing to strike a balance between using strong and secure yet easy-to-remember passcodes. The grapple leads to many mishaps, perhaps familiar to all heavy application users out there, such as reusing login credentials or saving them on machines in plaintext format.
And, although it might look like companies are taking extra care to avoid falling victim to brute force attacks (automated online attacks), or less intrusive but nevertheless dangerous educated guesses, security experts admit passwords to be the path of least resistance.
As such, conducting penetration testing is often the most reliable way of accessing the use of login credentials in a workplace. Especially important for executives who suspect that the only thing that stands between a hacker and their enterprise’s critical data is a weak string of letters that happen to be someone’s sweetheart or pet’s name.
Social Engineering
Password attacks can be executed without the involvement of a user and there will be instances when hackers might try reaching out directly to people working in an organisation with an intent to obtain sensitive information. Social engineering attacks, such as phishing attacks, usually involve sending fake emails to a large number of people requesting information about bank details, or containing links to harmful websites.
And if you think it’s unlikely that anyone would ever be willing to share confidential details with a stranger, you should think twice. According to the IBM Cyber Security Index report, human error accounts for 52% of all cybersecurity breaches.
With hackers becoming even more callous and social engineering attacks harder to spot, penetration testing is often the only way to test if people in your organisation understand regular business relationships while being able to recognize out of the ordinary activities that could be harmful to the company. Not to mention taking responsibility and reporting them at a right time to the right person.
Bypassing Antivirus Applications
Installing and using antivirus software is a cybersecurity commitment that most companies understand and are ready to make. Unfortunately, once installed, organisations tend to forget that even the most effective antivirus software won’t work if the updates suggested by the vendors are not downloaded on the machine.
This identification of malicious activities is called static analysis and is imperative for detecting potential cybersecurity breaches. If, however, organizations neglect their cybersecurity responsibilities, the updated versions of malicious code that are the becoming the norm of hacker attacks, such as the disastrous WannaCry attack from May 2017, wouldn’t be recognized by the antivirus software.
During a penetration test using different techniques (like encryptions hiding malicious code), the companies’ infrastructure and network are subjected to a series of controlled attacks to bypass the antivirus protection in place. The aim of these tests is to assess the level of their antivirus protection and how, if at all, it can be sneaked past. This is often the only solution that grants organisations the certainty that their security posture has all the updates required and is up and running to the best of its ability.
