It is no secret that in order to keep the IT environment fully operational, it is necessary to use methods that will ensure its maximum security – which in many cases may turn out to be a real challenge for many organizations and enterprises. A thorough verification of the effectiveness of the installed solutions is guaranteed by penetration tests, also known as pentests. In the article below, you will learn how to take care of the security of your website, store or application by conducting penetration tests, which are designed to find all errors and vulnerabilities, thanks to which we can protect ourselves against hacking and data theft.
Thanks to the pentests, it is possible to test the security measures in the event of a threat of hacker attacks. These tests relate directly to the security of the IT infrastructure whose application or network resources are analyzed for inaccuracies, gaps and errors detected in the applied security measures. Pentests also determine the degree of vulnerability of security measures to possible cyber threats.
The advantages of penetration testing
Penetration tests are nothing more than orchestrated or simulated hacker attacks aimed directly at the IT resources of a given organization. They determine the actual security condition of a given facility. Their goal is to realistically assess the level of security of data resources, such as networks, all kinds of applications such as mobile applications, web applications, desktop applications as well as the entire IT infrastructure.
Taking care of the cybersecurity of data resources, each organization should systematically conduct pentests, thanks to which it can be sure that all data of the company’s IT systems are adequately protected against virtual threats.
Reasons for using penetration testing solutions
– detection of potential errors by pentests can be commissioned for a variety of reasons, the most common of which are:
– incorrect system configurations
– security vulnerabilities
– ineffectiveness of procedural and technical solutions
-low user awareness of the risk of a possible cyber threat
-no updating of systems securing the organization’s IT infrastructure
The most effective penetration testing strategy should be deceptively similar to the actual hacker attacks. Each testing should be completed with a report with a list of detected software bugs and vulnerabilities, and the methods of their elimination, as well as reducing the risk of their use by virtual criminals.
IT security tests of web, mobile and desktop applications – types
Depending on the level of knowledge about the tested area, there are three types of pentests:
– Black Box Pentest test – Penetration testers have no knowledge of the area under study
– White Box Pentest – the pentester (ethical hacker) has full knowledge of the tested area, has all the permissions to do so
– Gray Box Pentest test – the combination of both of the above boxes – the pentester receives partial information about the tested area.
Penetration testing has many advantages, thanks to which your organization’s data resources on the network are fully secure. They help businesses manage cybersecurity more effectively, which is the first step to avoid hacking attacks.