What Is Penetration Testing & Why Do You Need It?

Hacking a company’s security system used to be extremely difficult and required a lot of time. Today’s technological development in the digital world has made it easier than ever for hackers to find a company’s most vulnerable and weak points.

The main goal of penetration testing is to help companies figure out where they are most likely to come across an attack and reinforce those weaknesses before they get exploited by hackers.

With the help of Elijah, you can get technical and cyber security experts to conduct penetration testing to help companies protect their information and data through ethical hacking.

What Is Penetration Testing?

Companies can establish penetration testing by what it is supposed to assess. This may include all networks, devices, applications, and physical security elements. It imitates the actions of hackers. Experienced and skilled cybersecurity experts conduct penetration testing to develop a company’s security structure and eliminate any vulnerable or weak points that leave it open to attack.

Penetration testing goes further than just stopping hackers from unauthorized access to a company’s systems if they are conducted properly. It develops real-world scenarios that show companies how well their current defenses would hold up when confronted with a full-scale cyber-attack.

Why Do You Need a Penetration Test?

Penetration tests allow businesses to evaluate the overall security of their IT infrastructure. An organization may have strong security protocols in one area but may lack in another. No organization should wait for an actual incident to take place before going on defense. Using penetration testing services to reveal weaknesses in a company’s security layer allows cybersecurity experts to focus on these weaknesses before they turn into critical liabilities.

Benefits Of Penetration Testing

When the question arises about who generally conducts a penetration test, it is the bodies charged with protecting the information of the private citizens. Even the most lucrative IT department may not have the objectivity that is required to find out security flaws that may leave a company exposed to hackers. When it comes to who usually conducts these operations, it is best to get outside penetration testing services to perform white box, black-box, and other security assessments.

Having an outsourced body to perform intrusion tests is valuable in the following ways:

1. Evaluate the how the security holds up under distinct types of cyberattacks.

2. Determine how the penetration of low-risk vulnerabilities can result in a lot of damage at higher levels.

3. Expose the risks that are difficult to find with the help of application scanning and an automated network.

4. Evaluate and quantify the possible effects on functional and business operations.

5. Analyze how network defenses are carried out when faced with a cyberattack.

6. Measure the requirement for further investment in security technology and personnel.

7. Stopping any future attacks by validating and implementing updated security controls.

Penetration testing must not be restricted to a one-time test. It must be part of a system of continuous surveillance to keep companies safe through different kinds of security testing. Cybersecurity experts recommend that organizations schedule regular penetration testing to help reveal any new security vulnerabilities, and avoid any opportunities to exploit those vulnerabilities. Preparing your company with smart, litigable security methods after penetration testing services is extremely crucial.

Different Types of Penetration Testing

Network weaknesses usually fall into three categories: software, hardware and human. Following are the different types of penetration tests that will help you understand what a penetration test consists of and what types of possible weaknesses your company may be facing.

1. Web Application Penetration Test

Web App Penetration tests spot the points in an application that are open to hacking by a hacker. Establishing a new third-party element that allows viewing data on a company’s website can provide an opening into the systems.

2. Network Security Penetration Test

Cybersecurity experts use network penetration tests when it comes to network security to discover areas a hacker may exploit in different networks, systems, devices and hosts. They try to anticipate ways a hacker may find real-world opportunities to jeopardize an organization, gain access to personal data.

3. Cloud Security Penetration Test

Cloud security penetration tests are crucial when it comes to helping organizations invested in cloud technology to protect vulnerable assets. The autonomy and adaptability provided by solutions also expose companies to new security threats.

We, at Elijah, use different automation tools and procedures to perform penetration testing and expose vulnerabilities. Penetration testing tools locate issues such as hard-coded values and weak data encryption within application codes, like passwords.

They help organizations establish how well their business complies with the ongoing security policy. It is also a great way to quantify employee security awareness at all levels of the company.

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