Sense of Security's penetration testing (ethical hacking)
service tests the security of your IT systems, by identifying and
exploiting weaknesses. We profile your organisation from the perspective
of its most likely threats, looking at your business processes,
information flows and the technology that supports your operations. This
allows us to determine the resilience of your environment to malicious
attempts to penetrate your systems.
Penetration Testing Methodology and Tools
Sense of Security has a documented, and tried and tested, penetration testing methodology
based on industry best practices such as the OSSTMM (Open Source
Security Testing Methodology Manual). This ensures that you receive
quality and repeatable results, and minimises the risk to your systems
under test.
Our team uses an arsenal of penetration testing tools
similar to those used by attackers on the internet - in conjunction
with in-house developed, commercial, and the best of breed open source
penetration tools. Indeed, keeping up to date with the latest security
vulnerabilities, trends and hacking techniques is our business.
We produce a comprehensive report covering the
approach taken, the techniques applied, and the vulnerabilities
identified and make procedural and strategic recommendations to ensure
that your systems are secure against future attack.
Vulnerability Assessment vs Penetration Testing (Ethical Hacking)
Vulnerability assessments use testing
tools (vulnerability scanners) to identify security vulnerabilities in a
system or environment. While they highlight the technical threat, they
do not qualify the business threat nor do they assess common attack
methods. Thus, the major distinction between a vulnerability assessment
and a penetration test (sometimes referred to as Ethical Hacking) is
that the vulnerability assessment does not actively exploit the
identified problems to determine the full exposure or validate its
existence which can lead to inaccuracies in the report (false
positives).
Unfortunately, many organisations claiming to perform penetration tests
actually "oversell" their services and just provide vulnerability
assessments using scanning tools. Although the initial cost may be less,
attack scenarios can be overlooked which can lead to a later security
breach. Sense of Security does not engage in these practices, and all
identified security issues are reported with step by step instructions
and screenshots on how to replicate the exploitable condition.
Demonstrating the real risk visually provides value to management who
may be unable to grasp some of the complex technical concepts involved
in this line of work . and highlights the urgency in fixing some issues.
Types of Pen Tests
Our pen testers can perform a range of assessments that simulate attack testing scenarios from individuals with varying degrees of knowledge and access to your systems.
- External penetration test - casual or focused intruders on the Internet with limited knowledge
- Internal penetration test - disgruntled or careless employees or contractors with legitimate access to the corporate network
- Extranet penetration test - business partners who are part of the corporate Extranet
- Remote access penetration test - casual or focused intruders from known and unknown remote access entry points
Sense of Security penetration testing specialists are also experienced with performing tests which address the PCI DSS quarterly vulnerability scan (ASV) and annual penetration test requirements.
Penetration Testing as Part of Corporate Governance
Penetration tests are a requirement for meeting
regulations such as PCI DSS, SOX, and HIPAA. It is also defined in
industry standards such as ISO 17799 and ISO 27001 as important security
tests an organisation should regularly undertake.
Key Penetration Testing Technology Focus Areas
Traditional pen testing disciplines:- Network penetration testing (infrastructure penetration testing), e.g. router, switch, firewall, etc.
- Server penetration testing, e.g. operating system, application, etc.
Advanced penetration testing technology disciplines include, but are not limited to:
- Application penetration testing
- Wireless
- PBX / PABX including VoIP
- Citrix
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
- Virtualisation
- Database
- SCADA
- BlackBerry Enterprise Server
- Microsoft Office SharePoint Server
- Black box
Vulnerability Management and Protection
Our penetration testing service can be provided as a one-off assessment, or you can leverage our security expertise to provide you with automated, continuous, cost-effective, vulnerability management protection where we work with you to develop a recurring vulnerability assessment program for different segments of your environment. With a recurring program we can highlight current exposures in a timely fashion, and provide you with trending data that allows you to monitor the progress of your IT security initiatives over time.Penetration Testing Articles and Information
- Does your penetration testing only scratch the surface? - Sense of Security Article
Get back to us info@briskinfosec.com, Mobile:9842751133