Imagine you’ve been asked to oversee your company’s new security program. So, you do your research, you chose and implement what you think are the right tools, and you hope that you’ve successfully protected your company from cybersecurity threats. Unfortunately, without actually putting the security measures to the test, your systems may still have vulnerabilities that you aren’t even aware of. These are the weaknesses that hackers will inevitably find to sneak onto your network and steal sensitive data.
So, how can you be sure that you are actually securing all parts of your business? Network penetration testing is the most thorough method to find any vulnerabilities and fix them before hackers can use them against you. Read on to learn more about penetration testing and how Kinetix can help you get started.
What Is Penetration Testing?
A penetration test is an artificial cyberattack against all the systems in your network to discover existing vulnerabilities in your security protections. The test has five stages:
Planning and reconnaissance: Set the extent and goals of your test. Determine what systems you will target and what methods will be used.
Scanning: Understand how the network will respond to the intrusion attempts using static and dynamic analysis.
Gaining access: Use web application attacks to find and exploit any vulnerabilities. Try to edit privileges, steal data, and generally wreak havoc.
Maintaining access: See if the vulnerabilities that were found can be used repeatedly. Attempt to create a backdoor to allow for future entry.
Analysis: Report on the vulnerabilities, data taken, and the amount of time the threat remained in the system undetected.
Becoming aware of your true security weaknesses may be difficult to digest at first (you thought you were so secure!), but addressing them will help make your protections that much stronger. Most importantly, though, it’s better that you find out your weaknesses before a hacker inevitably does!
How Often Should You Conduct Cybersecurity Penetration Testing?
One test one time is not enough for complete protection. You need to conduct penetration tests regularly as systems, threats, and vulnerabilities are constantly changing. A good rule of thumb is to test annually or after a significant change, such as:
Upgrading software
Installing patches
Updating firmware
Changing firewall rules
Contact Kinetix About Penetration Testing Services Today
Kinetix is a cybersecurity leader that offers many managed security services, for startup and high-growth organizations. At Kinetix, we’ll work with you to proactively build up your company’s security protections. As part of our Advanced Security Program, Kinetix will handle the ins and outs of bringing on a third-party testing service on your behalf. We only work with verified independent third parties to conduct our clients’ penetration tests, to give you the peace of mind that your security tools are doing what you want them to do.
Choose Kinetix as your partner for cybersecurity penetration testing. Claim your free security assessment or contact us today.
