Penetration Testing Companies: 5 Phases of Pen Testing Methodology
Goal of penetration testing
In today’s business world, almost each organization tends to keep its information assets duly protected. For this reason, services of penetration testing companies have recently entered public consciousness. Penetration test allows you to conduct an objective security risk assessment to determine how easily an attacker can gain unauthorized access to the corporate network and the site of your company, in particular, its sensitive data, what ways and vulnerabilities might be exploited. Penetration test partially simulates the behavior and tactics of the intruder which he uses to enter your information system. Thus, a pentest helps to identify network security vulnerabilities and, if possible, to demonstrate how to model the attacks in order to verify whether a variety of countermeasures are performed correctly.
There are 5 phases of penetration test:
Reconnaissance
At this phase, pen testers gather solid intelligence or proxy data on your target. Data gathering is necessary to develop a better plan of attack on your digital content. Reconnaissance mission can be done actively (when you are directly contacting the target) or passively (when you are using an intermediary to perform your recon).
Scanning
The objective of this phase is to obtain further intelligence on the target systems using specialized technical tools. However, during this testing, the intelligence being gathered is usually about the available systems. For example, using such automated tool as vulnerability scanner, software testing service providers aim to assess security of a target network.
Gaining Access
This phase is intended to take control over one or more networking devices for the purpose of retrieving data from the target, or launching attacks on another target using that device.
Maintaining Access
This phase involves gathering as much data as possible while being within the target environment. The attacker must maintain access to the host environment quite long in order to achieve his or her goals, and at the same time not to be detected.
Covering tracks
During this phase, having gained and maintained the access the attacker must avoid getting tracked and caught. After making any changes, obtaining any unauthorized accesses it is necessary to return all to a state of non-recognition, leaving behind the probable control of host network’s administrators, for the possibility to make future visits. Take a look at list software testing companies – it contains reputable providers of testing services.