Types of Penetration Testing and Their Advantages
It is necessary to keep a business safe from infiltrators and hackers that could exploit the customer or the company’s information for illegal purposes. Penetration testing is a method where such illegal practices are prevented by employing software that can find potential risks and provide solutions thereon.
Types of testing and how they work:
1) External network penetration test:
This method is rather simple and preliminary but effective. Ethical hackers are appointed to break through a company’s servers and systems like a regular hacker might. It also does not require them to be present in the office itself to perform the actions. They try every high precision device to make sure a hacker could not potentially get through the system no matter what strategy is put to use.
This type of testing also allows one to figure out what physical distances a hacker could potentially be performing their actions from. This set perimeter helps businesses install better security systems and strengthen them by identifying the level of threat a hacker poses and from which part of the world they could be doing it too.
Closer the perimeter, the better the security. It is always better to employ all possible defences since hackers could always be closer than assumed. This test ensures every public forum or source a hacker could use does not help them achieve positive results since they would be using stronger and efficient systems the hackers might not have access to or the breakthrough capability.
2) Internal penetration test:
Contrary to external penetration testing, internal tests are a deeper form of testing to understand the scale of infiltration. It is based on the assumption that a hacker gets through the network security system. The various facilities and accesses he gets after the hacking are what may be concerning to the business. One can do this test to find out how to further protect information if this situation occurs. It could also be accessed by an employee or anyone near the systems inside the business systems, leading to malpractice.
Since an employee can also use their powers to leak confidential information, it is necessary to analyze the risks involved in this process. An internal test could give one positive result on what procedure to follow if a potential risk is identified or what the risks are themselves.
3) Web application test:
Internet sharing is a common platform used by many businesses to share and collect information. Since many people fall victim to website hackings or cyber criminals acquiring their credentials through various common undoubted platforms, the website application test is the most important in the current situation. It analyses the risks a business could encounter and provides counteractive suggestions to solve them effectively. Since one can never be sure which website may cause such issues, it is safer to have security systems beforehand.
4) Social engineering:
This kind of penetration test is necessary for all employees since it is the most basic training they have to go through. It consists of psychological effects on the employee convincing them to share company information which may lead to disastrous outcomes.
One needs to look out for such malpractices and identify them before reacting to them. This test can create awareness and better work ethics in the employees of an organization. Hackers could get into computers through numerous ways, many of which are easily provided to them if an employee is under educated. Stay aware, stay safe!
Author Bio: Alison Lurie is a farmer of words in the field of creativity. She is an experienced independent content writer with a demonstrated history of working in the writing and editing industry. She is a multi-niche content chef who loves cooking new things.
