Did you know that 95% of cyber-attacks are down to human error? And that 30,000 websites are hacked every day? Cybersecurity issues are on the rise and one of the best ways to protect yourself from security breaches is by using penetration tests.

Ethical hackers can help your network stay safe from cyberattacks in the future and provide you with a good security assessment. Businesses’ list of important things to do should include improving security posture. Getting an ethical hacker to help with this is a brilliant way to do this and keep your business safe in the long run.

What Is Penetration Testing?

Also known as a pen test, penetration testing is an artificial cyberattack against computer systems to seek out vulnerabilities and exploitability. A penetration test is performed in three steps that include research, testing/exploitation, and documentation. They can help determine an attack surface and pinpoint weaknesses.

What Are The Types Of Penetration Testing?

Pen tests can be split into three main types: black-box, white-box, and grey-box assessments. These can be carried out in real-time meaning you can get answers quickly.

A black-box assessment finds weaknesses that can be exploited from outside a network. In this instance, the tester has no information or access prior to the artificial attack. In contrast, white-box assessments get full access to a system to check for as many vulnerabilities as possible and from all angles.

Grey-box assessments have partial information given to them, usually in the form of login credentials so they can perform network penetration. This assessment is mainly used to show how a privileged user/someone with an advantage could cause damage to a system. For example, this is significant if a hacker has gained information via social engineering.

Manual testing can seek out clever, more sophisticated vulnerabilities than automated pen testing, so it’s definitely worth considering this as well.

Why Is Penetration Testing Important?

Pen testers and security experts can seek out vulnerabilities in web applications, mobile applications, internal networks, and more and this is key to good vulnerability management. One of the best ways to protect sensitive data is also to hire a pen tester. A vulnerability assessment is the only way to fully ensure that you are doing everything you can to protect your network.

It’s not just web apps and web applications that are at risk of attack, mobile apps are also at risk.

All in all, be sure to find penetration testing services that suit your needs. There are ethical hackers that specialize in web application penetration, even mobile applications, and all-around network security. RSI Security is one of the top compliance and cybersecurity providers going, they can help you to keep yourself, as well as your network, safe in the future.