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What is Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing, commonly referred to as “pen testing”, is a type of security testing where ethical hackers actively seek to breach a computer system’s security measures. The goal is to discover security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious entities. Essentially, a pen test is a simulated attack that mimics the strategies of cyber criminals to gain access to sensitive information.

Penetration testers or “pen testers” are the ethical hackers who perform these tests. Equipped with a wide range of techniques and tools, they try to identify and exploit security issues in a target system. This can range from software vulnerabilities, hardware weaknesses, or even human factors through a social engineering attack. SQL injections, for example, are a common form of attack where an attacker can manipulate a site’s database through its user interface – a major vulnerability that pen testers will often look for.

Open standards play a significant role in pen testing. These are provide information on common vulnerabilities types and security control measures one should have in place to prevent them. One example of this is the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP). This community-driven project is well known for the “OWASP Top 10” – the list of the most common vulnerabilities types in web-applications.

Moreover, penetration test services often simulate different types of attacks to evaluate all possible security controls. They go beyond automated testing to incorporate manual techniques and take a deep dive into the system, providing a thorough evaluation.

A key objective of penetration testing is ensuring compliance with various industry regulations and standards, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This standard demands regular pen testing to secure cardholder data, making it an essential part of any organization’s security routine that handles such information.

Upon completing a pen test, the testers compile their findings into a report, highlighting the discovered vulnerabilities, the risks they pose, and the recommended mitigations. This critical process enables organizations to patch their vulnerabilities and strengthen their security measures before a real attacker can exploit them.

In essence, penetration testing is a proactive and indispensable method of enhancing a computer system’s security. By predicting the techniques of cybercriminals and identifying potential breaches, pen testers help organizations stay one step ahead, thereby ensuring their data remains secure from threats.