When it comes to a penetration test, knowing what you’re paying for is crucial. Penetration testing aims to find weaknesses and assess the impact of a possible assault on your company. The biggest data breaches have shown that all it takes is one missed vulnerability to put a company’s assets in danger.
Cybersecurity experts use penetration testing to identify weaknesses in servers, networks, and applications that attackers can exploit. In this article, we’ll concentrate on the penetration testing procedures and the necessary equipment and methods. So take a moment to read this blog post which outlines the seven steps and phases of penetration testing. Stay put and continue scrolling to gain a better understanding of the concept.
Top 7 Steps and Phases of Penetration Testing
The primary goal of penetration testing is to locate any security holes in a system, including firewalls, servers, networks, computers, and application software. A system penetration test requires a series of procedures to be successful. Your company and the outside security testing team must work together on penetration testing. Therefore, this post will highlight the top seven steps and phases of penetration testing. So, stay with us here and keep an eye on this page.
Phase #1. Information Gathering
The first stage in penetration testing is planning. The customer (organization) and the penetration testers establish the test’s logistics, expectations, and goals in detail at this step. During this planning step, the penetration testers collaborate with your organization to comprehend your business, technical information, and security dangers. Therefore, you must choose the penetration tester that spots and removes all the vulnerabilities from your organization and follows all the procedures more effectively. We recommend researching the best cybersecurity companies to find the right platform. Professional penetration testers employed by these companies will also explain the
Phase # 2. Reconnaissance
The most important objective of this penetration testing process is to get as much data as possible on the target system, including the application architecture, development platform, DNS, operating system, open ports, IP address, network topology, server, and security devices. A pentester can quickly identify a system’s vulnerabilities if familiar with the target’s specific information. It should be mentioned that an experienced hacker would spend the most time in this step since the sensitive data is essential to the system’s attack.
Phase # 3. Discovery and Scanning
To check for perimeter vulnerabilities, use discovery scanning. The information acquired is used to conduct discovery operations to identify ports and services accessible for targeted hosts or subdomains for web applications. Our pen testers then assess the scan results and devise a strategy to exploit them. Many businesses end their penetration testing after receiving the findings of the discovery scan, but you won’t fully understand the size of your attack surface without manual analysis and exploitation.
Phase # 4. Vulnerability Assessment
An additional phase in penetration testing is gaining access, which involves finding a target’s weaknesses through different web application attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and backdoors. The testers attempt to exploit these flaws to reach the target and steal data or saturate it with traffic. A server, firewall, or application are common targets.
Phase # 5. Maintaining Access
The next step in penetration testing is to keep the access up, using persistence presence, for example. To identify the flaws, the penetration tester gains access to your system. The penetration testers must continue to access your system even if it is restarted, reset, or changed. Attackers who stay on your system for extended periods utilize persistent threats to steal sensitive data.
Phase # 6. Exploitation
The crucial step in penetration testing, known as exploitation, is where the attacker does damage. After discovering the vulnerabilities, the pentester tries to access data, harm the system, and exploit it. The penetration tester will employ various tactics to exploit these flaws and access the target systems.
Phase # 7. Final Analysis and Review
The final step in the penetration testing process is to compile evidence of the exploited vulnerabilities and submit a report to the organization’s head for assessment and any necessary action. The management must now decide how to address these vulnerabilities or risks. The system will be vulnerable, meaning it won’t be secure and will be attacked if the management does nothing or ignores these concerns. The organization undergoing the test must use the security testing results to risk-rank vulnerabilities, assess the potential consequences of those vulnerabilities, choose remedial options, and guide future decisions.
To ensure the best possible security, it’s recommended to partner with reputable penetration testing companies in the UAE. These experts can effectively manage the pen testing process and provide valuable insights to combat potential cyber-attacks.
Wrapping Up
All of these stages are interconnected and merit careful consideration. Ensuring that none of the phases are skipped or disregarded is crucial. Please choose the best penetration tester with a track record of excellence, trust them, and prepare to address those vulnerabilities.