Introduction Of Penetration

Penetration testing also called as "pen testing," is a simulated cyberattack conducted on a computer system, network, or application to identify and exploit vulnerabilities and loopholes. It's a proactive security measure that helps organizations identify and address vulnerabilities in their security before real attackers can exploit them. 

Eg:  Hiring someone to try to break into your house (without actually doing it) to see how strong your security is. Penetration testers are security professionals who use ethical hacking techniques to find vulnerabilities and loopholes in a system. 

Phases of Penetration Testing

1.       Pre-Engagement Phase

2.       Information gathering

3.       Vulnerability Assessment

4.       Exploitation

5.       Post Exploitation

6.       Report writing and Recommendations.

Pre-Engagement Phase

This is the planning stage where the scope and rules of engagement are defined. It typically involves:

• Defining goals and objectives

• Determining scope

• Establishing legal and contractual agreements between Pen Testers and the Customer

• Setting the testing timeline

• Clarifying allowed tools and techniques

• Agreeing on deliverables.

Information Gathering

This phase focuses on gathering information about the target.

• Passive: Collecting data without direct interaction

• Active: Collecting data with Direct interaction

The following tools are used for this purpose. Nmap, Wireshark.

Vulnerability Assessment

In this phase, the tester identifies vulnerabilities in the target systems.

• Scanning for open ports and services to find vulnerabilities

• Fingerprinting OS and applications

Identifying any vulnerabilities in a system.

Exploitation

In this phase, the tester exploits the identified vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access and perform some harmful actions.

• Exploiting weaknesses in software, websites, and Servers

• Gaining access to systems, Applications, and Resources

Post-Exploitation

This involves assessing the value of the compromised systems and maintaining access. In this phase, the main goal is to clean the organization’s data. Because testers use various methods to attack an organization’s resources. So, data needs to be cleaned.

Report Writing and Recommendations

The final and most important phase for stakeholders:

During this stage, testers record all observations and suggest improvements to prevent similar issues in the future. This document can be reviewed by the client to implement changes in our organization's architecture to safeguard against hackers. C. Types of Penetration Testing

1. Black Box Testing

2. White box Testing

3. Gray box Testing

Black Box Testing

Testers do not know the system's architecture, code, and internal workings. They attempt to identify vulnerabilities as an outside attacker would. 

White Box Testing

Testers have full knowledge of the system, its architecture, code, and design. This allows for a more targeted vulnerability assessment. 

Gray Box Testing

Testers have partial knowledge of the system, only have limited set of internal documents.

Conclusion               

Penetration testing plays the major role in identifying vulnerabilities in an organization’s environment before it is compromised to attackers.