Top 5 Penetration Tests for Business
Penetration Testing or Pen testing is one of the best ways to proactively identify the security vulnerabilities of your organisation and improve your security posture.
Penetration Testing or Pen testing is one of the best ways to proactively identify the security vulnerabilities of your organisation and improve your security posture.
A pen test is when a cybersecurity expert attempts to access your systems and data to learn where your system’s weaknesses are before they can be exploited by criminals. The aim is to find vulnerabilities in an organisation’s IT infrastructure, systems and applications and strengthen their defences based on the findings.
Penetration testing helps organisations comply with data security and privacy regulations by finding ways that sensitive data could be exposed. This helps them keep data secure and private.
Penetration testing is also required by some data regulations. For example, GDPR, CSP and ISO 27001 all require that organisations regularly test and assess the effectiveness of their security measures, pen testing is good way to ensure compliance.
A pen test simulates an attack on your systems, networks, and applications to uncover vulnerabilities before real cybercriminals can exploit them.
It is normally performed by a cybersecurity professional, or a team trained in ethical hacking techniques. They are referred to as penetration testers or ethical hackers. They can be part of your in-house IT team, or you can hire third-party cybersecurity firms.
The safety of your business network should be your top priority. If hackers gain unauthorised access to it, they could steal sensitive data, disrupt services, or take full control of your systems. Network pen tests help identify vulnerabilities in your internal and external networks, including misconfigurations, weak passwords, unpatched systems and insecure network services. Network Penetration Testing is suitable for all businesses and extremely beneficial for those with complex or public-facing networks.
There are two key parts to this test:
As web applications for customer interactions and ecommerce becoming more and more widespread, these applications are also common targets for cybercriminals due to the valuable data they often hold. A web application pen test assesses possible security flaws like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and broken authentication, which can lead to data breaches or unauthorised access. It ensures the app doesn’t accept malicious data and looks at cookie security. It also tests for authentication vulnerabilities such as weak credentials. On top of that, it ensures that users are unable to escalate their privileges to gain access to restricted areas or files
Wireless networks are convenient as they allow for more flexibility, but they can also be a gateway for cyberattacks if not properly secured. Wireless network pen tests aim to find weaknesses in your Wi-Fi configuration, such as weak encryption protocols, poorly configured access points, or vulnerable devices connected to the network. It covers Wi-Fi encryption standards, access point configurations, wireless device vulnerabilities and guest networks.
Businesses using Wi-Fi networks will find this test useful, especially industries with sensitive data like finance or healthcare.
According to data, human error is the weakest link in cybersecurity. Social engineering attacks, like phishing exploit employees’ gullibility and trick them into giving up sensitive information or giving attackers access to the network. Social engineering pen tests target your employees’ knowledge on cybersecurity. So, it will tell you if your staff click on suspicious links in phishing emails. Then, you can organise cybersecurity training sessions if needed.
As more businesses migrate to the cloud for its scalability and flexibility, cloud environments become prime targets for cyberattacks. A cloud penetration test assesses your cloud infrastructure to ensure they’ are secure.
Businesses that use cloud-based infrastructure, services, have remote employees or platforms should run this test.
There you have it! Simply put, if you are running a business, it is in your best interest to run regular pen tests to ensure the highest level of security and compliance.
According to the government website “after every round of tests to explain what they did and what they found. This should be shared with the technical team, service owner and any senior managers that need to understand risks to your service.
The report summary should explain the risks in language that a non-technical audience can understand. The rest of the report should contain enough detail that your technical team can review and prioritise actions to fix any issues that have been found” (gov.uk, 2024).
If you are unsure about which type of pen test you need, click the button below and we can discuss your pen testing needs.
Agnes Molnar
Agnes is Syn-Star’s expert content writer, she has Master’s degree in English Literature that provides a strong foundation in writing and critical thinking of everything she does.
Qualifications: Masters in English Literature
In-house training: HubSpot SEO, WordPress Training.
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Agnes Molnar
Agnes is Syn-Star’s expert content writer, she has Master’s degree in English Literature that provides a strong foundation in writing and critical thinking of everything she does.
Qualifications: Masters in English Literature
In-house training: HubSpot SEO, WordPress Training.
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