What is penetration testing
Penetration testing (also known as penetration testing) is a simulated cyber attack on a computer system looking for exploitable vulnerabilities. In the context of web application security, penetration testing is often used to extend web application firewalls (WAFs).
Penetration testing (also known as penetration testing) is a simulated cyber-attack against a computer system looking for exploitable vulnerabilities. In the context of web application security, penetration testing is often used to extend web application firewalls (WAFs).
Stages of Penetration testing
1. Planning
Define the scope and purpose of the test, including the systems to be addressed and test methods to be used.
Collecting information (network names, domain names, mail servers, etc.) to better understand how a target works and potential vulnerabilities.
2. Scanning
Static Analysis - Examines your application's code and infers its behavior during execution. These tools can scan your entire code in one pass.
Dynamic Analysis - Examine your application's code while it's running. This is a more practical scanning method as it gives you a real-time view of your application's performance.
3. Gaining Access
During this stage, web application attacks such as cross-site scripting, SQL injection, and backdoors are used to expose target vulnerabilities. Testers then attempt to exploit these vulnerabilities, typically through privilege escalation, data theft, traffic interception, etc., to understand the damage they can cause.
4. Maintaining access
The goal of this phase is to see if the vulnerability can be exploited to establish a persistent presence on the exploited system long enough for the attacker to gain full access. The idea is to mimic Advanced Persistent Threats that often stay on systems for months to steal an organization's most sensitive data.
5. Analysis
Specific vulnerabilities exploited Access to sensitive data.The amount of time the pentester was able to stay in the system without being detected.
Methods of Penetration testing
External testing
External Penetration Testing is for company assets that appear on the Internet. For example, the web application itself, his corporate website, email and domain name servers (DNS), etc. The purpose is to access and extract valuable data.
Internal testing
In internal testing, testers with access to applications behind the firewall simulate attacks by malicious insiders. This does not necessarily simulate a rogue employee. A common initial scenario could be an employee whose credentials were stolen as a result of a phishing attack.
Targeted testing
In this scenario, both testers and security personnel work together to update each other's movements. This is invaluable training that provides real-time feedback from a hacker's perspective to her security team.
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Finally, penetration testing meets some of the compliance requirements of security audit procedures such as PCI DSS and SOC 2. B. PCI-DSS 6.6 can only be met by using a certified WAF. However, it doesn't make penetration testing less useful as it offers the above benefits and an opportunity to improve your WAF configuration.