Penetration Testing

"Penetration Testing"

Penetration testing is widely employed in the context of online application security to improve a web application firewall (WAF). Penetration testing, commonly referred to as a pen test, simulates a cyberattack on your computer system to find openings ,

To track down weaknesses, for example, unsanitized inputs that are defenseless to code infusion assaults, pen testing can include the endeavored breaking of quite a few application frameworks, for example, frontend/backend servers and application convention interfaces (APIs).

Your WAF security policies can be enhanced and vulnerabilities that are discovered patched with the help of the penetration test's findings.

Penetration testing stages

There are five stages to the pen testing procedure.

1. Planning and reconnaissance

The first stage consists of:

Determining the objectives and scope of a test, as well as the systems that will be tested and their methods. Acquiring intelligence, such as the names of a target's network and domain, its mail server, and other details, to comprehend a target's workings and potential weaknesses.

2. Scanning 

The next step is to learn how the target application will react to different attempts at intrusion. Typically, this is done with:

Static Analysis : Using static analysis, an application's code is examined to estimate how it will behave while running. These tools can scan the code in its entirety in one pass.

Dynamic Analysis: Inspecting the code of an application while it is running is known as dynamic analysis. This is a more commonsense approach to examining, as it gives a constant view into an application's exhibition.

3. Gaining Access

Web application exploits like cross-site scripting, SQL injection, and backdoors are employed in this stage to find a target's weaknesses. Then, testers attempt to take advantage of these flaws, frequently by obtaining additional rights, stealing data, intercepting traffic, etc., in order to understand the possible harm they could result in.

4. Maintaining access

In this stage, we'll check to see if the flaw can be exploited to create a persistent presence in the exploited system long enough for an enemy to obtain complete access. order to steal an organization's most sensitive data, the idea is to imitate advanced persistent threats, which frequently persist in a system for months.

5. Analysis 

Following the completion of the penetration test, a report detailing:

In order to configure its WAF settings and other application security solutions, security experts look at how long the pen tester was able to remain in the system undetected. This helps an organisation repair vulnerabilities and stop further attacks. Sensitive data that was accessed and specific vulnerabilities that were exploited

Methods for penetration testing 

1.External testing 

External penetration tests focus on a company's visible online assets like its website, email, and domain name servers (DNS), for example. Gaining access and extracting valuable data is the objective.

2.Internal testing

During an internal test, a tester having access to an application behind its firewall replicates an insider attack. This is not always imitating a dishonest employee. A typical beginning situation can be a worker whose certifications were taken because of a phishing assault.

3.Blind testing

 In a blind test, only the target company's name is given to the tester. Security personnel can see exactly how an actual application attack would play out in real time thanks to this.

4.Double-blind testing

In a double-blind test, security personnel are not aware of the simulated attack beforehand. They won't have time to strengthen their defenses in time for an attempted breach, just like in the real world.

5.Targeted testing 

In this case, the tester and security guards work together to monitor each other's movements. A valuable training activity that gives a security team real-time feedback from a hacker's perspective is this one.