Penetration Testing: Should We Do It?

Before getting to whether we should or should not do penetration testing, we should have a fair idea of what penetration testing actually is. Most often penetration testing is confused with the likes of “vulnerability scan”, “compliance audit” or “security assessment”, but in reality it is a world apart from the above tests. Penetration testing is the type of tests which not only brings forth the vulnerabilities of developed software but at the same time, exploits these vulnerabilities to show the extent of damage that may be caused due to these flaws.

Penetration testing may look like automated testing practice and can be conducted with the help of the automated tools available in the market, but the core of the test lies in the hands of the individual testers or the testing teams which pushes the detected short comings to its end limits. Although the highly precise automated tools are well capable of testing your software, they were made by human and the unique human mind may conjure newer techniques of penetrating your software which makes manual tests a vital part of penetration testing. The main aim of penetration testing is to detect the real world attacks that the software may face due to the pertaining security breaches that are available. It fixes a target and attacks it with various vectors to explore the probable chances of attacks that may occur.

Penetration testing is important for a particular type of software due to the following factors that gets determined by the testing procedure.

1:: It gives the developers a reality check about the feasibility of the vector sets that attack a said target.

2:: It helps in the determination of high risk vulnerabilities which occurs as a result of integration of several low risk vulnerabilities, which occur in a particular sequence.

3:: There are certain vulnerabilities which do not get detected without automated testing procedures and applications which scan the vulnerabilities of the software being tested.

4:: It helps in assessment of the magnitude of risk that may be inflicted up on the business or the software due to attacks that are successful.

5:: It helps in determining the ability of the network defenders in detecting and preventing the various attacks that may be brought up on the software.

6:: It proves why it is important to pay attention to and invest more in security personnel and technology to C-level management, investors, and customers for risk management purpose.

7:: It shows why the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requires both on-going penetration testing (after any system changes) as well as yearly testing.

8:: Penetration testing is essential in determining the validation of the newly engaged security system over the incumbent one. Along with forensic results, penetration testing recreates the attacking vectors in order to check if the system is prone to further breach or is perfectly capable of defending itself against further attacks (both the existing and new kinds).

So, now you see the various aspects which can be resolved with the help of the penetration testing issues. However, the true worth of the test depends on the criteria or purpose of the software that has been developed and the organization using it. It is for you to judge (taking the various purpose of your software into consideration) as to which kind of penetration testing you need to perform on your software. In case of low security software you may want to utilize the basic tests which are time saving and cost effective, but in case of high security software, you may want to avail the pro penetration testing to completely secure your software.

Mindfire Solutions has the largest certified QA/Testing team in India and has been continuously delighting customers over the past decade with bug-free code. If you are interested to hire an experienced QA team for ensuring your codes are clean, drop in a mail with your requirements to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com.