Written By: Tim Porter and Kassia Clifford
Aug 30, 2024
A penetration test is a security test designed to identify vulnerabilities in your computer system, network, or application that an attacker could exploit. By having a third party perform a penetration test, you?ll get an overview of your overall security posture, including vulnerabilities identified, plus detailed replication and remediation suggestions so you can improve your security program.
The term "penetration testing" is often misused or misrepresented. There is a significant difference between a vulnerability scan and a penetration test, but these terms are often used interchangeably. Vulnerability scans are automated tools that identify potential weaknesses, while penetration tests involve skilled professionals actively trying to exploit those vulnerabilities to understand the real-world risks and impacts on the organization being tested. There are various types of pentesting, including network and application pentesting, to address different security and compliance needs. Quality penetration testing goes beyond compliance; it reduces the likelihood of cyber breaches and instills confidence in clients and partners by ensuring their data is secure.
Vulnerability scanning and automated tools are very different from pentesting. Together, all have a place in a healthy security posture. Vulnerability scanning typically uses automated tools to identify software, configurations, and network infrastructure vulnerabilities. The results of these scans are compiled into CSV reports that outline the vulnerabilities found and their potential severity. Vulnerability scans can be conducted internally, from within the organization's network, or externally, from outside the organization's network, to provide a high-level view of the security landscape.
Comprehensive penetration tests produce a higher number of vulnerabilities with no false positives. The reports include details, impact, mitigation recommendations, replication steps and evidence. These pentests will meet the most stringent enterprise security and compliance demands (such as PCI DSS v4), improve the overall security posture and save developers? time. The pentest firm may support with remediation following the delivery of the report, ensuring you remediate vulnerabilities that pose risk to your organization to meet compliance requirements. Quality pentest firms assist organizations in evaluating the testing frequency and scope at any time to suit evolving business needs, which will assist in completing self-assessments and vendor security questionnaires. Additionally, great pentesting firms assist in addressing other areas of compliance, such as logging and monitoring, authentication, and authorization.
Good penetration testing meets standard enterprise security demands and achieves compliance. Good pentesting rarely produces false positives and ensures that all identified vulnerabilities are accurate and relevant to the organization and their data. While it is more costly than vulnerability scanning, it can be fairly cost-effective and offers a balanced approach to improving your security program.
Vulnerability scanning can be performed using a third-party Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) tool, delivering faster results typically within 24 hours. However, it may not be accepted for certain types of compliance. This approach identifies high-level vulnerabilities, potentially leaving deeper security gaps identified by human logic undetected. Vulnerability scanning does not always include an escalation and investigative approach, which can produce false positives that add an administrative burden to the technical team. Consequently, it may not provide real assurance regarding the overall security posture.
Quality penetration testing is crucial for audit firms when assessing a client's security posture. Partnering with audit firms that prioritize high-quality security and thought leadership, such as Pease Bell CPAs, is equally important. Auditors are trained to adopt a risk-based approach to determine the appropriate level of controls needed to reduce the client's risk to an acceptable level while maintaining compliance. Implementing an annual third-party penetration test is one of the strongest controls to mitigate risks to an acceptable level.
A quality penetration test begins with an effective scoping exercise to identify which systems, applications, and networks will be in scope. A quality pentesting firm, like Software Secured, will have a scoping process that is straightforward and effective in pinpointing key resources for network, mobile, API or application penetration tests. A quality penetration test often incorporates custom tests tailored to a client's business logic or industry-specific threats. Finally, a quality pentest report maps discovered vulnerabilities to an industry framework like OWASP Top 10, SANS Top 25, NIST, ASVS and WTSG which enables clients to integrate these findings into their risk assessments and work towards remediation efficiently.
Quality penetration testing can significantly enhance a company's security program across multiple areas. It plays a crucial role in securing enterprise deals, as a robust compliance and security program becomes a competitive advantage amongst competitors. In today's market, having a great product is no longer sufficient to secure deals, as enterprise clients increasingly scrutinize vendor security through detailed questionnaires, they expect a secure product.
Maintaining customer relationships is another critical area. As customers become more aware of security and data protection needs, maintaining their trust through a strong security program is vital. Cyber breaches can lead to severe consequences, including loss of customers, revenue, and potentially the business itself.
Compliance is also a key factor. Leading audit firms like Pease Bell CPAs, highly recommend penetration testing to meet various compliance standards. For instance, PCI DSS requires internal, external, and segmentation testing under v4, while SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA strongly recommend pentesting.
Preventing data breaches is essential due to the legal, financial, and reputational consequences they entail. Quality penetration testing helps mitigate these risks.
Finally, emphasizing quality security measures can accelerate business growth. By proactively showcasing security controls and empowering the sales team, companies can translate their pentesting investment into tangible business outcomes, such as increased revenue, accelerated deal cycles, and enhanced investor appeal.
The number of vulnerabilities in a penetration test report is a significant metric to measure quality security. On average, Software Secured penetration tests discover 26 vulnerabilities per web app pentest, which is three times more than leading competitors, 8 vulnerabilities per network pentest, and 20% of vulnerabilities being critical or high-severity. However, a CSV output listing hundreds of vulnerabilities with very few details, mitigation, evidence or remediation steps often indicates a poor-quality pentest, as quantity does not equate to quality. High-quality pentest reports are also characterized by actionable and comprehensive reporting that is easy to follow, along with remediation guidance. Finally, understanding the scope, application, and business use cases demonstrates a deep engagement with the client?s unique security needs.
The credentials of the organization and the penetration testers' industry certifications are also crucial. Mapping discovered vulnerabilities to industry standards such as OWASP Top 10, SANS Top 25, WSTG, ASVS, and NIST ensures thorough and standardized assessment. The penetration tester's certification portfolio that includes the following designations: OSCP, OSED, OSWE, OSWP, OSCE, AWS Security, AWS Practitioner, CEH, GSSP-Java, GSSP-NET, GWAPT and CREST CPSA+CRT can indicate that the pentest firm dedicates time and resources to continuing to educate their pentesters on the latest security threats and vulnerabilities.
Being able to compare your pentest results to your industry percentage of high/critical vulnerabilities per test is another good indicator of quality pentests. Depending on your industry and the type of sensitive data processed, it is key to benchmark your performance against competitors to see how vulnerable your application is and ensure you are receiving a valuable return on your security investments.
