Pen Testing is Important - But Are You Doing It Right?

Are you concerned about the security of your systems, applications or software? Well, penetration testing is one of the most effective ways to unleash flaws and weaknesses in a system’s security. These weaknesses can be used by unethical hackers to attack your system. Thus, a penetration testing company can help in filling the gaps between defenses and these vulnerabilities, before a malicious attacker can take advantage of the situation. There are different types of penetration tests designed to fit different areas of an organization. 

From IT infrastructure, networks, devices to applications, there are various potential areas that can be targeted by cyber-criminals. To protect your business from potential risks, you need to hire a reliable pen tester. Partnering with the right pen-testers allows them to think like a malicious hacker looking for weaknesses and trying to use them to breach your network. They plan and execute their penetration tests professionally, and with a proactive approach to protecting your business from black-hat hackers.  

The following are a few common problems while carrying out penetration testing. We have also mentioned tips to avoid them:

Failure to Prioritize Potential Risks

One of the most important things, when you are trying to improve your business’s security posture, is to create a risk baseline. Penetration testers should have a target in mind, be it customer data or a company’s financial data. By prioritizing risks, you can focus on security efforts and value to the testing processes. Pen testing goals should be aligned with your company goals. This may help in uncovering potential problems and reduce the chances of distractions from the main risks. 

Wrong Testing Tools

A penetration testing company can choose from a wide variety of penetration testing tools. But it takes effort and expertise to identify which tools to use where and how to integrate them with other tools. Penetration testers can be expensive, they are hired for a short time, so automation tools are worth the try. An automated pen-testing platform can be a good choice to check your system’s vulnerabilities. Make sure you choose your tools carefully and ask third-party pen testers for advice too.

Poor Reporting Skills

If pen-testers do not prepare accessible and effective reports, it can be difficult to understand that vulnerabilities and their impact on your business. It is essential to have meaningful reports that explain the underlying problems and their respective solutions. 

The best solution is, to begin with defining the goals of penetration testing clearly at the reporting stage. A good report highlights all the important things that can affect your business. To keep on the right track, tests should also avoid any third-party advice or automated tools to ensure you get an actionable plan with a set of vulnerabilities and their solutions.

The aforementioned tips will help you steer your penetration testing efforts in the right direction. Enterprises hire a penetration testing company to make their systems and apps free from vulnerabilities that can be used by malicious attackers.