Penetration Testing 101
The complete guide for noobs!
These days people are ready to invest considerable deals in cyber security. This is one of the most innovative ways to go about protecting data as prevention is always better than cure. Penetration testing is one of the best ways to find out any vulnerabilities that might be present in the system. The main aim of conducting such a test is to find out any malware that might be present in the system. There are various ways due to which a pen test or penetration test is very advantageous for the computer. The main reason for this is that it does not just help to identify any faults that might be present but also helps to resolve them through the process of ethical hacking.
Needs for penetration testing
Let us now deep dive into the why and the how of pen testing. What is the need for penetration testing one might ask. The reason is obvious, a hacker may gain control over the system if the firewall and other security mechanisms of that computer might not up to upto the mark. To prevent the leak of data or malware from making a home within the system, a detection test is necessary. The risk of this data may arise due to various reasons. Some of this might be using faulty hardware and other times it might be due to downloading content from illegal or suspicious free websites that induce malware into the computer system. This can compromise the cybersecurity levels which might lead to the fault in the functioning of the software present in the system in most cases.
What can penetration testing help with?
After understating the need for testing let us understand how can we benefit from this kind of testing. The list of advantages are as given below:
- It helps to find the loopholes that might be present in the system which can compromise the security of the system.
- It can help to prevent malware attacks by hackers
- It helps to protect any secret or sensitive information that might be present on the computer system
- It can help achieve standard cybersecurity levels with ease that can help build a strong firewall to protect the system from any kind of suspicious software that can interpret during the downloading phase.
The main aim still remains to first check the system without any second thoughts and then take steps toward the improvement of the system
Types of penetration testing
Now let us look into the various ways by which this type of testing is carried forth. There are various types of approaches to it just like any other mechanisms to find faults. The list is as follows:
1. White box penetration testing
In this kind of testing the testers have the entire knowledge about the system. They know about the history as well as the set records of the given testing computer. This is a top to bottom approach that helps to determine any faults that might be present and ways to resolve the issues.
2.Black box penetration testing
As the name suggests, in this kind of testing, the tester has no knowledge about the computer that is up. There may or may not be any kind of malware present at the time of testing. This is a more practical approach to the threats that might be present.
3. Gray box penetration testing
This is a 50-50 approach suggesting the name given. This is a mid-point between the black and white box approach to finding out any malware that might be present in the system. The tester still has limited knowledge and is more susceptible to attack by hackers.
Conclusion
There are many ways to find out if a system has been affected by malware. One of the best approaches to this is the penetration testing method. The reason this type of testing is being considered among the best by cybersecurity experts is that it helps to analyze the entire system and then resolve the issues that might be present with the help of ethical hacking. There are many ways by which the security of the system might be compromised. One of these is by downloading something from a suspicious site that might claim to be free to use on the internet.
