Penetration testing stages
The pen testing process can
be broken down into five stages.
1. Planning and
reconnaissance
The first stage involves:
The first stage involves:
·
Defining the scope and
goals of a test, including the systems to be addressed and the testing methods
to be used.
·
Gathering intelligence
(e.g., network and domain names, mail server) to better understand how a target
works and its potential vulnerabilities.
2. Scanning
The next step is to understand how the target application will respond to various intrusion attempts. This is typically done using:
The next step is to understand how the target application will respond to various intrusion attempts. This is typically done using:
·
Static
analysis – Inspecting an
application’s code to estimate the way it behaves while running. These tools
can scan the entirety of the code in a single pass.
·
Dynamic
analysis – Inspecting an
application’s code in a running state. This is a more practical way of
scanning, as it provides a real-time view into an application’s performance.
3. Gaining Access
This stage uses web application attacks, such as cross-site scripting, SQL injection and backdoors, to uncover a target’s vulnerabilities. Testers then try and exploit these vulnerabilities, typically by escalating privileges, stealing data, intercepting traffic, etc., to understand the damage they can cause.
This stage uses web application attacks, such as cross-site scripting, SQL injection and backdoors, to uncover a target’s vulnerabilities. Testers then try and exploit these vulnerabilities, typically by escalating privileges, stealing data, intercepting traffic, etc., to understand the damage they can cause.
4. Maintaining access
The goal of this stage is to see if the vulnerability can be used to achieve a persistent presence in the exploited system— long enough for a bad actor to gain in-depth access. The idea is to imitate advanced persistent threats, which often remain in a system for months in order to steal an organization’s most sensitive data.
The goal of this stage is to see if the vulnerability can be used to achieve a persistent presence in the exploited system— long enough for a bad actor to gain in-depth access. The idea is to imitate advanced persistent threats, which often remain in a system for months in order to steal an organization’s most sensitive data.
5. Analysis
The results of the penetration test are then compiled into a report detailing:
The results of the penetration test are then compiled into a report detailing:
·
Specific vulnerabilities
that were exploited
·
Sensitive data that was
accessed
·
The amount of time the
pen tester was able to remain in the system undetected
This information is
analyzed by security personnel to help configure an enterprise’s WAF settings
and other application security solutions to patch vulnerabilities and protect
against future attacks.
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