Penetration testing
Penetration testers employ similar tools, methods, and procedures as those used by attackers to identify and illustrate the business consequences of system vulnerabilities.
Typically, these tests mimic diverse types of attacks that could pose risks to a business.
They assess a system's resilience to attacks, both from users with and without authorized access, and across various system roles. Given an appropriate scope, a penetration test can thoroughly explore any component of a system.
Penetration testing, often referred to as 'pen testing', is a crucial cybersecurity service designed to proactively identify and address vulnerabilities in your corporate network.
Through a series of controlled, simulated cyber attacks, our team of expert security analysts imitates the tactics and techniques of real-world attackers.
This practical demonstration reveals how an attacker could bypass existing security measures and gain high-level privileges within your critical systems.
How we work
Initial assessment
Understanding your network architecture, identifying key systems, and establishing the scope of testing.
Threat modeling
Identifying potential threats and attack vectors specific to your organization.
Vulnerability analysis
Employing advanced tools and techniques to uncover exploitable vulnerabilities within your network.
Exploitation
Safely exploiting found vulnerabilities to demonstrate the potential impact of an attack, without disrupting your business operations.
Reporting and recommendations
Offering guidance and support in addressing identified vulnerabilities to strengthen your security posture.
Detailed report and recommendations
Providing a detailed report outlining discovered vulnerabilities, the methods used to exploit them, and comprehensive recommendations for remediation.
Post-exploitation analysis
Assessing the depth of access gained and the potential damage that could be caused.
Main stages of penetration testing
Penetration testing, commonly known as pen testing, involves several distinct stages, each critical for thoroughly assessing the security of a system or network.
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Planning and Reconnaissance:
- Objective Definition: Define the goals of the pen test, including the systems to be tested and the testing methods to be used.
- Intelligence Gathering: Collect information about the target system, which may include domain names, network and system information, and employee details.
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Scanning:
- Static Analysis: Inspect the code to understand how the application behaves while running.
- Dynamic Analysis: Assess how the application behaves during execution, which can reveal real-time vulnerabilities.
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Gaining Access:
- Exploit Vulnerabilities: Use web application attacks like cross-site scripting, SQL injection, and backdoor methods to uncover vulnerabilities.
- Escalate Privileges: Attempt to increase the level of control over the system or network.
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Maintaining Access:
- Persistence: Establish a way to maintain access to the system, often to understand how long the vulnerability can be exploited and how persistent the access can be.
- Simulate Threat Actors: Mimic the actions of malicious actors to stay in the system unnoticed for an extended period.
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Analysis:
- Data Collection: Gather data about the vulnerabilities exploited, sensitive data accessed, and the amount of time the tester remained undetected in the system.
- Report Generation: Document the vulnerabilities found, the data accessed, the time spent in the system, and recommend mitigation strategies.
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Post-Testing:
- Cleanup: Remove all traces of the penetration test from the system to return it to its pre-testing state.
- Review and Remediation: Evaluate the effectiveness of the pen test and the response to the identified vulnerabilities, and implement remediation measures.
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Get a quoteTypes of penetration testing services
There are nine main types of pen testing, each directed at a specific area of your digital infrastructure to fortify every aspect of your business.
Web Apps
Testing focuses on identifying security weaknesses, attack patterns, and other vulnerabilities in web applications.
Mobile Apps
Involves automated and manual testing of mobile app binaries and server-side functions. This testing uncovers issues like session management, cryptographic flaws, and authentication problems.
Networks
Testing external networks and systems for various security vulnerabilities, using a checklist to assess encrypted protocols, SSL certificate issues, and administrative services.
Cloud
Cloud pen testing, different from traditional environments, requires specialized skills to analyze configurations, APIs, databases, encryption, and security controls, considering the shared responsibilities between the user and cloud service providers.
Containers
Focuses on identifying vulnerabilities in Docker containers, including misconfigurations and other risks.
Embedded Devices (IoT)
Tests IoT devices (e.g., medical devices, cars, home appliances) for unique challenges like long lifecycles, remote operation, and regulatory compliance.
Mobile Devices
Similar to mobile app testing, this includes automated and manual analysis of mobile device binaries and server-side components for various vulnerabilities.
APIs
Uses automated and manual methods to test against the OWASP API Security Top 10 list, looking for issues like broken authorization, excessive data exposure, and rate limiting problems.
CI/CD Pipeline
Integrates automated pen testing in the CI/CD pipeline as part of DevSecOps practices to identify vulnerabilities and attack patterns, supplementing static code scanning.
Other services
Penetration testing
Practical demonstration of possible attack scenarios that allow an attacker to bypass security measures in your corporate network and gain high privileges in important systems.
Application security assessment
In-depth search for business logic errors and implementation vulnerabilities in applications of any type, from large cloud solutions to embedded and mobile applications.
Payment systems security assessment
Comprehensive analysis of the hardware and software components of various payment systems, identification of potential fraud scenarios and vulnerabilities that can lead to manipulation of financial transactions.
ICS security assessment
Case-specific threat modeling and vulnerability assessment of industrial control systems and their components, providing an understanding of the existing attack surface and the corresponding impact of potential attacks on business.
Intelligent technologies and safety assessment
Detailed assessment of interconnected devices and their server infrastructure, identifying vulnerabilities at the level of firmware, network and applications.
Red Teaming
Threat simulation based on threat analysis to help evaluate the effectiveness of your security monitoring capabilities and incident response procedures.
Reacting to incidents
We cover the entire incident investigation cycle to completely eliminate the threat to your organization.
Digital forensics
Analysis of digital evidence of cybercrime, leading to the creation of a comprehensive report with a detailed description of all relevant findings.
Malware Analysis
Providing you with a complete picture of the behavior and functionality of specific malicious files.
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Address
Office 2203
Armada Tower 2
Jumeirah Lakes Towers
Al Thanyah 5
Hadaeq Mohammed Bin Rashid
Dubai
Phone
+971 050 772 5101