What is vulnerability assessment and penetration testing

Remote working pen testing. Web application security testing. Web application security testing Web applications play a vital role in business success and are an attractive target for cybercriminals.

Web app testing. Social engineering. Social engineering testing. Mobile security testing. Mobile security testing Mobile app usage is on the rise, with more and more companies enabling customers to conveniently access their services via tablets and smartphones. Firewall configuration review. Firewall configuration review Firewall rule sets can quickly become outdated. Code review testing. Transparency and integrity are key to everything we do. We'll talk you through the assessment at every stage and answer any questions you might have along the way.

One of the highest accredited UK pentesting companies A deep understanding of how hackers operate In-depth threat analysis and advice you can trust Complete post-test care for effective risk remediation Multi award-winning offensive security services Avg.

Get a quick quote Complete the form for a prompt response from our team. From the blog Case studies Latest news. From the blog. The threat within: the emerging trend of ransomware gangs targeting employees. However, organisations are being hampered by cost and regulatory challenges.

A recent study showed that over two-thirds of UK employees use their personal mobiles for work, posing a significant threat to company security.

Organisations found to take more than two days to respond to cyber-attacks. These scans are typically automated and give a beginning look at what could possibly be exploited. Vulnerability scans can be instigated manually or run on a scheduled basis, and will complete in as little as several minutes to as long as several hours. After a vulnerability scan completes, a detailed report is created.

Typically, these scans generate an extensive list of vulnerabilities found and references for further research on the vulnerability. Some even offer directions on how to fix the problem. The report identifies potential weaknesses, but sometimes includes false positives.

Sifting through reported vulnerabilities and making sure they are real and not false positives can be a chore but one that must be done. A penetration test simulates a hacker attempting to get into a business system through hands-on research and the exploitation of vulnerabilities.

Actual analysts, often called ethical hackers, search for vulnerabilities and then try to prove that they can be exploited. Using methods like password cracking, buffer overflow, and SQL injection, they attempt to compromise and extract data from a network in a non damaging way.

Penetration tests are an extremely detailed and effective approach to finding and remediating vulnerabilities in software applications and networks. A good way to illustrate the benefits of a penetration test would be to use an analogy from the medical world. When something is wrong inside your body you can go get an X-ray to help diagnose your problem. It is a surface-level evaluation of your information security posture, indicating weaknesses as well as providing the appropriate mitigation procedures required to either eliminate those weaknesses or reduce them to an acceptable level of risk.

Using many tools and techniques, the penetration tester attempts to exploit critical systems and gain access to sensitive data. Depending on the scope, a pentest can expand beyond the network to include social engineering attacks or physical security tests. Well, the answer to that question should be determined by your current security posture. A vulnerability assessment answers the question: "What are our surface-level weaknesses and how do we fix them?

But as with all things security, it doesn't end there. As processes within a Threat and Vulnerability Management program, both vulnerability assessments and pentests need to be performed periodically to ensure continuous security posture improvement. In addition, while there is some overlap in terms of findings, a penetration test more closely aligns with what a real-world attacker would focus on.

Instead of a generalized penetration test, Secureworks conducts customized attacks relevant to you, your industry, and your company. Here are ways we tailor a penetration test to you:. We tailor each of our pentest offerings to achieve your goals and expectations. Still have more questions on where to get started or need assistance on conducting an evaluation of your organization's security posture?

Contact an Information Security Consultant at Secureworks to find your organizations information security weaknesses and the valuable assets an advanced threat can obtain.