Penetration testing is an essential process for identifying vulnerabilities in IT environments, applications, and systems. By simulating an attack on these systems, penetration testing allows organisations to identify weaknesses and potential security gaps that could be exploited by attackers. Here are some key reasons why organisations should conduct penetration testing:
Identify vulnerabilities:
Penetration testing can help identify vulnerabilities and security weaknesses that may not be easily visible during normal operations. This process can reveal vulnerabilities in network devices, servers, web applications, and other systems that could be exploited by attackers.
Measure security posture:
Penetration testing can help organisations assess their security posture and identify areas for improvement. By analysing the results of a penetration test, organisations can better understand their security strengths and weaknesses and take action to improve their overall security posture.
Meet compliance requirements:
Many regulatory bodies require organisations to perform penetration testing as part of their compliance requirements. For example, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requires regular penetration testing to maintain compliance.
Avoid financial losses:
Penetration testing can help organisations avoid financial losses that could result from a successful cyber attack. By identifying vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them, organisations can take action to mitigate these risks and reduce the likelihood of financial losses.
Overall, penetration testing is an essential process for organisations to identify and mitigate security risks, protect sensitive data, and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.
AEC have developed an ‘Essentials’ test for applications. This provides a rapid and low-cost alternative to full application penetration testing. During this assessment we follow a lightweight version of our methodology and focus specifically on identifying and verifying: SANS Top 25 ‘Most Dangerous Software Errors’ and OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) ‘Top 10 Most Critical Web Application Security Risks’. Within key – or critical areas – of applications (e.g. session management, authentication, and authorisation, etc).
AEC’s team are experts in the software and software security space, with experience designing and building software in a wide range of sectors, as well as penetration testing these applications.
We are able to bring great insight into how applications are likely constructed, and thus able to find ways to break them, and potentially break into them.
This testing can be applied to bespoke in-house developed applications, or to Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) products. Further, our experience spans all forms of applications, e.g.: Cloud, Managed Services, Hosting, Thin Client, Client/Server, and Thick Client.
If you are running legacy applications that are no longer supported, we can provide Legacy Application Security solutions to avoid expensive and time consuming re-engineering or re-platforming.
An infrastructure penetration test assumes that an attacker is already within the environment and has some level of access to the networks available. This can be used to simulate one – or many – of various types of attacker – such as a visitor or a disgruntled staff member.
A review of the internal networks and systems to establish the security posture against the threat of a malicious actor with access to the network/s. This will include host discovery (including port scans, and public information), fingerprinting of each accessible service across the identified hosts, identification and analysis of vulnerabilities affecting each service, and attempted exploitation of identified vulnerabilities (where appropriate). The primary aim of the assessment will be to escalate privileges within the environment from an unauthenticated perspective to demonstrate potential routes that a threat actor may take in order to gain access to sensitive information and systems.
A review of the internet-facing systems to establish the security posture against the threat of an external threat actor with no access to the network/s. This will comprise of host discovery (including port scans, WhoIS, DNS and public information), fingerprinting of each accessible service across the external hosts, identification and analysis of vulnerabilities affecting each service, and attempted exploitation of identified vulnerabilities (where appropriate and with client permission).
Wireless networks represent remotely accessible ingress, or entry, points into your systems networks. As such, poorly configured and secured Wireless networks can present a significant security risk, allowing attackers to break-in and gain a foothold within your infrastructure. From there, an attacker may be able to steal or corrupt information or access other systems.
A Wireless Network Penetration test will assess the security of present Wireless Networks by attempting to identify the weaknesses in the set-up and configuration of them
Whilst a simple OSINT assessment will typically be carried out as part of a regular penetration test. For those organisations for whom secrecy is paramount, or simply for those who are concerned about what can be gleaned from their – and their staff’s – online presence and data; AEC offer this service to perform a detailed, in depth, OSINT assessment. This will span a large array of online repositories (social media, search engines, WHOIS databases, job adverts, even the ‘Dark Web’) to determine what information attackers may be able to get their hands on.
Cyber Security is essential for ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of services, data, or IT environments. Cyber threats can cause significant damage to an organisation’s reputation, financial stability, and operational capability. Here are a few reasons why Cyber Security is important:
Confidentiality:
Cyber Security helps to ensure that sensitive data and information are kept confidential and are not accessed by unauthorised persons. Confidentiality breaches can result in a loss of trust from customers or stakeholders, legal consequences, and financial losses.
Integrity:
Cyber Security also ensures that data and information are not tampered with or altered in any way. This ensures the accuracy and reliability of data, and prevents intentional or unintentional changes that can result in negative consequences..
Availablity:
Cyber Security measures help to ensure that services, data, and IT environments are available and accessible to authorised users when needed. This ensures that there are no disruptions to business operations and customer service, which can result in financial losses and damage to the organisation’s reputation.
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