What is Penetration Testing & Why is it Necessary?
Penetration testing is considered to be one of the most efficient software testing types when it comes to protecting the system or application from vulnerabilities. It provides efficient techniques that can prevent the hacker/intruder/malicious user to steal worthwhile business information or perform a data breach. Penetration testers develop a solid pen testing strategy and use the right pen testing tools to provide the best security solutions that can help fully protect the business information and other crucial information of an organization.
In this article, you will get to know about penetration testing along with its relative importance.
What is Penetration testing?
It is a testing method that tests a web application, network or computer system in order to identify vulnerabilities. The potential vulnerabilities are identified to exploit the malicious user. This testing method strengthens the security aspects of an application, system, network or website. Real-world scenarios are projected that help businesses know where they stand when it comes to securing their systems or applications.
Following are the five key reasons that depict the significance of penetration testing:
1. Assessing risks: Businesses need to scrutinize their IT infrastructure along with calculating the costs that may incur due to the setting up of haphazard IT infrastructure. Risk assessment is a crucial aspect of penetration testing as it gives a clear idea as to what can the potential pitfall and losses be if due consideration is not given to setting up a robust security system.
The specific risks and their impact are uncovered. A professional specialized in IT risk management can take on this valuable task and prepare a list or prioritized objectives that need to be worked upon to secure the system.
2. Brand reputation: The reputation of a brand plays a pivotal role in the growth of an organization. If due to any negligence, there is a possibility of a data breach then there are chances that it might directly affect the organization’s reputation. This will prove to impact the brand value of the product/service that an organization is selling to its esteemed customers.
Hence, a robust penetration testing strategy needs to be implemented by the security team so that the crucial business data is well secured and cannot be stolen from intruders at any cost.
3. Effective security measures are developed: Insightful information is provided by conducting penetration test that helps in identifying the potential impact on the system’s functionality and performance. Security gaps are also identified in the process. A list of recommendations is provided by the pen tester describing the issue’s severity. There is also an emphasis on knowing by when these issues will be fixed so that a reliable and robust information system or application can be built.
There are specific pen testing tools that can be used by the team to attain certain specific security testing related goals. Pen testers must be capable and skilled enough to use the pen testing tools to amp up the security measures of the application or system.
4. New business acquisitions can be easily facilitated: An effective process of acquiring new businesses is facilitated by a penetration test. A new IT network needs to be acquired if a new business has been acquired and this means that several potential vulnerabilities need to be adopted.
5. Businesses are protected from cyberattacks: Cyber attackers always look out for innovative ways to target organizations and breach data. Even large-scale companies are vulnerable, despite investing in building security mechanisms. Investment and fool proof, time-tested penetration testing strategy are required so that vulnerabilities and potential security loopholes can be avoided in entirety. Those vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers are identified and fixed by penetration testing.
Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing penetration testing for your specific project, then do get connected with a specialized software testing services company that will provide you with the right testing tactics that justify your project specific requirements.
About the author: I am a technical content writer focused on writing technology specific articles. I strive to provide well-researched information on the leading market savvy technologies.