Penetration Testing

Internal infrastructure penetration testing focuses on assessing the security of your network infrastructure, including routers, switches, firewalls, and other network devices. It aims to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited from within your network.

External infrastructure penetration testing is a critical cyber security exercise aimed at evaluating the security of an organisation's external-facing assets, such as firewalls and IP addresses. This test is conducted from outside the organisation's physical and network boundaries.

Web application penetration testing involves assessing the security of web applications, such as e-commerce websites, online portals, and web services. It aims to identify vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and insecure authentication mechanisms.

Cloud service penetration testing is a combination of internal and external infrastructure testing focused on cloud service environments. Testing can encompass Microsoft 365/Azure, Google Cloud and AWS as required. A popular alternative to this is a security configuration review.

Our in-house experts carry out static and dynamic analysis on mobile-hosted applications to ensure they are developed in a secure manner. Testing is conducted across multiple mobile operating systems to maintain security standards universally.

Social engineering focuses on testing the human element of security by attempting to exploit psychological manipulation techniques. This is an effective method to gather information and establish a foothold within a target network. It assesses the effectiveness of employee training programs and security awareness.

The penetration tester and client establish a clear scope of the assessment, define the goals and objectives, and agree on the rules of engagement. Information will be gathered about the target system, network, or application and potential vulnerabilities and attack vectors will be identified. This phase ensures a mutual understanding of the project requirements and expectations.

The penetration tester collects specific information about the target system, such as IP addresses, domain names, and network infrastructure. The latest automated tools and techniques, such as open-source intelligence (OSINT), are commonly used to gather data from publicly available sources to complete this stage efficiently. This process helps prioritise testing efforts and focus on the most critical areas of the system.

The penetration tester uses various scanning and enumeration tools to identify vulnerabilities in the target system. This may include port scanning, service identification, and vulnerability scanning. The vulnerabilities will then be prioritised based on their severity and potential impact. This stage allows penetration testers to define an effective approach to be employed during the exploitation phase.

Exploitation involves attempting to manipulate the identified vulnerabilities to compromise and/or gain unauthorised access within the target infrastructure/system. The penetration tester will use a combination of manual techniques or automated tools to conduct this phase in an efficient and effective manner without causing any disruption to business operations.

Once access to the system is gained, the penetration tester explores further to determine the extent of the compromise and assess the potential impact of the attack. Once penetration testers have attempted to pivot or escalate privileges within the network, they will remove any scripts from the compromised systems. This phase helps in understanding the severity of the vulnerabilities and their potential consequences.

Once the testing process is complete, a detailed report is prepared, highlighting any identified vulnerabilities, exploited systems, and sensitive data accessed. It also provides recommendations on how to mitigate current vulnerabilities. Ultimately, the purpose of the final report is to help you understand your risks and take appropriate actions to improve your security posture.