What is penetration testing and why is it important?

Identifying and fixing vulnerabilities along with streamlining the security aspect of an IT infrastructure or application will only help the organization to be more efficient and risk-free. These vulnerabilities may exist in end-user behavior, improper configurations, service and application
flaws. Through the strategic implementation of penetration testing, these vulnerabilities can be easily and effectively identified and fixed at the earliest. In this article, you will get a brief idea about penetration testing and its relative significance.

What is penetration testing?

It is a testing method where the computer system’s applications are evaluated from a security testing point of view to identify vulnerabilities and susceptibility to cyber threats and attacks. Simulated cyber-attacks are launched intentionally that seek out exploitable vulnerabilities in
websites, networks, computer systems and applications. Examples of vulnerabilities include configuration errors, software bugs and design flaws.

Following are five key reasons that depict the importance of penetration testing:
1. Amount of errors is reduced: Developers will get the necessary assistance through penetration testing reports and thus will be able to make fewer errors. When there is a proper understanding among developers as to how a malicious entity has launched an attack on the software application
or an operating system, then they will be able to conduct penetration testing in a knowledgeable and feasible manner.
Following are a few key points that depict the need to implement penetration testing:
1. Recent changes or significant upgrades have been done to the IT infrastructure or specific applications
2. Security patches have been applied
3.The office has been relocated
4.End-user policies have been modified.

2. Identifying risks: Specific insights are provided by penetration testing in terms of what are the specific channels for the applications or in the organization that are susceptible to security risks. To tackle and solve this specific situation, new security tools that can solve this issue need to be taken
into consideration apart from charting out specific security protocols. This will in turn help in discovering the major weaknesses of an application.

3. Acts as a preparatory step: Penetration testing provides a strategic platform to the organization by letting the security testing team know what are the ways the system or application might be at security risk by conducting simulated cyber-attacks. The organization’s security policies are also thoroughly scrutinized. Penetration testing helps in detecting cyber-attacks or threats and preventing them tactically.

4. A proactive security approach is encouraged: in order to prevent a breach, there is no one specific solution involved. It is better if organizations can maintain a portfolio of defensive mechanism and tools such as IAM programs, cryptography etc. Through the application of penetration testing, a proactive security approach is encouraged, wherein specific security related weaknesses of an organization are identified and strategic solutions and measures are offered.

5. Vulnerabilities are managed strategically: In-depth information related to exploitable, actual security threats are provided by the platform of penetration testing. When penetration testing is performed, the team will be in a position to know which of the vulnerabilities are crucial and which
of them are less significant and also which are false positives.

Through this, remediation can be prioritized intelligently, security patches can be applied and security resources are allocated more effectively in order to make sure that they are available as and when required.

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing penetration testing for your specific project, then do get connected with a top-notch software testing services company that will provide you with a viable testing strategy that is precisely in line with your project specific requirements.