Frequently Asked Questions
01. What is penetration testing?
Penetration testing, or pentesting, is a simulated cyber attack on your systems to identify and exploit vulnerabilities, helping to improve your overall security posture.
02. Why is penetration testing important?
Penetration testing is crucial for identifying security weaknesses before malicious hackers can exploit them, thereby protecting sensitive data and ensuring compliance with industry regulations.
03. How often should penetration testing be performed?
Depending on the type, penetration testing should be conducted at least annually, or more frequently if there are significant changes to your systems, applications, or network infrastructure. Many organizations may choose to conduct external and application pen tests more frequently as these are exposed to the public.
04. What is the difference between penetration testing and vulnerability scanning?
Vulnerability scanning is an automated process that identifies potential vulnerabilities, while penetration testing involves manual testing to exploit these vulnerabilities and assess their impact. Penetration testing also looks for other misconfigurations, such as weak passwords, dangerous privileges, attack paths, and other items that don't show up in vulnerability scans. At Sound Cybersecurity, each penetration test also includes a comprehensive vulnerability scan in addition to manual testing.
05. How long does a penetration test typically take?
The duration of a penetration test depends on the scope and complexity of the target environment but generally ranges from one week to one month.
06. What should I expect in a penetration testing report?
Each penetration testing report typically includes detailed findings of vulnerabilities, the methods used to exploit them, and recommendations for remediation. Additionally, best practice recommendations from organizations such as NIST and CIS are included
07. Will penetration testing disrupt my business operations?
Penetration testing is designed to minimize disruption, and will never included Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks. Testing can be scheduled during off-peak hours to reduce any potential disruption.
08. Is penetration testing required for compliance?
Many industry standards and regulations, such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and ISO 27001, require regular penetration testing as part of their compliance requirements. Contact us today to find out requirements for your particular industry.
09. What is the difference between black box and white box penetration testing?
White box penetration testing involves the tester having full knowledge of the internal workings, architecture, and code of the systems being tested. This allows for a comprehensive assessment of vulnerabilities from an insider's perspective.
Black box penetration testing simulates an external cyberattack where the tester has no prior knowledge of the internal structure, systems, or code. This approach mimics how an actual malicious hacker might target an organization, providing insights into vulnerabilities that may be overlooked in internal assessments.
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At Sound Cybersecurity, we can perform both black-box and white-box testing to have a complete picture of your environment.
10. How do I prepare for a penetration test?
Preparation includes defining the scope, ensuring key stakeholders are informed, providing necessary access and documentation to the testing team, and being ready to address any discovered vulnerabilities promptly.