1.
What is a Pentest?
Also known as "Ethical Hacking" in the cybersecurity world, a Pentest is a controlled and planned cyber attack simulation carried out by authorized experts. Organizations wishing to measure the resilience of their IT infrastructures aim to detect their structural and operational vulnerabilities against external or internal threats with a proactive approach by working with professional service providers. So, what is a pentest? In this article, it is possible to learn what a penetration test means, its types, application steps, and other details. Here is the detailed answer to the questions of how is a penetration test performed and what does it do!
Penetration Testing (Pentest) is a comprehensive security audit performed to validate the effectiveness of existing network and security solutions, and to identify configuration errors and risks stemming from the human factor. Critical vectors such as Patch management deficiencies, weak password policies, administration panels open to unauthorized access, and insecure API endpoints constitute the focus of these tests. The main purpose of these tests, applied with different methods and scenarios, is to make vulnerabilities in websites, mobile applications, servers, networks, or APIs that pose a threat to the organization visible and to ensure precautions are taken before a possible cyber attack occurs. Additionally, to fully ensure Cyber Resilience, besides penetration tests, Disaster Recovery as a Service solutions that guarantee business continuity in the event of a possible data breach or outage are of strategic importance.
2.
What Are Pentest Techniques?
- Black Box Pentest: This is the method, also called a "blind test," where no prior information about the target system is given to the test expert. The expert acts just like an external cyber attacker, using only data obtained through Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) methods and attempting to infiltrate the system from the outside. After the test process is completed, the detected security vulnerabilities are reported in detail.
- White Box Pentest: Contrary to the Black Box Pentest, in this method, the expert is provided with comprehensive information such as system architecture, source codes, user privileges, and infrastructure details. The purpose of the White Box Pentest is to reveal logical errors and deep-dive analysis vulnerabilities that are difficult to detect from the outside, thanks to source code analysis and full system visibility. This method is also the most effective way for the simulation of Insider Threats.
- Grey Box Pentest: In this test, applied as a combination (Hybrid) of Black Box and White Box methods, the expert is given limited information about the system. The expert is provided with information accessible to limited users or individuals with restricted privileges in the system. In this way, attack scenarios that may come from both outside and inside with partial privileges are tested realistically.
3.
Types of Pentests
You can see the pentest types, which also contain the answer to the question what is a penetration test, below.
- Mobile Application Pentest: Studies aimed at testing whether user data is protected in mobile applications and whether there are risks of unauthorized access or data leakage.
- DDoS and Load Tests: Tests performed to measure how systems behave under sudden and intense user traffic and whether the service is interrupted.
- Wi-Fi Pentest: Security tests that check whether the organization's wireless networks can be accessed from outside or by unauthorized persons.
- VoIP Infrastructure Pentest: A penetration test that examines whether there are risks such as eavesdropping, unauthorized calling, or service interruption in the voice communication infrastructure made over the internet.
- Network Pentest: Tests aimed at measuring the security level of servers, devices, and ports located in the internal and external network structure of the organization.
- Web Application Pentest: Tests aimed at detecting security vulnerabilities in websites and web-based applications that can be exploited by users or attackers.
- Social Engineering Pentest: Tests centering on the human factor, measuring whether employees can be deceived through fake emails, phone calls, or messages.
4.
How is a Pentest Applied? What Are the Steps?
You can see the details of the penetration test stages below.
Information Gathering Step
This stage, which is the most critical and time-consuming phase of the penetration test, covers the passive and active information gathering (Reconnaissance) process about the target system. In this step, the aim is to obtain data about the target through technical and non-technical methods. By examining DNS queries, search engines, email lists, social networks, or newsgroups, an attempt is made to discover every possible attack path against the system. Thus, the most comprehensive steps to be taken in other stages are revealed.
Network Mapping Step
Following the passive information gathering process, the "Scanning & Enumeration" phase is started to determine the network topology and active devices of the target system. Activities within the Network Mapping Step include port and service scanning on the system, detecting which operating systems are running, determining the versions of these operating systems, identifying hardware and software in the systems, revealing open systems, and detecting network devices.
Classification Step
In the phase of the Pentest called Enumeration or Classification; detailed TCP/UDP port scans and service discoveries are performed on the detected active devices. The aim here is to determine which services use the open ports and what their versions are. After these determinations are made using specific methods, the accuracy of the information is confirmed, and the revealed vulnerabilities are noted for use in subsequent steps. If active network devices such as routers or switches are among the detected systems, the operating systems running on these devices and their versions are sought. After each one is revealed, they are reported under the heading of configuration issues.
Vulnerability Detection Step
As the name suggests, in this step, security vulnerabilities (Vulnerability Assessment) in the system are detected and verified in light of the data obtained in previous stages. The most critical point of the process is the exploitation of these detected vulnerabilities using appropriate "Exploit" codes and providing authorized access (Access Gaining) to the system. However, it should not be forgotten that vulnerability scanning tools are designed to be configurable according to the target system, not just with default settings. Additionally, at the end of this test, infiltration paths and scenarios into the target system are also determined.
In addition to the subject of "What is pentesting?", our article titled What is a Network Security Key and Switch? might also interest you.
