What is Penetration Testing?
Penetration testing (also known as pen testing) is a simulated cyber attack against your computer system to check for exploitable vulnerabilities. Pen tests can be conducted internally by your organization’s security team or externally by a specialized security firm.
The purpose of penetration testing is to identify security weaknesses in your system before attackers do. By finding and fixing these vulnerabilities, you can help prevent successful cyber attacks.
Penetration testing can be used to test any type of computer system, including Web applications, databases, networks, and more. A penetration test typically includes a combination of automated and manual testing methods.
What is the primary tools of Penetration Tester?
There are many tools available to penetration testers, but some of the most popular include:
-Nmap: Nmap is a network exploration tool that can be used to scan for open ports and vulnerable services.
-Metasploit: Metasploit is a tool that allows users to exploit vulnerabilities in order to gain access to a system.
-Burp Suite: Burp Suite is a Web application security testing tool that can be used to find vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
-Hydra: Hydra is a brute-force attack tool that can be used to crack passwords.
What are the steps of conducting a Penetration Test?
There are many different methods that can be used to conduct a penetration test, but most tests follow a similar process:
- Reconnaissance: The first step is to gather information about the target system. This can be done using tools like Nmap and Google.
- Scanning: Once the target system has been identified, it can be scanned for open ports and vulnerable services.
- Exploitation: The next step is to exploit any vulnerabilities that have been found. This can be done using tools like Metasploit and Burp Suite.
- post-Exploitation: Once access has been gained to the system, the penetration tester will attempt to enumerate sensitive information and escalate their privileges.
- Reporting: The final step is to report the findings of the penetration test to the client.
