Business benefits of network pen testing, our approach & more!

All About Network Penetration Testing

Network Penetration Testing is an effective way to get insight into your company’s security status, especially if you want to keep your staff or visitors safe from attack and ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.

However, many business owners don’t know the ins and outs of these tests, so we thought it would be helpful to break down exactly what they involve and how to make the most of them.

Here’s everything you must know about network penetration tests.

What is a Network Penetration Testing?

Network penetration testing is finding security flaws in applications or systems using multiple techniques.

A network penetration test (also known as a pentest) is similar to vulnerability assessments. It aims to find vulnerabilities within a network.

A penetration test, however, is a simulation of a possible attack to identify weaknesses that are more difficult to find in a network.

What are the Benefits of Performing a Network Penetration Test?

A network penetration test, also known as a pen test, is an authorized simulated attack on a computer network performed to evaluate the network’s security. The main purpose of a network penetration test is to identify vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit.

They allow organizations to discover their real risks and get ahead of potential attacks before they can happen.
They allow organizations to understand how well they perform against other threats to create better defenses against them.
They allow companies to understand their level of compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

What is the Purpose of a Network Penetration Test?

Protect your data

Every organization must protect itself against data breaches. This is the single most important reason. Many pen-testing networks function as ethical hacks and attempt to simulate cyber attacks.

Any weakness can allow for sensitive information to be leaked, which could affect your customers’ trust and seriously violate regulations and rules. This is a good way to assess the risk of intrusion.

Ensuring total security

Network pentests can help you to ensure no flaws are missed in your business structure, sensitive data or new applications. If you are responsible for managing sensitive data, security assessments and website security scans should always be part of any new initiative. SQL injections and outdated software are just a few examples of flaws.

Penetration tests often focus on potential threats.

An attacker may seek out the weakest points, but not all weaknesses are visible from the outside – vulnerabilities may exist due to poor internal policies or processes. A test like this ensures that these unknown weaknesses don’t compromise your system in an attack.

Compliance requirements

Penetration testing services are required by certain regulations, regardless of the industry. For example, data security in the payment card industry requires such tests to protect customers’ sensitive information (PCI DSS).

Continued maintenance

Network pen tests must be run multiple times to ensure security over the long term. The security controls used to protect the business network, such as firewalls, layered security, and encryption, will be reviewed by professionals hired for this purpose.

Appropriate penetration testing, considering the client’s needs and overall security.

How does one conduct Network Penetration Testing?

Network penetration testing is a type of security testing used to assess a network’s vulnerability. This type of testing aims to find weaknesses in the system that an attacker could exploit.

Here’s a list of items you will need to get started in network penetration testing

A computer that runs a Linux- or Windows-based operating system.
An adapter for network connections
Collect information about the target system
Identify vulnerabilities in the target machine.
Exploit vulnerabilities identified on the target machine
Nmap, Wireshark and Metasploit are network scanning and exploitation tools.
These tools can be used effectively.

What are the Steps in the Network Penetration Testing Process?

Phase 1 – Planning and Reconnaissance

The first step in penetration is to plan to simulate a malicious attacker. This attack helps gather as much information as possible about the system.

This stage is probably the most difficult because ethical hackers examine the system and note any vulnerabilities. They also analyze how the company’s tech stack responds to system attacks. Information searched includes names, email addresses, network topology, and IP addresses.

Phase 2 – Scanning

Based on the findings of the planning phase, penetration testers use scanning software to examine the system and network vulnerabilities.

This pentest phase is used to identify system vulnerabilities that could be exploited for targeted attacks. This information will determine the success of the next phases. It is crucial to get it right.

Phase 3 -Gaining System Access

After understanding the system’s weaknesses, pen testers attempt to hack the infrastructure by exploiting security vulnerabilities. They then attempt to exploit the system by increasing privileges to show how far they can penetrate the target environment.

Phase 4 – Persistent access

This pentest phase determines the potential impact of a vulnerability exploits using access privileges. Penetration testers must maintain access to the system and keep the attack running long enough for malicious hackers to replicate the attack. This pentest phase aims to get the highest privileges and network information possible.

This is where we need to show the customer what the security breach could mean. Accessing an old computer is not the same as having direct access to passwords and compromised data.

Phase 5 – Analysis and Reporting

This report is the result of a penetration test. The security team prepares a report describing the penetration testing process.

The severity of the risks posed by the vulnerabilities discovered
The tools that can penetrate the system successfully
These are the points that security was implemented correctly
These vulnerabilities need to be fixed, and how to prevent future attacks

This is the most crucial for both parties. This report will be read by IT staff as well as non-technical managers. It is best to separate the report into an explanation section and a technical part, i.e. the executive and technical reports.

Network Penetration Testing service by Sharkstriker

Sharkstriker is a leading provider of network security solutions. We provide comprehensive network security assessments that identify vulnerabilities and recommend corrective measures to reduce the risk of compromise.

Our team of certified ethical hackers has the knowledge and experience to find the weak spots in your network before the bad guys do.

Contact us today for more information about our affordable pricing and more details on what we can do for you.

Frequently Asked Question

How many types of pen testing are there?
What are the top 5 Tools for Network Penetration Testing?
Why do we need pen testing?

Pen Testing has three different types, and these are as under:

Network Service Penetration Testing
Web Application Penetration Testing
Wireless Penetration Testing

Wireshark – It is a packet sniffing and analysis tool that monitors network traffic and behaviour.
Nikto – It is a vulnerability scanning tool that scans web servers for security vulnerabilities
Nmap – Network discovery and security auditing tool
NetCat – A port scanning and listening device used to read and create a network
Hydra – Pentesting tool for brute-forcing logins and obtaining unauthorized entry

Pen testing gives organizations an unbiased view of their overall security posture.
Pen testers look for vulnerabilities that attackers might exploit
The more complex and tough your network, the more likely it is you’ll have undetected flaws
Organizations often underestimate the risks of unpatched software.
Pen testing is less expensive than dealing with an actual breach