What is Automated penetration testing ?
In the modern digital landscape, cyber threats are constantly evolving. As such, it’s not enough for organizations to be reactive in their cybersecurity. To be adequately prepared for attacks, organizations must stay on the front foot and proactively upscale their cybersecurity measure before attacks can occur. This, in essence, is what automated penetration testing is all about.
What are penetration testing and automated penetration testing?
Penetration testing is a proactive process that enables organizations to maintain a strong security posture. It involves emulating cyber attacks on applications, systems, and networks in order to identify exploitable attack vectors in an organization’s security measures.
By using the same techniques and tools used in real adversarial attacks, pentesters are able to identify a wide variety of potential vulnerabilities, including outdated systems, misconfigured security tools, and gaps in authentication mechanisms, for example. The benefit of this is that it enables them to prioritize and remediate security vulnerabilities before a real attack occurs to mitigate risk and strengthen their security posture.
Automated penetration testing takes pentesting one step further by incorporating the use of automated security tools. Using such tools, pentesters can automate routine assessments and carry them out more regularly. As such, automated penetration testing can empower organizations to continuously monitor their IT environments and systematically validate their defenses to strengthen their posture.
Selecting the right penetration testing strategy: automated vs. manual
Automated and manual penetration testing each has its own advantages and is equally useful depending on the situation at hand.
Due to its inherent ability to expedite repetitive processes, automated penetration testing offers high utility in instances where regular checks need to be conducted across extensive IT environments. It offers speed and consistency at scale, enabling organizations to reduce the labor involved for continuous security validation.
Manual penetration testing, on the other hand, enables a greater degree of flexibility. By manually assessing security systems, penetration testers can adapt their approaches to identify unprecedented entry points that automated systems might not account for. As such, manual penetration testing allows for deeper analysis and a more nuanced approach to validation in cases where systems and networks with unique configurations need to be assessed.
Best practices for implementing automated penetration testing
To achieve optimal results with automated penetration testing, it’s advisable to adhere to best practices when it comes to implementation. The following are some core principles which can help your organization to get the most out of automated penetration testing:
- Set out clear objectives for automated penetration testing
- Establish regular schedules and prioritize critical assets for testing
- Utilize continuous monitoring for real-time threat detection
- Report and document all testing and results for analysis
Creating a unified penetration testing strategy for greater resilience
Penetration testing is a critical aspect of a strong cybersecurity posture. By helping organizations to proactively pinpoint and remediate vulnerabilities, it empowers them to stay one step ahead when it comes to defending against cyber attacks. Automated penetration testing is ideal for carrying out regular assessments at scale, while manual penetration testing is more adaptable when seeking out vulnerabilities in uniquely configured systems. As such, the two go hand-in-hand and are best used in tandem to provide maximum coverage.
Frequently asked questions
What is automated penetration testing?
Automated penetration testing is a process where automated security validation tools are used to carry out regular security assessments. During this emulated attacks are carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of security measures.
Why is automated penetration testing important?
Automated penetration testing is important because it helps organizations to proactively defend themselves against potential attacks. By continuously and systemically evaluating security systems through automated penetration testing, organizations can identify vulnerabilities as they emerge and employ updates, patches, and reconfigurations to remediate them and strengthen their security posture.
How does automated penetration testing differ from manual penetration testing?
Automated penetration testing differs from manual penetration testing primarily in terms of speed and adaptability. Automated tools offer a high degree of speed and consistency, allowing for regular testing at scale. Conversely, manual testing offers a greater degree of flexibility, making it useful for identifying more niche vulnerabilities and carrying out contextual analysis. Due to their different utilities, automated and manual penetration testing are most effective when combined.
How often should automated penetration testing be conducted?
Automated penetration testing should be conducted regularly to ensure the best results, but the exact frequency will depend on the needs and risk tolerance of your organization. You can configure your automated penetration tools to conduct assessments at intervals that best suit your requirements.
What happens if vulnerabilities are discovered during an automated penetrating testing assessment?
If vulnerabilities are discovered during automated penetration testing, they are first subjected to a risk assessment. Once the severity of the risk has been determined, vulnerabilities are then prioritized to minimize the damage of potential attacks. Finally, recommended remediation actions are applied to patch the vulnerabilities, after which the testing cycle is repeated.
Can I request a summary of automated penetration testing results or reports?
Yes, you can request a summary of automated penetration testing results of reports. These summaries will provide a details overview of the findings of automated penetration tests, including a list of identified vulnerabilities, their associated risk levels, suggested priority, and recommended remediation actions.