What Are Some Pros and Cons of Penetration Testing?

Many organizations conduct penetration testing against their networks, servers, and systems to test vulnerability for hackers. This type of security examination simulates attacks by outsiders who have no insider knowledge about system defenses or insiders who have some knowledge about security implementations.

Penetration testing is a method to check if a company, organization, or system has good digital security measures. It can be very effective in most cases, especially when it is done thoroughly to simulate various threats.

Like any security check mechanism, however, penetration testing isn’t perfect. It has its pros and con. A pen test is only one component of a complete security audit. This should also include staff interviews, software vulnerability scans, and analysis of physical access.

Pros of Penetration Testing

1) Identify and Resolve System vulnerabilities

Every 39 seconds, hackers launch new cyberattacks that put businesses at risk. Hackers may find vulnerabilities in places you might not have thought of.

Pentesters can put themselves in the shoes of hackers, which is one of the main benefits of penetration testing. Pentesters can find vulnerabilities and weaknesses in your IT systems by staying up to date with cybersecurity news and approaching it from a cyber criminal’s perspective.

2) Gain Valuable Insights Into Your Digital Systems

Penetration testing reports can give you valuable information about your network and its weaknesses, as well as how to strengthen it. These tests can be used for many purposes by both IT professionals and pen-testers.

Online vulnerability assessments and automatically generated reports tend to be less specific than penetration tests reports. Penetration tests help you identify your risks and create actionable plans aligned to company values, objectives, and resources.

3) Establish Trust with Your Clientele

Cyberattacks and data breaches can negatively impact the trust and loyalty of customers, vendors, partners, and employees. One of the greatest benefits of penetration testing is investing in proactive cybersecurity. This will protect your IT systems and data against attacks. To reassure your customers and potential customers, you can build a reputation as a cybersecurity expert.

This can be done with certifications such as Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certificate (CMMC) for defense contractors. You should also share as much information as possible about your organization’s compliance to the principles of information assurance, your organization’s cybersecurity protections, as well as how you conduct penetration tests and security reviews.

Cons of Penetration Testing

1) Mistakes Might be Costly

Penetration testing is the process of hacking your IT systems, some but not all. This can expose sensitive security concerns regarding customer and company information.

Penetration tests that aren’t done correctly can lead to serious damage. It is possible for servers to crash or corrupt data, and other consequences can result from a hacker’s attack.

It would be a disaster if your company’s data were lost, especially if a hacker or a competitor stole it.

2) Selecting the Test Conditions

Penetration testing is often challenging and costly. It is essential to decide the scope and test conditions that are most worth the risk and cost.

Does it really make sense to take on the security risk of only analyzing a small portion of your network? Penetration testing has many disadvantages. It may be more beneficial to test a larger area.

You will need to ensure that your pentesters have the necessary skills to perform a penetration test of your entire network and infrastructure. This requires more time, effort, and resources.

Some businesses also plan too heavily to conduct a penetration test. Cyberattacks can strike without warning. For the best results, ensure that your network and systems are subject to the most realistic testing conditions.

If you don’t get a thorough evaluation of your IT’s strengths and limitations, it won’t pay off.

3) Testing could be unethical

Is penetration testing ethical? Because it employs many of the same methods that criminals use to search for weaknesses in an organization’s applications or systems, penetration testing is often questioned.

Penetration testing is argued to encourage bad behavior and tactics because the hacking done in these tests is not different from hacking by cybercriminals.

Each organization must decide if it is willing to accept the ethical implications of penetration testing. It would be best if you also considered the ethical implications of penetration testing from the perspective of customers, vendors, or partners.

Conclusion

Security analysts are worried about the increasing number of online attacks. Penetration testing can be used to identify and fix vulnerabilities in the network and strengthen the system’s security against these types of attacks.

Penetration testing is not a standalone security measure. It should be part of a comprehensive security strategy that includes automated security tools, frequent internal audits, and training employees in cyber awareness. Protecting computer systems requires someone who can think like attackers. Pen-testing is a way to test the security of your system and determine if there are any weak points. This service can be very valuable and should be included in your business plan.

More companies have recently reached out to an information security expert to discuss performing regular penetration tests as part of their compliance audits. The tools and hacking skills required to detect weak links in an IT infrastructure and identify them can be used by pentesters. They can assess one’s security posture before attackers and can thus help prevent breaches from ever happening.