Your company network is home to massive amounts of data, and a significant portion of it is likely sensitive information that you need to keep private. Protecting your information comes down to various practices, from firewalls to antivirus software. Penetration testing is a way to analyze your security methods and determine whether they’re enough to protect your network.
At XMARK, we perform cybersecurity penetration testing to help you determine network weaknesses and solutions.
What Is Penetration Testing?
Network penetration testing, often called pen testing, can discover security issues in IT infrastructure. These tests aim to mimic a hacker and the processes they might use to access private information. By the end of a penetration test, technical experts will have a list of vulnerabilities that a hacker might exploit. Pen testing will look different for every business depending on their processes and what vulnerable data may be most useful to a criminal.
Why is Penetration Testing Important for Businesses?
Cybersecurity penetration testing is critical for any business. With identified vulnerabilities, companies can take action and update their infrastructure to fix their weaknesses. Pen testing can help companies prevent costly hacking events that may harm their businesses in the long run.
You should perform penetration at least once a year to ensure your system is in good shape. Beyond your annual test, you should also initiate this testing when you:
- Upgrade or add to infrastructure or applications.
- Move to a new location.
- Apply security patches.
- Modify end-user policies.
Network Penetration Testing Services
At XMARK, we assess your cybersecurity risks with network penetration testing services. This service involves four steps:
- Creating a scope: Our team will gain information about your network during this stage, including connected devices and hosts. This process aims to understand your network and its parts.
- Assessing vulnerability: This step is about finding the many points in your network that may be vulnerable to attack. We may research information available to the public and use reverse engineering to find these weak points.
- Exploiting your network: When we’ve found your weaknesses, we’ll attempt to gain access to your network as a hacker would. This stage involves accessing low-value assets first and moving our way up, just as a cybercriminal might. We set a time for the test to determine how long our fake attackers can exist within your network unnoticed.
- Reporting and analyzing: We create a detailed report that describes how we infiltrated your system and what vulnerabilities your network has. The report and analysis are our basis for determining the best solutions for your weaknesses. Our team gives you recommendations for patches and other efforts that can protect your network from cyberattacks in the future.