Cyber Security Testing

Cybersecurity testing is the process of identifying potential vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and other weaknesses in software, computers, or networks. Based on the results of the test, an organization can develop and implement a strategy for remediating the vulnerabilities and reducing its overall exposure to cyber risk.

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The Importance of Cybersecurity Testing

Companies’ digital attack surfaces are constantly expanding. The rise of cloud computing, bring your own device (BYOD) policies, and the Internet of Things has opened up new potential attack vectors in already expanding IT infrastructures.

As IT systems change and evolve, new vulnerabilities may be introduced or discovered, whether by legitimate security researchers or cyber criminals. Regular cybersecurity testing enables an organization to find and fix potential security gaps in its systems before an attacker can exploit them.

Types of Cybersecurity Testing

Companies have a variety of IT systems and face a range of potential cyber threats. Numerous types of cybersecurity testing exist to help identify potential vulnerabilities in these environments, including:

Penetration Tests: A penetration test simulates a real cyberattack against an organization. These can be performed either from outside the network — emulating an external threat actor — or from inside — testing for potential vulnerabilities to insider threats.
Vulnerability Scans: A vulnerability scan is an automated assessment that looks for known and common vulnerabilities in applications. The scanner will collect information about running applications and compare them to a list of known vulnerable programs to see if any are potentially vulnerable.
Mobile Application Tests (Android/iOS): Mobile application tests scan Android or iOS apps for potential vulnerabilities. This includes both general security issues and risks particular to mobile devices, such as the failure to encrypt sensitive data before storing it or transmitting it over the network.
Web Application Tests: Web application security tests evaluate a web app’s front end and backend for potential vulnerabilities. Examples of common web app vulnerabilities include cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection.
API Security Testing: API security testing assesses application security interfaces (APIs) for potential vulnerabilities. For example, an API may accidentally expose sensitive data or fail to properly authenticate a user making a request.
Desktop Application Tests: Desktop applications may contain vulnerabilities that can be exploited to expose sensitive data or crash the application. These applications can be tested as well to identify and correct these vulnerabilities.
Wireless Network (Wi-Fi) Penetration Tests: Wireless networks can have security flaws, such as the use of weak passwords or insecure protocols (WEP or WPA). A Wi-Fi penetration test will scan a wireless network for these vulnerabilities and attempt to exploit them to see if the network is truly vulnerable.
Social Engineering: Social engineering attacks, such as phishing, trick targets into doing what the attacker wants. A social engineering test may evaluate an organization’s vulnerability to phishing or try to determine if employees will hand over sensitive information during a vishing attack.
Cloud (AWS/GCP/Azure) Environment Penetration Tests: Companies are increasingly adopting cloud infrastructure, and cloud environments have unique security challenges not present in traditional, on-prem data centers. Cloud environment penetration testing looks for these specific security gaps, such as security misconfigurations or inadequate access management.
Secure Code Reviews: In theory, security should be implemented in every phase of the Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC). Secure code review examines code to attempt to identify and correct vulnerabilities before software is released into production.
Docker/Kubernetes(K8S) Penetration Testing: Like cloud environments, containerized applications have unique security challenges. This form of penetration test looks for misconfigurations, insecure deployments, or the potential for container escapes.
Adversarial Simulation/Red Team Simulations: Red teaming or adversarial simulation performs an in-depth assessment of an organization’s cybersecurity. Often, this is designed to test an organization’s defenses against a particular threat or threat actor.

Deliverables of Cybersecurity Testing

The goal of cybersecurity testing is to inform the client of their cyber risk exposure and empower them to address the identified issues and improve their security posture. Some of the key deliverables of cybersecurity testing include:

Executive Summary: C-suite executives don’t need the test details but want to know if their organization is vulnerable and if money was well spent. An executive summary will provide key highlights and metrics from the security test.
Detailed Results: In addition to the summary, a report should include detailed information about the tests performed and their findings. This should enable the organization to assess its cyber risk and duplicate findings.
Remediation Recommendations: Security testers have specialist expertise and in-depth knowledge of the identified vulnerabilities. Based on these, they can offer recommendations for how the issues could be mitigated or remediated.
Debriefing Session: In addition to a written report, the testers should offer a live debrief. This enables the client to talk through the results and ask any questions that they may have.