Taking a Proactive Approach
In today’s world, the only thing you can be sure of is that the next threat is coming from somewhere. Undergoing an internal and external infrastructure penetration test allows you to be proactive and head off threats by knowing about them before a malicious attacker can get into your network.
It’s always much easier to correct a vulnerability before it gets exposed rather than try to fix a problem after it becomes an issue for both your network and your customers. SIQ Infrastructure Penetration Test can determine just how easy it would be for an outsider to get into your network and what might be exposed to them if they did — before they actually have a chance to get their hands on any sensitive information.
Preparing for All Possibilities
The digital world is constantly changing, and hackers are always updating their strategies so that they can get past new security features. When you opt for an SIQ Infrastructure Penetration Test, you’ll get a full security audit that prepares for any vulnerabilities by using multiple techniques to try to get through gaps in your network. If a hacker has tried it, your infrastructure penetration test will include it.
By having a trusted security expert try out the techniques that hackers are known to use, you can make sure that your network is prepared for many different attacks. The harder a hacker has to work, the more likely they are to give up and try for an easier target – and that’s exactly what you want.
Vulnerability assessment
Vulnerability scan will provide you basic information about your infrastructure’s exposure to malicious code and the most common threats that can be exploited by inexperienced attackers due to known vulnerabilities or configuration errors. Vulnerability scan is carried out with automated tools that systematically check the availability of services and known vulnerabilities with various techniques and specially designed requests. Such testing is most often performed in organizations that are obliged to regularly check the state of information security due to the requirements of IT auditors.
External infrastructure pentest
External infrastructure pentest is intended to detect potential security threats that threaten the information infrastructure from the publicly accessible network. According to methodology, the following activities should be performed (not limited to):
- Gathering publicly available information about network typology, external IP address space, server types
- Review of routing records leading to the IP address space
- Network review of external IP address space and discovery of services accessible from the Internet
- Review of services available from the Internet with vulnerability detection tools
- E-mail Security System Review (SMTP)
- DNS server security review
- Review of potential vulnerabilities
Internal infrastructure pentest
Internal infrastructure pentest purpose is to detect potential security threats and vulnerabilities of the information infrastructure in the event of intentional or unintentional harmful activities of employees or in the event of an attack from the internal network. It includes an overview of proper information system planning, an overview of the availability and settings of hardware and software, an overview of VoIP / IP telephony, an overview of wireless network and mobile devices, an overview of security policy and system maintenance rules, and a security review of key software.
According to the methodology, the following activities should be performed:
- Network vulnerability assessment of selected segments
- Identification vulnerabilities in system software
- Attempt to gain access to a workstation to further penetrate the network
- Attempt to gain administrative access to the servers
- Attempt to abuse the support infrastructure (AD, DNS, mail server, databases)
- Review of the internal network’s resistance to packet routing to any device in order to monitor traffic and obtain data
Getting the Information
After the security assessment is complete, you’ll receive a full report of where the vulnerabilities in the network are and how you can best address them. If you’re not following best practices and you’re leaving your network open as a result, you’ll know about it. If your employees need some extra training to help them become more vigilant to the threats of the digital world, you can make that a reality.
No stone will be left unturned. Your security audit will tell you exactly where your defenses are doing well and where you might need to repair something in order to close off a threat. In addition, you’ll know exactly what information could be exposed in an attack so you can decide how quickly you need to move based on how critical the information is to your company.
Staying One Step Ahead
Hackers are counting on executives not knowing their tricks and not covering all of their bases. It’s how they make their living, and unfortunately, it’s exactly why so many of them are successful at what they do.
It doesn’t have to be that way for you and your organization. An external and internal infrastructure penetration test can put you ahead of hackers and ahead of your competition by alerting you to where your vulnerabilities are and giving you a chance to close them off.