Pentesting is a secure authorized attack on a computer to evaluate the computer’s security system. Pentesting is made to identify and recognize vulnerability from the security bugs before the attacker exploits them. The types of weaknesses that the attacker could exploit are confidentiality and availability. Pentesting concludes with a result from the test which includes a list of the vulnerabilities and how risky they are to the network or application, and a short summary.
Penetration testers usually work in teams. Teams typically create new tests to simulate cyber attacks. Usually, a team of professional penetration testers evaluate application vulnerability, and the security of systems, servers, and network devices.
The Roles of a Penetration Tester
There are different roles as a penetration tester. There is the junior tester and other higher roles of testers as someone would progress. A junior penetration tester typically requires one to four years of information security experience. The higher roles of penetration testing typically requires three to ten years of experience relating to vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. Graduates from college typically utilize internships to get into entry-level roles. Internship roles consist of networking, using mentors, and learning security techniques.
The lower level roles of penetration testers typically require one to four years of experience in IT, such as system administration, security administration, network administration, or network engineering. They may also need experience in penetration testing, vulnerability evaluating, or information security. There are also online programs that offer certification programs which students can look into if they want to get into penetration testing, so if they want to they can check this out as a student looking into a new career.
What is Manual Penetration Testing?
Manual pentesting is performed by a professional penetration tester. This professional is responsible for providing design, business logic, and flaw risks that can only be noticed by professional human penetration testers. Manual penetration testing utilizes human professional skills along with penetration software and tools. The software can only recognize some things it is built for, but not everything, including design flaws. There is a certain kind of method that human penetration testers follow: data collection, vulnerability evaluation, exploit, and preparation of the report.
Data collection is one of the most important roles in manual penetration testing. It can be done either manually or through tool services that include various online tools and techniques. These tools assist the pentester with collecting data such as software, hardware, third-party plugins, and more. Once the data is collected, the vulnerability is evaluated for the weaknesses in security. Then it is exploited or attacked, which reduces the likely chance of a real attack, and finally all of this is put into a report. It is very similar to a regular penetration test through a system instead of a human, but with a human, the testing is able to recognize design flaws.
Penetration Testing
Whether a human is used to conduct a penetration test or a system, they are both very reliable. In order for a human to conduct a penetration test, they must have the skills and expertise to do so. They achieve that through online certification programs and gaining experience in IT departments.