Vulnerabilities in your computer system are not necessarily problematic until intruders discover them and exploit them. If you develop a culture of identifying flaws before they become threats, you can fix them so they don’t cause significant harm. This is the opportunity that penetration testing provides you.
But there are some myths surrounding penetration testing that may be holding you back from taking steps to improve your security.
1. Penetration testing is only for organizations
There is a perception that penetration testing is an activity for organizations, not individuals. To clarify this it is important to understand the goal of the pentest. The end game of testing is to secure the data. Organizations with sensitive data are not alone. Everyday people also have sensitive data such as banking information, credit card details, medical records, etc.
If, as an individual, you do not identify vulnerabilities in your system or account, threat actors will take advantage of them to access your data and use it against you. They can use this as bait for ransomware attacks, where they demand that you pay a lump sum before restoring access.
2. Penetration testing is purely a proactive measure
The idea of discovering threats to systems before intruders do suggests that penetration testing is a proactive security measure, but this is not always the case. It can be reactive at times, especially when you are investigating a cyber attack.
After an attack, you can conduct a pentest to gain insight into the nature of the attack in order to deal with it properly. By finding out how the incident happened, the techniques applied, and the targeted data, you can close the gap and prevent it from happening again.
3. Penetration testing is another name for vulnerability scanning
Since both penetration testing and vulnerability scanning are about identifying threat vectors, people often use them interchangeably, thinking they are the same.
Vulnerability scanning is an automated process of identifying established vulnerabilities in a system. You list potential flaws and scan your system to determine their presence and impact on your system. Penetration testing, on the other hand, is about running the web of your attack across your entire system in the same way that a cyber criminal hopes to identify weak links. Unlike vulnerability scanning, you don’t have a predefined list of threats to watch, but do your best.
4. Penetration testing can be fully automated
Automated penetration testing sounds good in theory, but is far-fetched in reality. When you automate a pentest, you are performing vulnerability scanning. The system may not have the capability to resolve the issues.
Penetration testing requires human input. You will need to brainstorm possible ways to identify hazards, even if there appears to be no danger on the surface. You should test your knowledge of ethical hacking like a hacker using all available techniques to break into the most secure areas of your network. And when you identify weaknesses, you find ways to address them so they no longer exist.
5. Penetration testing is very expensive
Conducting penetration testing requires both human and technical resources. Whoever is doing the testing has to be very skilled, and such skills don’t come cheap. They should also have the necessary equipment. Although these resources may not be readily available, these resources are valuable in preventing threats.
The cost of investing in penetration testing is nothing compared to the financial loss caused by cyber attacks. Some datasets are priceless. When threat artists expose them, the consequences go beyond financial measure. They can ruin your reputation immensely.
If hackers aim to extort money from you during an attack, they demand huge amount which is usually more than your estimated budget.
6. Penetration testing can only be done by outsiders
There is a long-standing myth that penetration testing is most effective when performed by external parties rather than internally. This is because external workers will be more objective as they have no involvement with the system.
While objectivity is important in the validity of a test, affiliation with a system does not actually make someone objective. Penetration testing involves standard procedures and performance metrics. If the tester follows the guidelines, the results are valid.
More than that, being familiar with a system can be an advantage as you are exposed to tribal knowledge that will help you navigate the system better. The emphasis should not be on an external or internal examiner, but on one who has the skills to do a good job.
