The Differences between Penetration Tests, Audits, and Security Assessments

With the number of data breaches at an all time high, it’s no wonder businesses are expanding their security budget and seeking newer and improved ways of protecting their digital assets. Every day the headlines talk about a certain company that has suffered from a security breach.

Organizations are taking a proactive approach towards bolstering their defences against potential threats. However, there seems to be some confusion regarding terminologies which often suffer from misrepresentation and are generally misunderstood.

In this blog, we highlight the main differences between penetration tests, audits, and security assessments.

Audits

A major misunderstand is when people believe audits to be some form of a security assessments. An audit is definitely not a penetration test and is more of a check-box activity that ensures a company is in line with the compliance standards of the industry it operations in with regards to organizational structures, technology, internal processes, etc.

Simply put, audits help in identifying whether certain components are found within an organization but they don’t help in testing their effectiveness. While compliance does play a crucial role in maintaining a strong organizational framework, it doesn’t demonstrate the effectiveness of the security system if it does come under attack.

Penetration Tests

Breaches occur when the vulnerabilities within a system are exploited in order to gain access. The main goal then becomes to gain administrative access, which essentially allows the infiltrators to gain access to critical and sensitive information.

Penetration tests are done to gauge the strength of a company’s security systems. Similar to healthcare professionals, the tools and skills of the testers will determine the value of their services. This process is also time consuming when it comes to explaining results to the management who’s final decision hinges on the effective explaining of security vulnerabilities.

Security Assessments

This is the process in which operating systems, application software, and network devices are scanned to identify the presence of unknown and known vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are signified by a weakness, error or gap within the system and security design. Exploitation of such gaps allow for unauthorized access, denial of services, and an escalation of privileges.

 Security assessments go so far as to identify the vulnerabilities without executing an attack as conducted during penetration tests. It outlines the potential risks to a system and highlights possible corrective measures. Security assessments can be carried out using a number of tools based on operating systems, system types, open ports for communications, etc.

These assessments represent a valuable tool for identifying the areas that require attention and future investment.

Understanding the difference between these terminologies and their importance can play a key role in defensive your business from future attacks that can possibly lead to significant financial losses. Our penetration testing services and network vulnerability assessment will ensure your online business processes and transactions remain risk-free. Contact us today!

Simple Security Vulnerabilities Putting Your Business at Risk

Despite the fact that nearly 31% of business organizations have experienced a cyber attack on their operational technology infrastructure, most companies still don’t have proper security measures in place to counter the increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. While security vulnerabilities can’t be completely mitigated, businesses must implement certain measures that help to reduce the possibility of disaster.

In this blog, we take a look at a few security vulnerabilities your business should avoid.

Uninformed Employees

The risk posed by a careless employee is the same as someone who intentionally passes on information to competitors. Employees should be trained in the best security practices otherwise visiting unauthorized websites, having weak passwords, and clicking on suspicious links is likely to occur, which poses a security threat to the employers’ data.

Training employees as well as offering continuous support will allow them to protect themselves and the business’s data. By holding workshops that highlight the dangers of hacking by means of key-loggers and phishing scams, employees will have all the resources they need.

People on every level of management should be encouraged to keep complicated passwords with symbols and numbers and have them changed after 2 to 3 months. Encryption also helps in adding an extra layer of security and multifactor authentication such as RFID, fingerprint readers, and retina scanning protects sensitive data even if the passwords have been compromised.

Third-Party Service Providers

The evolution in technology has forced businesses to outsource IT management operations to third parties that offer increased levels of protection and efficiency.

It’s important to note that while they may offer a better security infrastructure as compared to an organization’s in-house capability, they may not be adhering to the best security practices. For example, many such service providers assign the same password to multiple clients. If a hacker manages to get that password, they instantly gain access to multiple security networks.

The threat is further exacerbated due to a lack of vetting process performed by the company seeking to hire any third party security service providers. While most security service providers do a fairly good job at keeping critical information safe from viruses and malware, not much attention is paid to internal system segmentation. This means that if a less secure system is hacked, it’s much easier to gain privileges and move onto other systems.  

Criminal Activity within the Organization

Rogue employees represent one of the main threats when it comes to data breaches. For example, a member of the IT department already has access to the data centre and networks and can cause considerable damages. It’s important to keep a log of privileged account activity and conduct quick responses to any suspicious activities.

Overlooking simple vulnerabilities can lead to massive damages for a business. Our network vulnerability assessment ensures that your business is protected from all types of security threats, big or small. Contact us today!

Avoiding the Major Data Loss Pitfalls

Avoiding data loss requires the effective implementation of a well-developed information security plan. Information security is often confused with cybersecurity, but it refers to securing an organisation’s information from all types of threats that can lead to data loss.

Data loss represents a loss of valuable time and resources which can leave a lasting impact on a company’s financial standing. In 2017, 74% of all data breaches were due to external factors.

In this blog, we take a look at the major data loss pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Inadequate Security Controls

Organisations ensure adequate auditing and compliance automation, deploy encryption, and implement file and data activity monitoring but fail to reinforce common entry points of attack which are exploited by both internal and external threats. Security systems are reliant on network security appliances, endpoint security software, access management systems and a host of other measures.

Not Identifying Critical Information

An organisation’s stakeholders must first identify critical information. Failure to do so results in security programs that only focus on the protection of regulated information. The effectiveness of such an approach greatly depends on the nature of a business’s operations. Not defining critical information can jeopardise a company’s crucial assets.

Failure to Keep Up with Change

Implementing data protection programs are never a complete guarantee against data breaches. A study of insurance claims filed under data breaches reveals that most companies do not keep a track of changing network infrastructures—alterations due to changes in business strategies.

Lack of Properly Defining Governance

Optimum positioning of business units includes defining unauthorised and authorised behaviour. Due to changing behaviours, continuous involvement of business units is vital for creating an effective program. Business unit involvement is divided into two main functions:

· Working Groups: manage the routine activities necessary for continuous maintenance and support of information security programs. Such groups are comprised of security professionals and are responsible for incident response in regard to events that have significant business impact.

· Governance Groups: comprise of business leaders responsible for highlighting the strategies pertaining to information security programs. They usually gather for quarterly meetings where compliance and risk reduction strategies are discussed.

Apart from focusing on the optimal use of data to improve organisational efficiency and performance, IT departments need to evaluate the effectiveness of their data loss prevention strategies. Critical data must be highlighted, and a proactive approach needs to be taken towards its protection rather than treating it as a simple compliance issue.

It is estimated that around 70% of all business have or will experience some form of data loss due to reasons such as viruses, system failures, accidental deletion or external disasters. Our penetration testing services help your company to locate weaknesses in its security systems allowing you to bolster your defence against data theft and loss! Contact us today!

3 Major Penetration Testing Techniques

With an increasing number of companies now integrating computer systems and networks into their operations, it seems like hardly a day goes by without news of the latest cyber-security attacks. Cyber-criminals continue to steal priceless data and cause companies billions of dollars worth of damage at alarming rates. According to a report by Microsoft, cyber-security incidents result in a potential direct economic loss of AUD 29 billion for Aussie businesses.

As a result, companies are now giving more attention to cyber-security and looking at new options to enhance the security of their systems and networks. Penetration testing has emerged as one of the most efficient ways to combat the efforts of cybercriminals. This form of ‘ethical hacking’ identifies the security vulnerabilities and weaknesses of a system or network by exposing it to a simulated ‘real world’ attack. Conducting pen tests helps companies gain an idea of how strong their system’s defences are.

If your company engages in e-commerce or has an online presence, having a little knowledge about pen testing can always come in handy. Here are the 3 major penetration testing techniques used by pro testers.

Black Box Penetration Testing

Also known as the ‘trial and error’ approach, the purpose of this pen testing technique is to simulate a cyber attack where the hacker is not familiar with the IT structure of the target company and is launching a high-intensity all-out attack on the system, in the hope that they will find a weak spot and make a break through.

In this type of pen test, the tester is not provided with any information regarding the software architecture of the web application, and they must rely on automated processes to fully determine the vulnerabilities in the system. As a consequence, black box pen testing takes a considerable time to complete.

White Box Penetration Testing

In white box penetration testing, the tester is given full information regarding the web applications’ software architecture and its source code. This means that it can be completed in a considerably shorter time frame compared to black box pen testing.

Furthermore, white box pen testing is a much more thorough type of testing than black box testing. However, this type of testing requires more advanced testing tools such as debuggers and software code analysers.

Gray Box Penetration Testing

As implied by its name, this type of testing lies somewhere in between black box and white box testing. The tester only has partial knowledge on the particulars of the system and they initiate the test by focusing on those areas of the web application they know most about. Both, automated and manual processes can be used in the gray box test and there’s a higher chance of discovering the more obscure ‘weak spots’.

Lean Security’s effective penetration testing services can help you gain an insight on the security credentials of your company’s IT infrastructure. Contact us for further details.

Application Security: Why It’s Important

Cloud computing and mobile technologies have drastically transformed the business landscape. Today’s world is powered by applications, and as a consequence, all companies are investing in IT and incorporating software in their operations—regardless of their stature or what they do.

As more and more enterprises are now embracing the idea of developing their own applications, the risk of cyber attacks and hacks have also risen significantly. While they greatly enhance the way your company interacts with its customers, web applications present cybercriminals with another entry point to your important assets and sensitive data.  According to the results of a survey conducted by Telstra, nearly 60% of companies in Australia detected a breach in cyber security during 2016. Furthermore, Verizon’s Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR) reveals that web applications are the number one source of data breaches.

Therefore, it’s safe to say that application security has become a necessity for organizations, rather than an option. This blog post will bring light to the importance of web application security.

Protection of Confidential Information

When it comes to e-commerce and online shopping, the main concern of most individuals is the safety of their sensitive personal information. This is why they hesitate to share personal data online. Web application security is crucial for companies to assure their customers that their data and information is in safe hands.

Maintain Market Reputation

Cyber attacks are increasing in frequency and sophistication at a daily basis and there aren’t many companies left that haven’t suffered a security breach at some point. Even Amazon, one of the world’s largest online retailers, was recently hit with a data breach. However, companies that do manage to remain safe from such attacks reap the rewards of a better industry reputation and a rise in the number of customers they serve.

Lawsuits & Penalties

Data breach or any other type of exposure of confidential information can have serious consequences for a company. In addition to loss of customer loyalty, data breaches can result in legal liabilities and lawsuits against your company.

Your company might have to pay large amounts of money as settlements. Moreover, some industries have regulations and legal compliance requirements which mandate a certain level of application security. An example is the PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). Failure to meet these requirements and regulations can result in fines and even cancellation of certification.

With Lean Security’s web application scanning services, you can fortify the defences of your organization’s application and prevent cyber attacks and data breaches. Contact us for further information.