What To Consider When IoT Security Testing

Perhaps a couple of decades ago, we would have thought of IoT as a far-fetched dream that could potentially be actualized in the future. But now that IoT technology is at our disposal, we need to make sure that it’s only used for good.

As technology and its use advances, crimes have also risen. This is why security procedures like web security assessment and testing are important.

If you’re getting closer to the launch of your IoT product, it’s imperative to make sure that its users will be secure. The best way to ascertain this is to partner with a reputed penetration testing service provider and proceed with IoT security testing—only deeming the application ready to be released when you’re sure that it’s as safe as can be.

When proceeding with IoT security testing, keep these factors in mind:

Familiarize Yourself With Every New Endpoint

Each new endpoint that gets added to a system brings with it a whole new set of vulnerabilities. Since these applications are developed across a wide range of open-source systems with varying computing power range and storage capacity, it is imperative that all the new endpoints are recorded as assets in the main device inventory.

Each item on this inventory then gets evaluated for security and performance with the respective and required procedures. An additional system that keeps track of everything that is added to or removed from the inventory would also be helpful.

Assess The Way Devices Communicate With One Another

The way different devices communicate with one another and share data is at the very core of IoT. Since there is a substantial amount of data transfer taking place, it’s necessary to ensure that the communication methods these devices use are safe and the data being transferred is fully encrypted.

In case of a breach in the middle of the communication process, the relevant departments should be alerted immediately as a countermeasure so that the issue can be dealt with as quickly as possible. 

Regularly Load-Check The Device

Since IoT is largely the transfer of data between different devices in a network, there is a chance of occasional spikes in the data load. If the system isn't equipped to handle the load, it can negatively affect functioning and compromise security.

To make sure this doesn’t occur, regularly load-check the network. To ensure security in case of high data loads, you can also use penetration testing to identify any loopholes and further secure the network.

Looking for a penetration testing provider? Get in touch with our team at Lean Security! As a leading security provider, we offer different types of penetration testing services. You can also reach us via email at info@leansecurity.com.au.

3 Key Things To Consider When Opting For Network Penetration Testing

Whether you’re building an application or a huge digital empire, you need to ensure that all personal information remains safe and isn’t misused in any way by invaders.

While following security protocol is great, it’s also important to test its effectiveness. One of the best ways to go about this is to think like a hacker and attempt to penetrate your own system.

This is called a simulation attack and is conducted by digital security experts or a penetration testing service during a penetration test. The tests helps identify any trapped doors, loopholes, or gaps in the coding that can be taken advantage of, which developers can then fix to ensure strong security.

If you’re opting for network security testing, here are three things you need to keep in mind.

Information Gathering Is A Crucial Step

The first and the most crucial step to conducting a network penetration test is gathering information. No matter how well you think you know your own code, there can always be vulnerabilities and loopholes that can be exploited.

Most experts use external tools like Nmap to extract true IP DNS records of addresses like MX, NS, PTR, or A which are helpful in vulnerability scanning. There are other similar tools that help experts detect the different hosts on a given network, the services they provide, and all the different versions they are running.

Knowing this is important because certain versions of the software have common vulnerabilities across them, and this information can be crucial when it comes to designing a penetration testing strategy.

Use Threat Modeling To Your Advantage

Threats are enemies, and when you’re dealing with enemies, you’re better off knowing what you’re dealing with than fighting an unknown phantom. This is where threat modeling comes in.

Once you have the necessary information you need, run tests and map out potential threats. Make sure you keep track of all the activities conducted during the pen test and evaluate the risk rankings given to the new vulnerabilities discovered.

Not All Vulnerabilities Are Worth Trying To Exploit

Vulnerabilities vary in severity and risk, and not all of them are worth going after. The final stage of pen tests involves some decision making on your part when it comes to deciding which vulnerabilities are worth going after and which ones are not. This will not only make the process quicker, but also save costs.

If you’re on the hunt for a reliable penetration testing provider, please don’t hesitate to contact us, the team behind Lean Security, and discuss your project.

We provide different types of penetration testing services. You can also email us your queries at info@leansecurity.com.au.

Here’s Why Digital Enterprises Need Network Penetration Testing

Pen tests or penetration tests are commonly confused with vulnerability assessments; however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Penetration tests involve simulation attacks that are conducted by trained cybersecurity professionals and are used to test environments and systems for security flaws, weaknesses, and risks.

If you run a digital enterprise, here are three reasons why it can benefit from network penetration testing:

Get You To The Vulnerabilities Before The Criminals Do

What is the best way to secure a building? If you answered placing guards and hyper-advanced security systems at all entrances and exits, you’re in the right ballpark. However, to effectively carry out this step, it is important to know where these entrances and exits are located before the criminals get to them.

These areas are easier to figure out in a physical building because you can physically follow the blueprint and send your team for a complete inspection.

However, it’s harder to achieve when the building in question is a software program—and this is where network penetration testing comes in. Penetration testing effectively uncovers loopholes in the code and brings any security flaws to notice so that the development team can fix them before the criminals get to them.

Saves Your Company Remediation Costs and Network Downtime

According to a 2018 study, the average global cost of a data breach is $3.86 million—and the costs have only grown since that year. This means that preventing a data breach can potentially save your company millions of dollars.

Professional security companies like Lean Security can advise you on the optimum frequency of penetration tests needed to keep your digital empire safe from the robbers and criminals of the cyber world. In addition, they can also advise you on other processes and procedures that will help further secure your online presence.

Promotes Security Regulations and Compliance With Them

Regular penetration tests can help you prove compliance with the security standards advised by PCI, HIPAA, and ISO 27001. Not only will this help your organization gain trust, but it will also help you avoid being fined heavily for non-compliance.

If you are looking for a reputable penetration testing provider, feel free to contact us, the team behind Lean Security, to discuss your project.

We provide different types of penetration testing services to make sure that your business is never vulnerable to online threats and attacks. Email us at info@leansecurity.com.au.

Understanding Security As An Investment: Importance Of Penetration Testing For Start-Ups

Penetration testing is a form of ethical hacking, where a cybersecurity firm attempts to infiltrate an organization's network to test their cybersecurity systems. Testers usually search for vulnerabilities that a cybercriminal could exploit.

Penetration testing has become increasingly vital as digitization rates increase across the global commercial landscape. This is especially true for start-ups and smaller firms, who are more likely to face a cyberattack and also less capable of dealing with it effectively. We’ll break down why penetration testing is so important: 

Find Potential Vulnerabilities

Most companies, while working on a network or system, become desensitized to it—including its flaws and vulnerabilities. There have been many cases of apps and websites going online and then crashing because of an attack—2020 alone has seen over 50 different major cyberattacks that targeted political and financial institutions. 

A penetration test brings in fresh eyes to the company. With an impartial and unfamiliar point of view, a penetration tester can find bugs and vulnerabilities that internal teams won’t.

Penetration testers are also familiar with the tactics used by cybercriminals to exploit organizations. They can use their prior experience and knowledge to protect a network better.

Develop Effective Security Procedures And Protocols

Conducting a penetration test is essential for a company to determine where it’s current network stands. A penetration system can provide valuable insights into potential vulnerabilities, and gaps cyber criminals may try to exploit.  Using these insights, a company can update their security measures to ensure operational continuity and protect their employees and customers.

Penetration testers can also provide a start-up with a detailed list of recommendations for effective and prompt remediation. Additionally, a penetration test will offer the necessary facts and data to prepare long-term cybersecurity measures.

Maintain Company Image

In addition to massive data breaches and financial losses, cyber-attacks can also cause brand and image issues. Start-ups are especially vulnerable to cyberattacks, as they make up about 58% of cybersecurity data breaches.

A timely and premediated penetration test prevent a destructive data breach and preserve your company's image. This will also preserve your customer loyalty, which is a further bonus of penetration testing.

Penetration testing can make or break a start-up’s future and long-term viability. Lean Security is an online security systems company based in Gordon, NSW. We’re a highly qualified and experienced penetration testing provider, and we've got extensive experience with start-ups.  Contact us at +61-2-8078-6952 for more information.

3 Common Cloud Vulnerabilities You Should Be Wary Of

Cloud computing is widely being adopted across many industry sectors. According to statistics, around 85% of businesses around the world use cloud computing for various organizational purposes.

By utilising cloud computing, most firms have reduced total cost of ownership, enhanced organizational abilities through SaaS, PaaS, and server virtualization, to become more competitive.

Despite its efficiency contributions, cloud computing gives rise to several vulnerabilities. However, some methods deal with these vulnerabilities and make cloud computing more effective. We’ll help break them down for you:

Data Residency & Security

Data residency and data security are vital concerns when moving to the cloud. The main concern with data residency is who manages and has access to the data.  Additional issues include where the data is stored and what laws apply.

The critical solutions to overcoming data residency concerns are data encryption and tokenization. Data encryption is the process that converts clear text data into ciphertext, unreadable to unauthorized users.

Tokenization involves converting sensitive data into random strings that only serve as a reference to original values—these strings can’t be used to identify the data itself. The only way to figure out which token refers to relevant data is through a token vault—a database that uses these tokens as references to data values. The token vault itself is often secured through encryption.

Downtime

Downtime is a common concern for businesses when they move to cloud computing. Often, substandard server hosting services experience technical difficulties that bring down entire servers—along with the client organization’s server cloud. Server downtime and the resulting operational disruptions can cost as much as $1 million depending on how deeply integrated the organization is with the cloud.

Many businesses, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, cannot afford regular interruptions without incurring significant financial losses.  For instance, in 2017, an outage on Amazon Web Services cost the stock market around $150 million. 

It's vital to be proactive when protecting your organization from downtime. Make sure your hosting providers are readily available and have planned for all contingencies. If your business can't afford frequent outages, use multi-region deployments to ensure operational continuity.

Cyberattacks

In cloud computing, all aspects of the organization's information are stored and processed online. That means the information is continuously vulnerable to malign influences who can use cyberattack strategies like DDoS attacks, SQL injections, Cross-site scripting, DNS Tunneling etc. to get access to sensitive data.

The only solution to this problem is implementing strict cybersecurity measures and preparing contingency plans. Make sure that your cloud-hosting provider or your internal IT teams use the strictest security protocols to restrict unauthorized access and data breaches. Common methods to avoid data breaches through the cloud include routine backups, implementing user access controls, encrypting in-flight and at-rest data, as well as working with network security specialists.

Cloud computing has many vulnerabilities that only an expert can diagnose and resolve.  Lean Security is a managed services provider in Gordon, NSW. We’re highly qualified and experienced in cloud computing and its potential vulnerabilities.  Contact us at +61-2-8078-6952 for more information.