A network penetration test aims to assess your network for vulnerabilities and security issues in servers, hosts, devices and network services.
This generally includes:
- Identifying and assessing all Internet-facing assets a criminal hacker could use as potential entry points into your network
- Assessing the effectiveness of your firewalls and other intrusion-prevention systems
- Establishing whether an unauthorized user with the same level of access as your customers and suppliers can gain access to your systems via the external network
Clients will receive information about the identified vulnerabilities in a format that allows them to assess their relative business risk and the cost of remediation. This information can be used to resolve the vulnerabilities in line with the network owner’s budget and risk appetite.
Did you know?
- 72% of engagements resulted in at least one compromised password. Of those, 60% were easily guessed passwords, where the pen tester used generic password spraying, known defaults, and easily guessed organization-specific passwords.
- 96% of engagements that involved either a network or application assessment saw at least one vulnerability exposed to attackers
Breaking into external systems (those that communicate with the Internet) can be relatively simple if they have not been properly patched and secured against the latest threats.
Once an external attacker has gained access to your network, they can access sensitive data, modify data, cause the system to operate abnormally or crash the system.
Is an external network penetration test right for you?
If you are responsible for your external network, you should ask yourself:
- Are my systems fully patched and properly configured?
- Are any systems or applications secured with weak or default passwords?
- Have I accounted for all the services exposed to the Internet?
- Could malware be present on my system?
- Is every device secured by a correctly configured firewall?
- Is my confidential information properly segregated or secured?
The benefits of completing an external network penetration test
Our penetration tests will help you:
- Gain real-world insight into your vulnerabilities
- Identify any patches that need to be installed
- Reconfigure software, firewalls, and operating systems
- Identify needs for encryption or more secure protocols
- Find the most vulnerable route through which an attack can be made
- Find loopholes that an attacker could use to steal sensitive data
Our engagement process
Our CREST-accredited penetration testers follow an established methodology based primarily upon the Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual (OSSTMM). This approach emulates attackers’ techniques using many of the same readily available tools.
- Scoping: Prior to a test, our account management team will discuss the requirements for your network/infrastructure assessment to define the scope of the test.
- Reconnaissance: IT Governance will enumerate your network assets and identify any holes in your systems where malicious actors could break in.
- Assessment: Using the information identified in the reconnaissance phase, we test the identified hosts for potential vulnerabilities.
- Reporting: The results will be fully analysed by an IT Governance certified tester and a full report will be prepared that sets out the scope of the test and the methodology used along with the risks identified. This will provide your organization with the ability to produce an accurate threat and risk assessment.
- Re-test: We can provide access to our testers and the raw test data to support and expedite remediation. We can also retest your systems so that you can be sure all the issues have been successfully resolved.
Our penetration tests comply with the Microsoft Rules of Engagement
For Azure clients, this means we take care to limit all penetration tests to your assets, thereby avoiding unintended consequences to your customers or your infrastructure