Today, we will show you and explain to you step by step how to do penetration testing. In this penetration testing tutorial, we will first start with the definition of penetration testing. What is it actually? It is basically a type of the Security Testing which is used with a purpose to test the insecure parts of the system and also the applications. What is the goal of such performance? It would definitely be to find all the possible threats and also the vulnerabilities which can be present in the system that is being tested. If you don’t want to experience having hacked authorized access by the attacker, then you need to keep on reading! Before we start, I would like to mention that this kind of testing is also known as pen test or pen testing. So, let’s go!
Why do we want to perform pen testing manually? Why not automated, it sounds much easier, right? Well, because with automated pen testing you won’t be able to find all of the vulnerability types that might exist. If you are struggling with the authorization issues, for example, those really require manual testing and also someone who is very skilled. The same goes when it comes to business logic flaws. It would be enough if we tell you that while doing the pen testing manually, more than 70% of the applications had at least one or two vulnerability!
What are the penetration testing steps? First, we have a planning phase. In this phase, what needs to be done is the determination of the scope and the strategy of the assignment itself. Here, for such purpose, security policies and standards which already exist are used.
Then we come to the second step, called discovery phase. This one would be very important, so read carefully. Here, all that needs to be done is to collect as much information as it’s possible. Collecting the information about the system and also the data in that system, the usernames and also passwords… This step and action is also known as Fingerprinting. After that information is collected, scanning and probing into the ports is a must. In that case, you are ready to check if there are any vulnerabilities in the system.
The third phase is called the attack phase. Finding the exploits for different kinds of vulnerabilities. Then, there is the last phase and it is called reporting. All that you have found needs to be reported very detailed. Any risks of vulnerabilities that may exist need to be reported and also their impact on the business. The last thing you should do is to give some recommendations or solutions if you have any, and I am sure that you have.
We will now take a look at the penetration testing tools. As you can predict, there are so many different tools for this purpose, but we have chosen the best. The first place definitely takes the Nmap. Used for port scanning and OS detection, vulnerability scanning of all types and also for routing trace. The second place took Nessus. This is actually a very traditionally based tool when it comes to network vulnerability testing. Then we have Cain and Abel, most of the times used for the password recovery, some wireless scanning and also network sniffing. Pass-The-Hash is useful when it comes to password checking.
Okay, we saw the steps of the penetration testing and also read about some powerful tools. There is also one more thing I would like you to know. Ethical hacking and penetration testing. If you know how to do manual pen test successfully, then you are also able to complete the ethical hacking. How is that possible? By learning the insides and outs of planning and also the executing pen test against your own network, or maybe your client’s network.
So, let’s make a small conclusion for your better understanding! When you are testing, you need to act like a real hacker! Yes, you have read that right. Always be sure that you have a great implemented security-policy, and it that case, you will be confident that your pen testing will be completed successfully! Also, the methodology will help you to make it even easier! Follow the steps and enjoy the process!