Description of the service

Penetration Testing, also often called “pen testing,” is a realistic simulation of a cyber attack conducted against a system, network, or application to assess the security of the IT infrastructure.

Unlike a simple Vulnerability Assessment, which merely identifies the vulnerabilities present, Penetration Testing focuses on the actual exploitation of security holes, mimicking the techniques and methods used by real hackers to compromise a system.

The process helps organizations understand not only what vulnerabilities exist, but also which of them pose a real threat to data integrity, confidentiality, and availability. Testing can be conducted from different perspectives, such as that of an insider, an outside hacker, or a malicious user with limited access, to cover a wide range of attack scenarios.

At the end of the Penetration Test, the organization receives a detailed report highlighting the vulnerabilities exploited, the path used for the intrusion, the potential impact of a successful attack, and specific recommendations to mitigate the risks identified.

This simulation not only enables the measurement of the IT system’s resistance to attacks received, but also helps to improve defense and response strategies, enhancing the overall security of the organization.

Who is the service intended for?

The Penetration Test service is designed for all organizations that want to ensure maximum security of their IT systems and protect their sensitive data from potential cyber attacks. It is particularly suitable for:

• Companies of any size,
  from small and medium-sized enterprises to large multinational corporations who wish to assess the security of their networks, applications, and IT infrastructure to protect critical information and business continuity.
• Government and public bodies,
  institutions that handle sensitive information and personal data of citizens can benefit from Penetration Testing to ensure that their systems are protected from external and internal threats.
• Financial and insurance institutions,
  banks, investment companies and insurance companies that handle large amounts of financial data and personal information need regular Penetration Tests to prevent fraud, data breaches and cyber attacks.
• Regulated industries,
  companies operating in industries with strict compliance requirements, such as healthcare, telecommunications, energy and utilities, and e-commerce, must perform Penetration Testing to comply with regulations such as GDPR, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and others, and demonstrate that they have taken proactive measures to protect customer data.
• Information security team and chief information security officer (CISO),
  security professionals who want a clear view of their organization’s security posture and practical vulnerabilities that could be exploited by an attacker.
• Tech startups and SaaS companies,
  companies that develop software or offer cloud-based services can use Penetration Testing to identify security holes in their applications, APIs, or cloud infrastructure, ensuring a high standard of security for their users.

In general, Penetration Testing is ideal for all organizations that want to improve their resilience against cyber threats and protect their reputation, customer trust, and business continuity.

Available execution modes

The Penetration Test service can be carried out in the following ways:

• White Hat,
  everyone in the company is aware of the ongoing test and that there will be “interference” in the network.
• Gray Hat,
  only one or more managers are aware of the test, which is performed in secret by the Enterprise technician.

Output of the service

The Penetration Test service outputs:

• Full report,
  report detailing all identified vulnerabilities and attack outputs.
• Summary report,
  report reporting only the final considerations of the activity.

How the service works?

The process is divided into several key steps to ensure that the service is carried out smoothly and effectively. Here is how it works in detail:

1. Planning and recognition,
   in this initial phase, the security team defines the scope of the test in collaboration with the client, identifying the systems, networks, and applications to be tested. Next, a reconnaissance activity is conducted to gather preliminary information about the targets, such as IP addresses, domain names, open ports, and other useful information. This phase provides a better understanding of the attack surface and prepares a detailed plan for simulating the attack.
2. Vulnerability Assessment,
   advanced tools are used to scan for vulnerabilities and identify potential weaknesses in target systems. This phase involves the use of automated and manual techniques to detect vulnerabilities such as outdated software, misconfigurations, unprotected access, and other security issues. The identified vulnerabilities are then analyzed to determine their severity and potential risk.
3. Exploitation and attempted intrusions,
   at this stage, security experts attempt to exploit identified vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to target systems. Hacker-like techniques and methodologies are used, such as brute force attacks, privilege escalation, SQL injections, cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, and more. The goal is to assess the extent to which an attacker could compromise the system and what sensitive data might be exposed.
4. Final reports and mitigation recommendations,
   once testing is completed, a detailed report is produced that documents all vulnerabilities discovered, the attack methods used, and the potential impact of each vulnerability exploited. The report also includes practical recommendations to mitigate the identified risks, such as security patches, configuration updates, access policy enhancements, and other security measures. Finally, the security team can conduct a debriefing with the client to discuss the findings and plan any necessary corrective actions.

Average time of engagement

The average time frame for engagement is 15-20 working days.