In the wide range of types of software testing, Penetration testing is one of the most prominent facets of software security testing. It is the prediction and simulation of security breaches and cyber-attacks that hamper the software workings.

Also known as Pen testing, it allows a tester to assess the risks involved if any potential threat to software security takes place. By knowing the risks involved, testers not only detect vulnerable elements of the software security code, but also exploit them.

As the name suggests, here, the software is tested by penetrating a breach into it and observing the software behavior and hence rectifying the security code. It can also be said as an aspect of ethical hacking. It is a must when it comes to security testing and someone who is in the field of software testing must have a proper sense of how it works.

In this article, we dig deeper into its workings, needs, and methods.

Penetration testing – Need

• To gain knowledge about the hidden complex vulnerabilities within the respective network system.
• To have a sense and overview of the system’s potential exploitable vulnerabilities and consequently improve the system by recommendations on how the protection levels can be optimized.
• To gain insights about unexplored problems in the system.
• To protect the brand image, prevent potential business loss and interruptions.
• To detect software and hardware problems in the system that are untapped before and can be identified and rectified with the help of automation.
• To analyze and authenticate the efficacy of the system’s defense mechanisms.

Penetration Testing – Stages

Like every other testing type, there are several stages in the process of penetration testing that are all important in the given order. Let’s have a look.

1) Plan and Decide the Goal:

Here, one must decide and articulate the scope and scale of the test which is to be carried out. It includes addressing the system on which the test is being carried out and drafting the steps of how it should be done. Also, one must have a good sense of the network, domains, and the server to know how the system works on potential weak links.

2) The Scanning Phase:

This is where it becomes clear to the tester that how the respective software will behave when the threat is penetrated. There are 2 ways to do this,

1. Static Analysis: Reviewing the software’s code to observe its performance in a running state.
2. Dynamic Analysis: Reviewing the software’s real-time view of its performance.

3) Select the right Pen-testing tools:

Cone must have a proper sense of how to select the correct Pen-testing tools. It is not always about quality. It must be verified that the selected tool is perfect for that particular task. Likewise, it could be the case that it is not used popularly, but it helps you exactly in the way you want it to. Also, always check if it is containing any malware or hacking code as this could directly affect the system.

You see, there are many tools available in the online market right now that are free. The real gig here is to select the correct tool that does not contain any shady code and malware. It is a general observation that the best penetration testers always go for self-writing codes, as they don’t believe in the credibility of free sources.

Eg: Air crack-ng, Burp Suite, Nmap, Wifiphisher, OWASP ZAP, etc.

4) Gain Access:

Here, web apps like cross-site scripting, SQL injections, Back doors, etc. are used to reveal the potential weaknesses of the system. Once these vulnerabilities are detected, the ester’s job is to rectify them by escalating privileges, intercepting traffic, or sometimes by stealing data.

5) Maintain the Access:

Here, the testing of whether the vulnerability can be used to have a tenacious presence in the system. This helps in imitating the advanced breaches that remain present in the system for months or sometimes even years to steal the sensitive and private data from the respective organization.

6) Analyze the System:

This is the stage where the statistical analysis of elements like the Intensity of the sensitive data that could have been accessed, the Number of vulnerabilities exploited, the Total time the penetration tester could spend within a system without being detected is done. Proper documentation of all this is done.

Penetration Testing – Types

There are various factors on which the process of penetration testing can be divided into 3 types. Factors like Internal and external sources, Scope of the goal to be achieved, the simulation of testing against the employee, etc. matter while knowing about these types. Below are the 3 types.

• Black Box Testing: Here, the tester is supposed to collect all the information related to the project before starting the actual process.
• White Box Testing: Here, the tester is given all the basic details about the system like Source codes, IP addresses, OS details, etc.
• Grey Box Testing: Here, the tester is given partial details about the system.

Penetration Testing – Methods

As there are multiple methods to breach any given system, there are indeed many more to tackle these attacks. Below is a list.

1) External Testing:

Targeting the aspects of an organization that are visible on the web. The main goal here is to gain access and extract data.

2) Internal Testing:

Testing with accessing the software behind its firewall. This one is generally simulated by a breach by a spiteful insider.

3) Blind Testing:

Here, the tester is only briefed with the name of the respective organization. This way, the security person can observe the real-time behavior of the app while the attack takes place.

4) Double-Blind Testing:

Here, the security person within the organization is given no brief regarding the attack, and hence a ‘similar to real-life breaches’ experience is invoked.

5) Targeted Testing:

Here, the penetration tester and the security person are both supposed to work together on the weak code links. This is a relatively good method as it offers quick recommendations from the hacker’s perspective.

Penetration Testing – Tools

The tools that the penetration testers use to test the systems can be widely categorized into different categories. Let’s see how that classification is done, how does it matter.

1) Port Scanners:

For collecting personal information and data about a particular target from a remote environment.

2) Vulnerability Scanner:

For detecting that if there is any vulnerability in the targeted system. There are 2 types in this,

• Network-based
• Host-based

3) Application Scanner:

For verifying the weaknesses within the web applications like E-commerce software.

Here is a list of tools that are used and can be used for tasks ranging in their complexity. Some are free and some need license payment. Check it out.

1) Aircrack-ng:

A full suite of a wireless assessment tool that works for attacking (cracking WAP & WEP) and packet capture.

2) SQLmap:

An automated SQL injection and database tool. It is common and widely used in platforms like MySQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL,Access,SQLite, etc.

3) THC-Hydra:

A network-login-cracker. It supports many services and is easy to handle.

4) Metaspoilt:

Based on the idea to exploit, here, you pass on a code that causes breaches and gets an entry into the system. It is one of the many popular and advanced frameworks known in the software testing industry.

5) Nessus vulnerability scanner:

Identifies malware, vulnerabilities that breaches utilize against the system, and also policy-violating configurations.

6) Wire Shark:

A network analysis tool. It captures packet in real-time and displays the output results in readable-by-human format codes. It is also widely known as Ethereal and is widely used.

Conclusion

Currently, the rate at which the amount of cyber-crimes is increasing has no limits. This can be a problematic situation for the coming years as the world is getting more and more digital. Every day there is some news of a high-profile software security breach and that is why the world needs a better sense of testing these apps with the right methods.

We hope this blog helped you in giving any insights regarding Penetration testing.

How VTEST can help

There is increased involvement in the rectification strategies of software glitches in the world today, and VTEST is here to help. With the right tools and innovative methods, VTEST is changing the software testing game by unprecedented degrees.

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