Breaking the Mold: Pen Testing Solutions That Challenge the Status Quo

Mar 28, 2023The Hacker NewsPen Testing / Artificial Intelligence

Malicious actors are constantly adapting their tactics,
techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to adapt to political,
technological, and regulatory changes quickly. A few emerging
threats that organizations of all sizes should be aware of include
the following:

• Increased use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine
  Learning: Malicious actors are increasingly leveraging AI
  and machine learning to automate their attacks, allowing them to
  scale their operations faster than ever before.
• The exploitation of cloud-based technologies:
  Cloud-based services are increasingly being targeted by malicious
  actors due to the lack of visibility and control over these
  platforms.
• Increased use of ransomware: Ransomware is
  becoming a more popular method of attack, allowing malicious actors
  to monetize their operations quickly. According to CompTIA^[1], ransomware attacks grew
  by 41% in 2022, while identification and remediation for a breach
  took 49 days longer than average.
• Phishing attacks also increased by 48% in the first half of 2022^[2], with reports of 11,395
  incidents costing businesses $12.3 million.
• Rise of IoT attacks:With the rapid
  proliferation of connected devices, IoT attacks are expected to
  double by 2025^[3].
• Business disruption: According to the World Economic Forum report^[4], The character of cyber
  threats has changed. Respondents now believe attackers are more
  likely to focus on business disruption and reputational
  damage.

Organizations of all sizes must look for new ways to defend
their networks in response to these emerging threats.

Penetration testing and application security

Penetration testing is one of the most effective methods for
uncovering and addressing vulnerabilities within an organization’s
IT infrastructure. By simulating real-world attacks, security teams
can identify weak points in their defenses before they are
exploited by malicious actors.

Preventing SQL injection with pen testing

An SQL Injection attack is one of the most common web
application security threats. According to the Open Web Application Security
Project,^[5] injection attacks, which
include SQL injections, were the third most serious web application
security risk in 2021. In the applications they tested, there were
274,000 occurrences of injection.

SQL injection takes advantage of an application’s lack of input
validation and allows attackers to inject malicious code into a
database query.

The best way to prevent SQL injection is through regular web
application pen testing. Pen testers can identify vulnerable code,
detect malicious payloads, and suggest corrective measures such as
input validation to mitigate the risk of an attack. Additionally,
pen testing can be used to measure the effectiveness of existing
security measures and identify gaps in coverage.

Vulnerability detection with pen testing

In 77% of cases^[6], penetration vectors
involved insufficient protection of web applications. 86% of
companies had at least one such vector.

Pen testing is an essential part of any security strategy, as it
can help detect vulnerabilities before they are exploited. Pen
testers use various tools and techniques to identify potential
risks in web applications, such as SQL injections and other attack
vectors. By analyzing code and network traffic, they can uncover
weak spots in your security infrastructure that malicious actors
could exploit.

Drawbacks of traditional pen testing methods

Pen testing has become increasingly important as attackers have
become more sophisticated and cybercrime has grown to include a
variety of attack vectors. However, 32% of organizations do a pen
test only once or twice a year^[7]
because traditional pen testing methods have certain drawbacks that
make it challenging to implement consistently for several
reasons.

Firstly, pen testing is time-consuming and expensive, which
limits the number of tests that organizations can do regularly.
This means that pen testers may only find the vulnerabilities
present in the system when testing; new threats may emerge after
the test. Additionally, the lack of re-testing makes it difficult
to validate how effective remediation efforts are.

Pen-testing-as-a-Service (PTaaS)

Pen testing solutions come in many forms, ranging from automated
scanning tools to red team exercises that simulate advanced
threats. PTaaS^[8]
(Penetration Testing as a Service) combines traditional pen testing
with modern cloud-based technologies to provide continual
protection against evolving threats and vulnerabilities.

The first step in web application testing is to perform an
automated scan. This scan looks for common flaws such as input
validation, SQL injection, and cross-site scripting.

Once the automated scan is complete, a manual review of the code
can be performed to identify any remaining vulnerabilities.
Automated scanning tools are useful for identifying known
vulnerabilities and misconfiguration, while red team exercises
provide a more intensive assessment of your security posture.

Benefits of PTaaS:

Traditional pen testing methods are becoming less effective in
the face of increasingly sophisticated attacks. Organizations need
to look for new ways to supplement their existing security measures
with advanced solutions such as continuous monitoring, automated
attack simulations, and threat intelligence.

PTaaS^[9]
(Penetration Testing as a Service) is an innovative new way to help
keep up cyber hygiene and takes a proactive approach towards
preventing cyber-attacks that offers:

• Continuous Protection: Traditional pen tests
  may only assess the security of a system at one point in time.
  PTaaS helps ensure your organization is always protected by
  continually scanning for new vulnerabilities and threats.
• Cost & Time Savings: Leveraging a managed
  service frees up internal resources and takes advantage of
  specialist expertise, allowing organizations to respond quickly and
  effectively to any discovered vulnerabilities.
• Improved Security Posture: By utilizing the
  PTaaS solution, organizations can ensure that their security
  posture is constantly evaluated and updated by a team of experts.
  This helps reduce the risk of a successful attack and ensures that
  any discovered vulnerabilities can be quickly addressed.

Outpost 24 Application Pen
Testing^[10] is a managed service
that provides organizations comprehensive security and visibility
across their applications. It combines advanced automation
technologies with continuous monitoring to ensure organizations
stay ahead of the latest cyber threats.