There are different ways in which personal and corporate information is targeted by cyber criminals. This is mainly because of the lack of proper policies and standards, which allows intruders to steal the information. Though there are protocols to deal with it, but it has proved to be inefficient over the times with the rapid change in the pattern of attack.

One of the ways to achieve information security is discussed below.

PTES (Penetration Testing Methodologies and Standards)

Penetrating testing involves everything from initial communication to information gathering and covers threat modelling phase, which involves testers to understand the organization. A basic penetration testing model consists of seven phases.

  • Pre-engagement Interactions
  • Intelligence Gathering
  • Threat Modeling
  • Vulnerability Analysis
  • Exploitation
  • Post Exploitation
  • Reporting

Penetration Testing Methodologies and Standards define a basic outline for penetration testing.

Pre-engagement Interactions

It includes gathering the required tools, OS, and software to start the penetration testing. In addition, there are some basic tools that are required to complete penetration testing with expected results.

  • VMware
  • Linux based OS
  • Windows based OS
  • Wifi Adapter
  • Spectrum Analyzer
  • Few Applications

Intelligence Gathering

The data is collected to help in completing the assessment actions. The information is gathered using a process that helps us to get access to any information that is relevant to the target.

Threat Modeling

Threat modeling allows you to strengthen network security by tracking the vulnerabilities and then defining measures to prevent or reduce the effect of the threat. It also tells the key area where the maximum effort must be applied to keep a system safe. This factor keeps changing as the application is modified.

Vulnerability Analysis

It evaluates the security risks posed by vulnerabilities that were identified. It includes two steps.

  • Identification: Vulnerabilities are discovered
  • Validation: Validate the identified vulnerabilities

Exploitation

The identified vulnerabilities are exploited to breach the security. Here, different framework and software are used for exploitative purposes. Some of the free available and most recommended tools include the following.

  • Canvas
  • Nets parker
  • Core IMPACT
  • Metasploit Framework
  • SQL Map

Post-Exploitation

In this phase, the compromised machine’s value is determined by the sensitivity of the data stored on it. It also evaluates the machine usefulness in further exploiting the network.


Reporting

The findings are reported in a way that is easily understandable. The findings are the defects that help the intruder to violate a security policy so that the system is impacted. For example, the loopholes that allows exploiters to gain deeper access. There are different kinds of reporting that include:

  • Executive Level Reporting
  • Technical Reporting