A huge number of organizations will counsel penetration testing if they have an extensive cybersecurity strategy. Penetration testing usually includes an authorized and then controlled attack to value the security of computer systems, networks, applications, and their respective infrastructure for vulnerabilities that an attacker might use against internal systems to compromise their systems for confidentiality, integrity, or availability. This blog post will review, the types of pen testing across applications and networks through social engineering, IoT, and cloud penetration testing.
This will cover key requirements in different domains and mention a few commonly used methodologies and frameworks.
What are the Different Types of Pen Testing?
Here are the various types of penetration testing:
Network Penetration Testing
A network penetration test is required for any business or organization to assess the state of security of its network infrastructure by identifying vulnerabilities that can be exploited by threat actors (hackers) out of malicious intent. Such pen testing can include testing external, internal, and wireless network penetration.
To a great extent, internet / external penetration testing is typically performed to discover whether and how an attacker from outside can break into a company network, primarily focusing on firewall attack vector tests or router pen tests.
On the opposite ground, internal network penetration testing checks an organization’s internal infrastructure including servers, workstations, and network devices for intramural vulnerabilities abused by insider threats or unauthorized intruders who gain access to the internal network.
Finally, wireless network pen tests assess the security of wireless networks and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-connected devices within an organization to identify weaknesses exploited by attackers seeking unauthorized access or eavesdropping on wireless communications.
Paid:
- Nessus Professional
- Burp Suite Professional
- Open Source:
Nmap
- OpenVAS
- Metasploit Framework
- Aircrack-ng
Web Application Penetration Testing
Web application pen testing is among the most common types of penetration tests wherein such applications are evaluated for their security through simulated attacks to identify vulnerabilities. Most typically seen in black-box, white-box, and grey-box testing, in which numerous aspects of information are available to the penetration tester.
Whereas black-box testing is done without any knowledge of the application architecture, white-box testing allows a tester complete access to source code and other relevant information. The grey-box method is a compromise between the two, in which the tester has some knowledge of application internals.
Paid:
- Burp Suite Professional
- Acunetix
- Netsparker
Open Source:
- OWASP ZAP
- Nikto
- Wapiti
- W3af
API Penetration Testing
API penetration testing is a technique for penetration testing of APIs to detect vulnerability existences in an organization/API, thus simulating attacks on them by a hacker.
Since the API continues playing a major role in integrating other heterogeneous applications and services, it has now become the darling of a hacker craving unauthorized access to core functionality and data.
Paid:
- APISec
- Burp Suite Professional
- NoName Security
Open Source:
- OWASP ZAP
- Insomnia
- Swagger
Mobile Application Penetration Testing
Mobile Application Penetration Testing is a type of pen testing approach used to assess the security of mobile programs for various platforms, like Android, iOS, and Windows, which might be not typical.
With the drastic increase in mobile applications and the sensitive user information and critical functions they handle, it is only natural that today, security risks (whether noticed or not) have increased.
The iOS application testing audits ensure the security of Apple’s mobile-side developments, which is more focused on security and best practices. They also test the application’s data storage, communication protocol, and logging aspects.
Android application testing is concerned with applications developed for Google’s mobile operating system. Since Android has a higher market share, it is more attractive to hackers.
Common Mobile App Vulnerabilities found in Penetration Testing include:
- Unprotected Data Storage: This is when a mobile app stores sensitive information on the device without security controls to encrypt or limit access.
- Weak Server-Side Controls: The vulnerabilities of the backend infrastructure of the app can breach data or unauthorized access to confidential information.
- Inadequate Transport Layer Protection: An attacker can intercept unencrypted or poorly encrypted communication channels to steal sensitive data sent between the app and the server.
- Clear Text Storage of Data: Mobile apps can accidentally leak private information into logs, caches, or a temporary file accessible to attackers.
- Authorization and Authentication: Weak or misconfigured authentication and authorization mechanisms can allow attackers to access user accounts or critical app functions without permission.
Paid:
- Data Theorem
- Veracode
- Ostorlab
- Checkmarx
Open Source:
- MobSF (Mobile Security Framework)
- Frida
- Drozer
Cloud Penetration Testing
Cloud penetration testing development is, as is evident now, an important process wherein one assesses the security level of a certain enterprise cloud infrastructure and services, as companies now need to move to cloud infrastructures.
As there are higher numbers of enterprises migrating to the cloud, the need to mitigate the vulnerabilities and weaknesses that attackers can exploit is reinforced. Cloud penetration tests can be classified into 3 categories: IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS.
- IaaS security testing assesses the security of cloud infrastructure assets, including virtual machines, storage, and networks. It entails evaluating paradigms that prevent these resources from being tampered with and, therefore, made vulnerable.
- PaaS testing evaluates the security of the cloud service provider’s platforms and frameworks. This involves assessing the security of the development tools, databases, and runtime environments to determine whether they can be exploited.
- SaaS testing is security-related testing that verifies software application functionality delivered to customers (consumers) via the cloud. This involves evaluating how the application authenticates and authorizes users, how it stores and transmits data, what its security controls are, etc.
Paid:
- Wiz
- Orca Security
- Zscaler
Open Source:
- Prowler
- ScoutSuite
- Cloudmapper
Social Engineering Penetration Testing
Social engineering (SE) is another form of penetration testing that examines an enterprise’s human-based attack surface to prepare and educate its employees to detect and counter-attacks, including how to trick individuals into disclosing confidential information or performing activities that violate security procedures.
This allows companies to be able to observe their weaknesses in educating their staff about security and threats.
Phishing is one of the common techniques applied using SE, though attacks usually arise in phishing since these take forms like messages and emails where respectability and reputable companies appear with requests for divulging such vital information like banks’ information and passwords.
Open Source:
- SPF (Social-engineer Payloads Framework)
- Evilginx
- Modlishka
- Phishing Frenzy
IoT Penetration Testing
IoT (Internet of Things) penetration testing assesses the relationship between security and connected devices in company-specific infrastructure.
The IoT penetration testing is based on security testing of the different types of layers such as:
- Devices: This involves assessing the physical and logical security postures of IoT devices, including sensors, smart appliances, and wearables, along with identifying vulnerabilities that may compromise their firmware, software, or hardware.
- Communication channels: Evaluate the security of communication channels such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, or cellular devices used in IoT devices, so that data transfer is protected from interception.
- Mobile applications: Observe the security of the mobile apps, being entrance points to controlling or controlling IoT devices, by determining if such channels have the potential to be threatened through various threats, like reverse engineering, data exposure, privilege escalation, etc.
Open Source:
- OWASP IoT Testing Guides
- Firmadyne
- IoT Inspector
Latest Penetration Testing Report
Red Teaming vs. Penetration Testing: Key Differences
Red teaming and penetration testing are the breaches and tests; organizations may utilize them as security assessments in determining their posture in cybersecurity assessment. Despite both methodologies searching for vulnerabilities, they have different natures, objectives, and means of execution.
Understanding the types of pen testing helps organizations choose the right approach for their security needs.
Red teaming, the simulation of attacks of a real-world adversary, is a far more involved testing of the organization’s capabilities to detect and respond to these attacks. It gives a very comprehensive picture of an issuer’s security status in the face of advanced persistent threats.
Penetration testing, on the other hand, is a focused, technical evaluation of the organization’s systems, networks, and applications.
| Aspect | Red Teaming | Penetration Testing |
| Scope & Objectives | Broad scope assesses overall security posture & resilience | Narrow scope, focuses on specific vulnerabilities |
| Duration & Depth | Longer engagements, comprehensive & iterative | Shorter engagements, focused & linear |
| Attacker’s Perspective | Adopts real-world attacker mindset & techniques | Primarily focuses on technical vulnerabilities |
| Detection & Response | Tests the organization’s detection, response & recovery capabilities | Mainly identifies vulnerabilities, not detection & response |
“Read our recent article: Difference Between Vulnerability Assessment (VA) & Penetration Testing (PT)“
Understanding Penetration Testing Requirements by Industry
This goes to show that each industry presents some form of different challenges in security management and regulations-production-the testing form of penetration test programs. These specifications and different types of penetration tests enable organizations to keep their security stance right and therefore be responsible for protecting sensitive data.
Banking and Financial Services:
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requires a minimum number of penetration tests to validate security in the environment for payment card transactions and cardholder data. Organizations within financial systems demand both internal and external penetration testing for the identification of application-layer and network-layer issues.
Health and Medical Devices:
HIPAA ensures that the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of patient data are a favourite. Healthcare organizations will be required to perform penetration tests at regular intervals to discover and restrict the weaknesses in electronically protected health information data by all other federal agencies.
Government and Defense:
All federal agencies must adopt the security controls and testing requirements prescribed by the NIST to comply with the FISMA. The types of pen testing mandated under NIST guidelines help determine whether government systems and networks meet security standards under the Federal Information Security Management Act.
Penetration testing offers great assistance in determining whether government systems and networks comply with security standards under the Federal Information Management Reform Act.
Energy and Utilities:
Following the set of standards provided by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, NERC CIP Compliance supports the identification of security controls and requirements for the electric sector to ensure its compliance with the NERC CIP standards set forth by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.
Compromised assurance testing will give energy and utility companies the tools to discover and correct vulnerabilities inside the critical infrastructure of the refinery company, improving resilience and reliability across the power grid.
Talk to our Cybersecurity Expert to discuss your specific needs and how we can help your business.
How Qualysec Can Help?
Qualysec is a trusted brand offering comprehensive penetration testing services and solutions that help companies secure their digital assets while keeping them regulatory compliant.
Providing more than 70 penetration testing services, Qualysec aims to make penetration testing hassle-free across web applications, network infrastructure, mobile apps, cloud environments, and even IoT devices.
The Qualysec Pentest platform blends artificial intelligence and human expertise to run 9300+ automated tests with vetted scans that guarantee zero false positives. The CXO-friendly dashboard, tailored reports, and 24/7 support help smoothen your experience.
Conclusion
Penetration testing is a key element of any expansive cybersecurity framework. It aims to identify and address points of failure before they become targets for hackers or attackers. In this blog post, we looked at the different types of penetration testing, industry-specific needs, and methodologies. By understanding the various types of pen testing, organizations can better assess their security posture and implement the right strategies.
In today’s era, where cyber threats are rising, companies that take a proactive stance on security by working with knowledgeable security practitioners are far less likely to suffer a breach of data that could bring about crippling consequences and years of damage to reputation & finances.
0 Comments