Penetration Testing
We are one of Irelands leading Penetration testing services companies. Our ethical hackers will stress test your IT to spot any weaknesses a genuine attack could exploit.
Discover your weaknesses
Theory vs Practice
Penetration testing (or pentest for short) simulates a cyber-attack on your IT system, specifically searching for vulnerabilities that can be exploited. This attack is carried out by real certified hackers (sometimes called “ethical hackers”). They launch a full-scale assault on your network and “stress test” your systems. Such an attack aims to see if a genuine, malicious hacker could get through and exploit your infrastructure.
Your IT security may look impressive in the keynote presentation you were given, but it’s no help if it cannot withstand attacks in the real world. Furthermore, you need to know that your assets are safe and secure from genuine attacks.
Hence that’s where penetration testing services comes in.
How Penetration Testing Works
There are a number of different penetration test’s available.
- Application penetration testing
- Website penetration testing
- Infrastructure penetration testing
There are also several stages to a typical pen test.
First of all, the main goals for the penetration test, such as what systems are to be addressed and define the best testing methods to be used. Next, scanning tools test to see if the target responds to intrusions.
This usually takes the form of:
Attacks are staged to uncover vulnerabilities that our certified hackers then try to exploit, usually by:
Any vulnerabilities are then checked to see if an attacker can gain prolonged access (and thus do more damage to your infrastructure).
Furthermore, all the information is analysed to patch any vulnerabilities that may have been discovered.
If you plan to have your network pen tested, it is worth making sure that it is checked externally and internally.
An external penetration test is where your visible assets on the internet are checked, for instance things such as your website and emails.
An internal penetration test is to check your assets that lay behind your firewall. Occasionally, a disgruntled employee may try to harm your network, but more commonly, it is done by a hacker who has stolen genuine credentials in a phishing attack.
There are alternative services available to test your network – book your discovery call with our team of security experts here.
What are the advantages of penetration testing?
There are many obvious advantages to having your network tested, such as:
But there are other, less obvious but equally essential advantages too.
There are regulations and standards to consider. And your company’s reputation too. Any potential customers are less likely to want to do business with you if you become known for having a vulnerable, unsafe IT infrastructure. And you will be able to focus on your business without worrying if your network is going to let you down.
If you would like to know more about how Enterprise Defence and our partner Tenable can pen test your IT network and make sure it’s secure, contact us now!
Read more on penetration testing on our latest blog.
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Our Solutions
Business networks are becoming increasingly complex and increasingly vulnerable to attacks, breakdowns, and inefficiencies. Enterprise Defence will deal with these problems to make your network – and your business – more efficient
