What is external penetration testing?
External penetration testing is a process of testing a computer system or network from the outside, by simulating an attack from malicious actors. This type of testing is used to identify and exploit vulnerabilities that may exist in the system or network. The goal of external penetration testing is to improve the security posture of the system or network by identifying and addressing any vulnerabilities that are found.
How is external penetration testing conducted?
External penetration testing is a process where a company hires an outside organisation to test the security of its systems by trying to break into them. The security testers use a variety of methods, including password breaching methods, as well as exploiting other known vulnerabilities in applications or system misconfigurations, to try and gain access to the company’s data. The goal of external penetration testing is to find weak spots in the company’s security that could be exploited by hackers and fix them before they can be used.
What are the benefits of external penetration testing?
There are many benefits to external pen-testing. First, an external tester can identify vulnerabilities that are not easily found by internal employees. They also have access to specialised tools and knowledge that is not typically available in-house. This allows them to test systems in ways that internal employees may not be able to. Additionally, external testers can provide an unbiased perspective on the security of a system.
What are the limitations of external penetration testing?
While external pen-testing can be a valuable tool for identifying security vulnerabilities, it has several limitations. First, the process is only effective if there are no vulnerabilities already present in the system that can be exploited by the attacker. Second, external pen-testing does not identify vulnerabilities that are present in internal systems or applications that are not accessible from outside the organisation. Finally, external penetration testing can be time-consuming and expensive, and only provides results on part of a company’s security posture.
Differences Between Internal and External Penetration Testing
Internal and external penetration testing are both important components of a comprehensive security program, but they serve different purposes. Internal penetration testing is used to identify vulnerabilities in the organisation’s own systems, while external penetration testing is performed on systems from outside of the organisation’s network.
External penetration testing is more likely to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers to gain access to the organisation’s systems, while internal penetration testing is more likely to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by insiders. However, neither type of test can provide a complete picture of the organisation’s security posture. For that, you need both internal and external penetration tests.