Penetration Testing
We know how hackers think.
The most common way to assess and test an organization’s resiliency and response to cybersecurity threats is by conducting a penetration test. Penetration testing is a type of clandestine testing that is typically conducted in secrecy and includes only limited participants from your organization. The value of operating on a “need-to-know” and limited-knowledge premise is to model, as closely as possible, real-world threats. SEVN-X performs all penetration tests by employing the same tools, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) currently in-use by novice and advanced attackers.
Through these attack simulations, SEVN-X can also provide insights into the effectiveness of your organization's defensive and detective controls. The goal is to provide our clients with a roadmap to remediation before attackers uncover and exploit the same vulnerabilities identified by SEVN-X.
External Penetration Test
An external penetration test is a security assessment that simulates attacks against your organization’s network or applications from an external perspective, typically over the Internet.
In addition to testing for technical vulnerabilities, SEVN-X commonly employs social engineering campaigns (e.g., phishing, vishing) during these engagements to test content filtering controls, establish a baseline for user security awareness, and to establish a proof-of-concept for access to the internal network or sensitive data from the Internet.
Internal Penetration Test
An internal penetration test simulates an attack on a company's network or applications from the inside, typically with the same level of access of an employee or contractor with legitimate access to the organization’s systems. These tests provide valuable insight into your organization’s exposure to security events such as an insider threat or rogue device.
Internal penetration testing also examines the effectiveness of user access controls and network segmentation, helping to ensure compliance with regulations and standards (e.g., PCI DSS, HIPAA).
Web Application Penetration Test
Web applications are frequently targeted by attackers due to their accessibility over the Internet and the sensitive data they often store (e.g., PII, financial data, intellectual property). A web application penetration test simulates attacks against web-based software to identify vulnerabilities and is a critical component of any secure software development lifecycle (SSDLC).
In a typical engagement, SEVN-X utilizes the Open Web Application Security Project’s (OWASP) Top Ten Security Risks as a baseline; applications are tested from both an authenticated and unauthenticated perspective to simulate real-world attacks.
Strong web application security is crucial for maintaining customer trust and protecting brand reputation.
Purple Teaming
Purple teaming is a collaborative assessment that combines elements of red teaming and blue teaming. SEVN-X fills the red team role (attackers) and works with your organization’s blue team (defenders) to identify gaps in cybersecurity controls.
During a purple team exercise, the red team performs simulated attacks against your organization's systems while the blue team attempts to monitor for and defend against these attacks. An open line of communication between teams is maintained throughout, ensuring that weaknesses are identified immediately, and reconfigurations can be made to security defenses in real-time.
Assumed Breach Testing
An assumed breach penetration test simulates a scenario in which an attacker has already gained access to your organization's network or systems; commonly starting from a compromised workstation or VPN account. With the growing number of remote employees and contractors today, establishing a baseline for exposure to an attacker with remote access to the internal network has become a critical component of modern cybersecurity programs.
An assumed breach is an effective tool for measuring your organization’s ability to respond to and contain threats that have already bypassed traditional security measures.
Is Penetration Testing Right for My Organization?
In short, it depends. For a company with no security program of any kind, it can be an “OK” place to begin, but there may be better places to start when formalizing an information security program. Mature organizations should be conducting these assessments at least annually. Talk to us for a free and honest consult on whether penetration testing is right for you.
Why Use SEVN-X for Your Next Assessment?
Skip the jargon and the 500-page reports of unformatted tool output and opt for clean, simple—but detailed—explanations with actionable recommendations.