Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing

VAPT

Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing are two different types of vulnerability testing that perform different task, achieve different results but have the same area of focus. Both these tests have different strengths and are often combined to achieve a better vulnerability analysis.

The wide-ranging services provided by Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Testing (VAPT) include security audits, suggestions for security disruption, monitoring security for risk analysis, forensics, and penetration testing.

Vulnerability Assessment

Penetration Testing

In order to decrease the possibility of threats, software systems must undergo a vulnerability assessment process.

The goal of vulnerability testing is to lessen the chance that hackers or intruders may gain unauthorized access to systems.

Penetration Testing is a multi-layered security system security assessment that uses a combination of machine and human led techniques to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in infrastructure, systems and applications.

A Penetration test is conducted by a professional ethical hacker and includes post-assessment report detailing any vulnerabilities that are discovered and guidance to address them.

BENEFITS OF CHOOSING VAPT:

VAPT makes the weaknesses in the organization’s cyber security visible and also provides solutions to mitigate them.

Enterprises can evaluate applications more thoroughly than with a single test by using vulnerability assessment and penetration testing (VAPT).
An organisation can get a more in-depth understanding of the vulnerabilities facing its applications by using the Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT) approach, which enables the company to better defend its systems and data from hostile attacks.
While a VAPT provider continues to identify and categorise vulnerabilities, using one enables IT security teams to concentrate on mitigating serious vulnerabilities.
Protect the company’s network from illegal accesses and stop data loss.
Protect data integrity and availability.
Prevent monetary and reputational loss.
Helps to achieve compliance certifications.

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IMPLEMENTATION

Vulnerability Assessment	Penetration Testing
Step 1) Goals & Objectives : – Define goals and objectives of Vulnerability Analysis.	STEP 1. Planning and reconnaissance :- The first stage involves: Defining the scope and goals of a test, including the systems to be addressed and the testing methods to be used. Gathering intelligence to better understand how a target works and its potential vulnerabilities.
Step 2) Scope : – While performing the Assessment and Test, Scope of the Assignment needs to be clearly defined. The following are the three possible scopes that exist: Black Box Testing : – Testing from an external network with no prior knowledge of the internal network and systems. Grey Box Testing : – Testing from either external or internal networks with the knowledge of the internal network and system. It’s the combination of both Black Box Testing and White Box Testing. White Box Testing : – Testing within the internal network with the knowledge of the internal network and system. Also known as Internal Testing.	STEP 2. Scanning:- he next step is to understand how the target application will respond to various intrusion attempts. This is typically done using: Static analysis – Inspecting an application’s code to estimate the way it behaves while running. These tools can scan the entirety of the code in a single pass. Dynamic analysis – Inspecting an application’s code in a running state. This is a more practical way of scanning, as it provides a real-time view into an application’s performance.
Step 3) Information Gathering : – Obtaining as much information about IT environment such as Networks, IP Address, Operating System Version, etc. It’s applicable to all the three types of Scopes such as Black Box Testing, Grey Box Testing and White Box Testing.	STEP 3. Gaining Access:- This stage uses web application attacks, such as cross-site scripting, SQL injection and backdoors, to uncover a target’s vulnerabilities. Testers then try and exploit these vulnerabilities, typically by escalating privileges, stealing data, intercepting traffic, etc., to understand the damage they can cause.
Step 4) Vulnerability Detection : – In this process, vulnerability scanners are used to scan the IT environment and identify the vulnerabilities.	STEP 4. Maintaining access:- The goal of this stage is to see if the vulnerability can be used to achieve a persistent presence in the exploited system— long enough for a bad actor to gain in-depth access. The idea is to imitate advanced persistent threats, which often remain in a system for months in order to steal an organization’s most sensitive data.
Step 5) Information Analysis and Planning : – It will analyze the identified vulnerabilities to devise a plan for penetrating into the network and systems.	STEP 5. Analysis:- The results of the penetration test are then compiled into a report detailing: Specific vulnerabilities that were exploited Sensitive data that was accessed The amount of time the pen tester was able to remain in the system undetected

BE SURE ABOUT CHOOSING THE CORRECT VAPT PROVIDER:

It's crucial to choose a VAPT provider from a group that has the accreditations, knowledge, and experience required to not only recognise dangers but also offer the assistance required to resolve them.

The provider should be able to meet your desired VAPT requirements.

The provider should ensure that it will provide outcomes and complete post-test care needed to level up your organization’s cyber security.

MODERN PROBLEMS THAT REQUIRE VAPT SOLUTIONS:

With new techniques used by hackers every day, VAPT helps to easily detect and prevent any malicious attacks on the organization’s cyber security network.
A single test is no more as effective as it used to be because of the complex threats that an organization faces. VAPT is a combination of two tests hence its increased strength provides organizations more security.
If the security of the organization is not strong, then there are high chances of loss of data and its integrity. VAPT helps in avoiding this issue.
VAPT helps in easily meeting the compliance standards.

TYPES OF TESTING

Vulnerability Assessment	Penetration Testing
Active Testing: In active testing, a tester introduces new test data and analyzes the test results.	External testing: External penetration tests target the assets of a company that are visible on the internet, e.g., the web application itself, the company website, and email and domain name servers (DNS). The goal is to gain access and extract valuable data.
Passive Testing: Passive Testing involves monitoring the result of the running software under test without introducing new test cases or data.	Internal testing: In an internal test, a tester with access to an application behind its firewall simulates an attack by a malicious insider.
Network Testing: It is the process of measuring and recording the current state of network operation over a period of time.	Blind testing: In a blind test, a tester is only given the name of the enterprise that’s being targeted. This gives security personnel a real-time look into how an actual application assault would take place.
Distributed Testing: Distributed Tests are applied for testing distributed applications, which means , the applications that are working with multiple clients simultaneously.	Double-blind testing: In a double blind test, security personnel have no prior knowledge of the simulated attack. As in the real world, they won’t have any time to shore up their defenses before an attempted breach.
	Targeted testing: In this scenario, both the tester and security personnel work together and keep each other appraised of their movements. This is a valuable training exercise that provides a security team with real-time feedback from a hacker’s point of view.

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frequently asked questions

Why do I need a VAPT?

With fast moving technology adoption, rapid development cycles, mobile applications, IoT, etc. – Networks today are more vulnerable than ever. Additionally, cyber attacks and compromises are a real threat for most organizations.Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration testing helps you validate your security controls against real-world threats, identify security risks in your environment and understand the real-world impact of these issues. Furthermore, it also helps meet a wide-range of compliance standards and regulatory requirements that require regular VAPT activities to help secure the network and applications.

Who will carry out this security test?

On starting an audit, we assign the project to an in-house team of security consultants with relevant experience in the platform and technology in-addition to industry standard security certifications. Several levels of approvals take place within our work-flow based system to track the audits and ensure that internal quality standards are met.

How frequently a VAPT needs to be done?

VAPT should be performed on a regular basis based on internal change cycles or compliance and regulatory requirements. Some organizations carry out the activity once a year while some go as far as on a daily or monthly basis.

What is the duration to perform a VAPT?

The duration of an audit may vary depending on the size of your network and applications. As part of our free security audit demo, we can help you scope your requirement and determine the approximate timelines for this activity.