What is the concept of penetration testing tools?

We all are quite familiar with what is a penetration test or a pen test. Every kind of software testing technique makes use of certain tools, so does penetration testing. 

This article is focused up on the tools that are meant for carrying out the penetration testing. Before moving on to the discussion about the tools, let us buck up with some concepts of penetration testing. 

About Penetration Testing

- Penetration testing gives a measure of the security of the software system or application or a computer network. 

- This is done by the simulation of the attacks as from the outside malicious attackers. 

- The attacker can also be an insider. 

- The attackers are classified in to outsiders and insiders on the basis of the approach of their access to the software system or application. 

- The attackers not having any authorized access to the system are called as outsiders and those who have any extent of authorized access to the system are called insiders. 

- The first step in the penetration test is the identification of the potential vulnerabilities of the system by carrying out an active analysis.

- These vulnerabilities are a consequence of the improper configuration of the software system or they may occur also because of flaws in the hardware and software components of the system. 

- Some of the technical counter measures may also revoke these vulnerabilities.

- The penetration is performed in the way that a potential attacker might follow to attack the system. 

- After the identification of these vulnerabilities, these are brought to the notice of the owner of the system. 

- These potential vulnerabilities are then coupled with a proper assessment of their potential impacts on the system as well as organization using several effective penetration tests. 

- Some technical counter measures are then designed to reduce their impact on the system. 

There are several reasons that make the penetration testing way more valuable. Now coming to the discussion regarding the penetration testing tools, since there are many ways in which the penetration testing can be carried out, there are several types of tools that can be employed for the penetration testing.

Approach used in Penetration testing

- Depending up on the amount of knowledge the tester has about the software system or application, either the black box approach or the white box approach is followed. 

- If the tester has less knowledge of the system, he/ she is likely to follow the black box approach.

- On the other hand if he/ she has ample amount of knowledge then the white box approach is used. 

- Accordingly the tools are chosen i.e., black box testing tools for black box approach and similarly white box testing tools for the white box approach. 

- It is required that the location and the extent of the system to be tested is determined properly before starting the testing. - For the white box approach the tester needs to know about the critical aspects like the IP address of the system and source code. 

- If the amount of knowledge is intermediate between the amounts required for the black box and white box approaches, then the grey box testing approach is allowed. 

- This involves the intermixing of the white box and black box testing techniques. 

- Both the white box testing tools as well as black box testing tools can be employed here. 

- All these three approaches have their own merits and demerits which are often debated.

- These tools are deployed for the creation of the hostile environment for the testing of environment.

Types of Penetration Testing Tools

1. Port Scanners

2. Vulnerability Scanners

3. Application Scanners

4. Web Application Assessment Proxy

How does penetration testing tool emphasize on web application security?

In this internet savvy world, web applications have become an important part of web utilization. Web applications provide a means to utilize or exploit the services offered by the web in a more meaningful manner. 

The earlier years saw less use of web applications, but now it is reaching new heights day by day with a great demand for improving the existing ones along with the introduction of new ones. With such a vast number of users, the application needs to maintain its security from the malicious attackers among these users and so adequate security measures have to be taken.

For this purpose, it is required that the security mechanism of the applications to be checked thoroughly for any vulnerabilities and security leaks via the penetration testing. Penetration testing is perhaps the best testing methodology when it comes to the testing the security different software system components like network security, data base security etc. 

There should be some testing methodology that could dig out all the potential vulnerabilities. Is there an answer? Yes there certainly is! The penetration testing! Perhaps many of us are familiar with this testing methodology. In this piece of writing we have discussed how the penetration testing tools emphasize up on the web application security. 

About Penetration Testing and its emphasis on Web Application Security

- Penetration testing is yet another testing methodology that has been adopted for testing the security of the  web applications against the malicious attacks.

- It provides a way to evaluate the security level of the web application by troubling the application with false simulated attacks as malicious attacks from the outside as well as inside attackers. 

- It also deals with the aliens, foreigners or outside attackers who do not have any authorized access to the computer system or network and inside attackers who do have that access.

- An active analysis is required to be carried out for the penetration testing which carries out an assessment of all the potential vulnerabilities of the web application that are merely a consequence of its poor security level as well as configuration level. 

- Apart from this the known and unknown flaws form both the hardware as well as software components of the application contribute to these vulnerabilities rather than only operational weaknesses.

- A proper active analysis is achieved only if it is carried out from the view point of a malicious attacker and involves the active exploitation of the recognized vulnerabilities.

- The web application security depends up on the effectiveness of the testing.

- The testing in turn is largely affected by the effectiveness of the tools that are employed in the testing.

- The tools indeed affect the web application security, since if the tools are reliable and efficient in searching for the vulnerabilities, obviously there will be more stringent checking of the security mechanisms. 

- The identification and recognition of the vulnerabilities is always the first step in penetration testing.

- A required number of penetration tests are then carried out on that particular system with the coupling of information with the active assessment of the risks associated with the computer system or network using the penetration testing tools. 

- A whole lot of effective tools are designed to reduce the affect of the identified potential vulnerabilities. 

- Penetration testing tools have been recognized as important component of the web application security audits. 

How does penetration testing tool emphasize on data base security?

Data base is one of the critical elements of a web application and very much crucial for its proper functioning. All of the sensitive information regarding the functioning of the application as well as the user data is stored in the data base. 

This data is of very much use to the attacker. The attackers can steal this data and use it to their advantage. Therefore, it becomes absolutely necessary that the data base of an application must be provided with adequate security coverage.

Penetration testing is one of the ways to ensure the data base security. Most of us are familiar with what actually is the penetration testing. In this piece of writing we have discussed how the penetration testing tools emphasize up on the data base security. 

About Penetration Testing and Database Security

- Penetration testing is yet another testing methodology that has been adopted for testing the security of a computer network or system against the malicious attacks.

- It is quite a decent measure to evaluate the security level of the computer network by bombarding the network with false simulated attacks as malicious attacks from the outside as well as inside attackers.

- Penetration testing is concerned with the security of the data base both from the aliens, foreigners or outside attackers who do not hold any authorized access to the computer system or network as well as the inside attackers who do have that access, but it is limited to a certain level. 

- The whole process of the penetration testing involves performing an active analysis using the penetration testing tools.

- This active analysis brings about an assessment of all the potential vulnerabilities of the whole data base system that are merely a consequence of the malfunctioning of the poor security level as well as configuration level of the application. 

- This active analysis is deemed to successful only if it has been carried out from the view point of a malicious attacker and is concerned about the active exploitation of the recognized vulnerabilities.

- The data base security depends up on the effectiveness of the testing which is in turn is affected by the effectiveness of the tools that are employed in the testing. 

- The tools indeed affect data base security, since the more effective are the tools, the more improvement will be there in the security mechanisms.

How Penetration Testing emphasize on Database Security?

- First step in the penetration testing of the data base is always the identification and recognition of the vulnerabilities and security leaks. 

- A number of penetration tests are then carried out on that particular application data base while simultaneously coupling the information with the active assessment of the risks and threats associated with the data base using the penetration testing tools.

- A whole lot of effective tools are designed to reduce the affect of these vulnerabilities.

- Penetration testing tools have been recognized as important component of the data base security audits.

- There are several other reasons why the penetration testing tools holds good for the data base security:

1. They provide assistance in the assessment of the measure of the operational and business impacts of the attacks on the data base system.
2. Successfully test the effectiveness of the security defenders in detecting and responding to the attacks.
3. Provide the evidence in support of the investments that need to be made in the security field of the data base.

How does penetration testing tool emphasize on security subsystem?

Security is one of the important contributing factors in the success of a software system or application. The security level of the software system or application also influences the security of the users that use that system or application. The higher the security of a system is, the more secure it is for use. 

Since security plays a very important role in the computer world, there has to be some strategy or testing methodology that could judge or assess the security levels and mechanisms of the software systems and applications.

Do we have any such testing methodology? Yes of course we have! The penetration testing! 

About Penetration Testing and Security Sub Systems

- This software testing methodology has the answers to all our security related issues.

- The security mechanism of a software system or application is comprised of many sub mechanisms or sub systems which are commonly addressed as security sub systems. 

- These security subsystems are security components that make up the whole security model of the system.

- These sub systems ensure that the applications are not able to access the resources without being authorized and authenticated.

- Furthermore, they keep a track of the security policies and user accounts of the system. 

- There is a sub system called LSA which is responsible for maintaining all the information and details about the local security of the system. 

- The interactive user authentication services are provided by the security sub systems.

- The tokens containing the user information regarding security privileges are also generated by these sub systems. 

- The audit settings and policies are also managed by the security sub systems. 

- The following aspects are identified by the sub systems:

1.       Domain

2.       Who an access the system?

3.       Who has what privileges?

4.       Security auditing to be performed

5.       Memory quota

How Penetration Testing tool emphasize on Security Sub Systems?

So for having better security at the surface, it is important that the security at the sub systems level should not be over looked. All these matters make the security sub systems very essential. 

Therefore, it is required that to improve the overall quality of the security mechanisms, these sub systems should be tested. 

- The penetration testing tools emphasize upon the security sub systems in the same way as they emphasize the network security.

- Penetration testing was first adopted for the testing of the security of a computer network or system against the malicious attacks.

- For providing a way to evaluate the security level of the computer network by bombarding the network with false simulated attacks as malicious attacks from the outside as well as inside attackers. 

- The whole process of the penetration testing is driven by an active analysis which involves an assessment of all the potential vulnerabilities of the security sub systems that are merely a consequence of its poor security level as well as configuration level. 

- Apart from this, the flaws form both the hardware as well as software components contribute to these vulnerabilities rather than only operational weaknesses. 

- The security at the sub system level depends up on the effectiveness of the testing. 

- And the testing in turn is affected by the effectiveness of the tools that have been employed in the testing. 

- The tools indeed affect the sub systems’ security, since if the tools are reliable and efficient in finding vulnerabilities, obviously there will be more improvement in the security mechanisms. 

- A whole lot of effective tools are designed to reduce the affect of these vulnerabilities.

How does penetration testing tool emphasize on network security?

The term “penetration testing” is not unheard these days and perhaps many of us are familiar with this type of testing. In this piece of writing we have discussed how the penetration testing tools emphasize up on the network security. 

About Penetration Testing

- Penetration testing is yet another testing methodology that has been adopted for testing the security of a computer network or system against the malicious attacks. 

- It provides a way to evaluate the security level of the computer network by bombarding the network with false simulated attacks as malicious attacks from the outside as well as inside attackers. 

- The aliens, foreigners or outside attackers do not hold any authorized access to the computer system or network but the inside attackers do have that access, but it is limited to a certain level.

- The whole process of the penetration testing is dependent on an active analysis. 

- This active analysis carries out an assessment of all the potential vulnerabilities of the computer network or system that are merely a consequence of its poor security level as well as configuration level. 

- Apart from this, the known and unknown flaws form both the hardware as well as software system contribute to these vulnerabilities rather than only operational weaknesses. 

- Therefore they are to be blamed equally.

- This active analysis is successful only if it is carried out from the view point of a malicious attacker and is concerned about the active exploitation of the recognized vulnerabilities.

About Network Security

- The network security depends up on the effectiveness of the testing. 

- And the testing in turn is affected by the effectiveness of the tools that are employed in the testing.

- The tools indeed affect the network security, since if the tools are reliable and efficient in finding vulnerabilities, obviously there will be more improvement in the security mechanisms.

Reasons why Penetration Testing holds good for Network Security

There are several other reasons why the penetration testing tools holds good for the network security:

- They are effective for the determination of the feasibility of the similar vectors of attack.

-  Help in the identification of the vulnerabilities which possess a very high risk when the exploitation of a combination of low level risks is done following a particular sequence.

-  Prove quite effective in the determination of the vulnerabilities that cannot be detected with the help of application vulnerability scanning software or automated testing processes.

-  Assist in the assessment of the measure of the operational and business impacts of the attacks on the computer network or system.

- Successfully test the effectiveness of the network defenders in detecting and responding to the attacks.

- Provide the evidence in support of the investments that need to be made in the security field of the computer system or network.

What is meant by penetration testing?

The term “penetration testing” is not so rare and perhaps many of us familiar with this type of testing. In this piece of writing we have discussed the penetration testing in more detail. 

About Penetration Testing

- Penetration testing is another testing methodology adopted for testing the security of a computer network or system against the malicious attacks. 

- Penetration testing evaluates the security level of the computer network by bombarding the network with false simulated attacks as malicious attacks from outside as well as inside attackers.

- The outside attackers do not hold any authorized access to the computer system or network but the inside attackers do have than access but only to a certain level. 

- The whole process of the penetration is based on an active analysis.

- This active analysis assesses all the potential vulnerabilities of the computer network or system that are merely a result of its poor security level as well as configuration level.

- Apart from this, the known and unknown flaws form both the hardware as well as software system contribute to these vulnerabilities rather than only operational weaknesses. 

- This active analysis is carried out from the view point of a malicious attacker and is all about the active exploitation of the recognized vulnerabilities. 

Steps in Penetration Testing

- First step in the penetration testing is always the identification of the vulnerabilities. 

- The identified issues and vulnerabilities are then brought to the notice of the whole development team.

- A number of penetration tests are then carried out on that particular system along with the coupling of the information with the active assessment of the risks associated with the computer system or network. 

- A whole lot of effective procedures are designed to reduce the affect of these vulnerabilities. 

Advantages of Penetration Testing

There are several other reasons why the penetration testing holds good:

1. It is effective for the determination of the feasibility of the similar vectors of attack.
2. Helps in the identification of the vulnerabilities which possess a very high risk when the exploitation of a combination of low level risks is done following a particular sequence.
3. Proves quite effective in the determination of the vulnerabilities that cannot be detected with the help of application vulnerability scanning software or automated testing processes.
4. Assists in the assessment of the measure of the operational and business impacts of the attacks on the computer network or system.
5. Successfully tests the effectiveness of the network defenders in detecting and responding to the attacks.
6. Provides the evidences in support of the investments that need to be made in the security field of the computer system or network.

Penetration testing has been recognized as an important component of the security audits. The penetration testing can be carried either way round i.e., either through the black box testing route or through the white box testing route. 

The path to be taken is decided by the amount of knowledge that the tester has about the system or network under testing. If the tester has got a brief knowledge then the black box testing route is followed else the white box testing techniques are preferred. 

Another thing to be determined before starting the testing is the location of the system that has to be tested and also its extent. 

Penetration testing if carried through white box testing

For following the white box approach to penetration testing, the testers needs:

- to have the full knowledge of the system infrastructure,

- to have the full knowledge of the source code, 

- to have the full knowledge of the IP address and

- to have the full knowledge of the network diagrams etc. 

In some cases the grey box approach to penetration testing can also be followed based on how much information is available. Black box approach is useful for simulating an outsider attack whereas the white box approach can simulate and insider attack.  

What are different aspects of network penetration testing?

Penetration test is popularly called pen test. Penetration testing can be defined as a methodology to determine the security level of a network or a computer system.

- This is usually done by simulating an attack from malicious outsiders or the people who are aliens to the system i.e., the people who don’t have any authorized means or permission to access that particular organization’s computer systems or network.

- The process of network penetration testing requires having an active analysis of the whole network and computer system for checking any potential flaws and vulnerabilities in the network system or computer system.

- These potential flaws and vulnerabilities could result from the improper or poor configuration of the network or the computer system.

Other reasons for these potential vulnerabilities and flaws are:

- Unknown and known software and hardware flaws and problems.
- The operational weaknesses of the testing process and counter measures of the technology used.

Typically, this analysis of the network and the computer system is carried out keeping in mind the position of a potential attacker and the process may also involve the active exploitation measures for exploiting security vulnerabilities.

- Security vulnerabilities or issues that are discovered during the testing process are reported to the owner of the network or the computer system.

- An effective penetration testing involves coupling of this information and findings with an already assessed accurate assessment of the potential affects or impact and giving it to the particular organization.

- It also includes outlining of a range of procedural and technical counter measures to overcome those potential vulnerabilities and reduce risks.

There are certain reasons that account for the necessity of carrying out penetration testing. They have been listed below:
- Identification of vulnerabilities that pose a higher risk to the network or the computer system from a combination of vulnerabilities that poses a lower risk. These vulnerabilities are exploited in a designed sequence.

- Determination of feasibility of a particular set of a type of vectors.

- Identification of vulnerabilities that may be impossible and difficult to detect otherwise with automated software scanning application.

- Assessment of the magnitude of impacts of the potential operations and business of the attacks that could be successful.

- Testing of the ability of the network defenders to detect and respond to the attacks by the malicious outsiders.

- Providing of evidence in support of the gradually increasing investments in technology of the security measures.

Penetrations tests can be rightly called the components of a full security audit. Best example that can be given is of payment card industry data security standard.

There are several ways for conducting the penetration tests.

- White box testing and black box testing are the methodologies widely used for carrying out performing penetration testing.

- Before carrying put the penetration testing, it is needed that the testers should determine the extent and location of the systems.

- Here, the white box testing provides the complete information of the infrastructure that is to be tested and it includes source code, IP address information and network diagrams.

- Sometimes grey box testing is also done.

- Penetration tests are called “full disclosure tests” since they provide full information about the network or the computer system to the testing party.

- Penetration testing involves a scan of the IP address space of the concerned organization for a full audit of source code of the application.

- Any computer system deployed in a hostile environment can be used for carrying out the penetration test.

- This measure provides an assurance that any malicious attacker won’t be able to affect the network or the computer system.