At a local webinar this month, our cyber risk management experts covered four ways to optimize your penetration testing for better cybersecurity. Here are some session highlights.
At a recent Akron-Area AITP-hosted webinar titled “How to Get More Out of Your Penetration Test: Taking a Risk-Based Approach to Testing,” two of Centric Consulting’s Cybersecurity experts, Peter Clarke and Noah Hankinson, explored crucial strategies for safeguarding your business against ever-evolving cyber threats.
In today’s digitally-focused landscape, cybersecurity isn’t merely an option — it’s a necessity for business survival. From data breaches to ransomware attacks, the risks are multifaceted, complex and omnipresent. Organizations must adopt a proactive stance, fortified by a risk-based approach to cybersecurity, to effectively manage these threats.
4 Steps to Improve Penetration Testing
Penetration testing, also known as “ethical hacking,” is crucial to strong cybersecurity because it helps find and fix system weaknesses before bad actors can exploit them. By mimicking real cyber-attacks, these tests reveal where a company’s defenses may be lacking. Additionally, they check if current security measures are working well and help show organizations how ready (or not ready) they are to deal with security problems.
In simple terms, penetration testing keeps companies safer from online threats by uncovering vulnerabilities before they can be used against them.
During this virtual presentation, our cyber risk management consultants highlighted essential steps in getting the most out of your penetration test, including:
- Authenticated access: Providing authenticated access during testing ensures a comprehensive evaluation of system vulnerabilities, bolstering overall security.
- Verification of your potential vendors: It’s important to properly understand your vendor’s capabilities. Ask questions about their existing toolsets, certifications and methodologies. Ask for sample reports to get an understanding of how testing data will be presented.
- Evaluation of detection capabilities: Testing your current detection and alerting capabilities enables organizations to make informed changes to their incident response, minimizing potential damages.
- Adherence to standard procedures: During testing, follow your internal incident response plans and identify improvement areas. If an attack is simulated, then organizations should simulate a response.
Penetration testing transcends broad compliance requirements. It commands a proactive approach to security. Organizations can bolster their cybersecurity strength by comprehensively understanding risks and prioritizing actions based on their potential impact. This risk-based approach ensures optimal resource allocation to address critical vulnerabilities effectively.
Know What to Look for in a Pen Test Vendor
Our team was proud to share our insights with members of the Akron-Area AITP, and the audience offered thoughtful questions that led to an engaging discussion. “Businesses need to ask more of their pen test vendors to get the most out of the tests,” webinar presenter and business development lead for Centric’s Cybersecurity practice, Peter Clarke, said. “This session allowed attendees to hear directly from a pen testing team about the most valuable aspects of a pen test to make sure they get one that’s scoped accurately around their most critical and sensitive data and to prioritize an approach to remediation.”
While there are numerous ongoing and evolving threats to today’s companies’ information security, staying aware of how you hold up against those threats is key to maintaining security.
Founded more than seventy years ago, Akron-Area AITP is a membership association supporting the needs and interests of IT practitioners in the Greater Akron region. The group hosts webinars and in-person events designed to help its members and other tech professionals with education, networking, career development, and more. Brad Nellis, Market Development Lead for Centric’s Cleveland team, is part of the organization’s executive leadership.
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