Risk management in business is highly inevitable since cyber-attacks and data breaches are becoming prevalent today. If your enterprise operates on sensitive computational data, black hat hackers shouldn’t be new to you. Hacking has turned into a dark business today and, black hat hackers can break into your system through a minimal vulnerability overlooked. OAIC’s latest report states a significant surge of 5% in data breach occurrences in the country later this year. With the red flag waved, many healthcare firms, banks and service sectors are turning towards penetration testing -a modern-day solution.
What is a penetration test?
The penetration test, also identified as the pen test, is similar to a white hat hacker system that can identify vulnerabilities and successive points in your system before hackers make use of them. Precisely, running a pen test on your data system can tell if your data is vulnerable to hacks and breaches. At the completion of the test, you will get a detailed report along with your incident response grade. The latter can get you an idea of how promptly your system can respond and reclaim from breeches.
When it comes to the types, pen tests are of three kinds with mild differences in cost and accuracy. The black box pen test is the most affordable choice. However, it has time constraints making the resulting details precise and shortened. The other two types include white box and grey box tests- both are pretty similar in procedure, but the white box pen test is highly comprehensive.
Benefits of running a penetration test
If your business belongs to intricate and sensible sectors like banking and finance, an annual pent test is the least retard. To obtain better results and maintain an upgraded security shield, you can schedule a pen test every three months. These tests can bridge the gap you might be overlooking and give an insight into hacker techniques. The resulting benefits are infinite. Here are some highlighted perks out of all,
- Identify hidden concerns
Regular audits, cyber security layers and virus scans can all aid in creating a minimal layer of defence against cyber attacks. However, a pen test identifies underlying gaps or susceptible points in your security layer at the earliest. For instance, your web server might have been down and could have hidden issues like an intruding directory attack or DOS and, you never know such malicious invasions. In such cases, identifying such via pen test that checks access gains keeps your system away from such upcoming directory and forgery attacks.
- Prioritise risks and complications
You cannot be sure that your system might have just one type of security gap. If it’s your first check or you had one a few years back, your data system is at high risk of being susceptible to multiple perils simultaneously. In such cases, identifying the complications cannot wholly help. A pen test does not just detect vulnerable spots. It also categorises detected unprotected points into low, medium and high risks. Thus, the situation remains less panicky, and you get a conception of where to start.
- Avoid expensive cyber attacks
Cyber attacks and data leaks are more expensive than you might think. Such instances do not just dissipate sensitive data but also creates uncertainty on your reputation and further growth in the market. A recent survey says that the average Australian data breach costs $3.7m. Reclaiming from data leaks and cyber crimes can cost you ransom upfront charges along with customer loyalty loss. With regular penetration testing sessions, you get third party expert opinions and better business continuity rates.
