This initial phase sets the stage for the penetration test, involving a series of inquiries and formal agreements. Clients specify their testing requirements and objectives. Key elements include the scoping questionnaire, pre-engagement meeting, and kick-off meeting.
In this essential phase, our team thoroughly collects data on the company’s structure, staff, and systems. Information gathering is a continuous part of the entire penetration testing cycle, involving open-source intelligence, and enumeration of infrastructure, services, and hosts, through both passive and active scanning methods.
In this phase, we scrutinize the gathered data to pinpoint vulnerabilities within network or system components. We consult the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) and the Common Vulnerability and Exposure (CVE) records to assess the severity of these vulnerabilities using the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) ratings.
In this phase, our team leverages accumulated insights to exploit identified vulnerabilities, emulating tactics of attackers to penetrate the target system. We meticulously strategize each step to ensure efficacy and minimize potential negative impacts.
After securing a foothold, our team conducts post-exploitation tasks, revisiting Information Gathering to extract sensitive data from an “insider” view. We aim to maintain access, elevate privileges, extract data, and pivot to other systems, which, if successful, restarts the penetration testing process from Information Gathering.
In the reporting phase, our pen testers compile a report detailing the test outcomes, assessing the business impact of vulnerabilities, and offering remediation guidance to enhance your security stance.