As communications networks expand and proliferate, the ability
to deploy, make the networks available and guarantee their
reliability and overall network 'health' assumes a new urgency.
Penetration testing is adapted by many organizations as
it is proactive in functionality. Penetration testing is
an important addition to the vulnerability assessment and
management portfolio (VA&M) in that it picks up where
“scan and identify” products leave off, substantiating
whether theoretical threats to network security are real
or not. Penetration testing software provides the capability
to test the overall IT security infrastructure and policies
to ensure that an organization’s security investments
are actually working.
Penetration testing is a localized, time constrained and
authorized attempt to breach the security of a system using
the attacker techniques. During a penetration testing, organizations
actually try to replicate in a controlled manner the kinds
of access an intruder or worm could achieve with a penetration
test, network managers can identify what investments are
detecting and preventing attacks. It is necessary for organizations
to understand the actual risk to their business posed by
vulnerabilities, and a penetration test is the best option.
Penetration testing will take large share of the market
compared with passive security, as represented by the vulnerability
scanning. Penetration testing products attempt to exploit
potential vulnerabilities that the vulnerability scanner
identifies.
In the absence of penetration testing software,
a company has the following options:
Hire a consultant who uses proprietary and publicly
available software.
