Small business owners, buckle up. The number of security breaches is on the rise with no sign of stopping. In 2023 so far, there have already been almost 700 breaches.
As the saying goes, it’s not a matter of if they hack you, but when. The solution isn’t to wait and twiddle your thumbs. It’s to be proactive and beat the hackers to the punch by doing their job for them.
Today, we’re talking about internal penetration testing. Think of this as a dress rehearsal for a real security breach. In this guide, we take a look at how the process works from beginning to end.
Internal Penetration Testing Preliminaries
An internal penetration test, compared to an external one, assumes the attacker is an insider with some level of access. This is one of the most common types of security breaches, such as the recent Tesla data breach. Thus, this test assesses those security gaps that could allow an employee to harm company assets.
There will be two teams for this exercise: red and blue. Red is on the attack, and blue defends. Both teams collaborate to improve the system’s security and will work under the guidance of your managed services.
Information Gathering Phase
The red team examines security implementations before deploying any exploits. This information includes network data, structure, and knowledge of who has privileges. The blue team likewise takes account of their systems and assesses business risks.
Information gathering is like when thieves case a bank they plan to rob.
Discovery Phase
With the information in hand, the red team develops potential vulnerabilities based on that information. They used automated tools to scan for weak points, code malicious scripts, and so on. The blue team shores up their defenses and patches whatever holes they can.
This phase is like the bank robbers conducting a test heist. They carry out live-fire exercises in a plywood mockup of the bank’s floor plan.
Exploitation Phase
This is D-Day. The red team brings to bear everything they have learned to grab sensitive data. The blue team goes on the defensive, acting as they would upon discovering signs of malicious activity within the system.
Of course, this is when the bank robbers conduct the heist.
Reporting Phase
Red and blue teams reconvene and assemble what they both learned. They find ways to strengthen the system against future hacks. Critically, they ensure they are keeping to data compliance regulations and established procedures.
If all goes well, this fruitful exercise reveals issues from small to large. It better prepares your business for the real thing, without the devastating consequences of a real breach.
Get IT Network Services From Inception Network Strategies
Internal penetration testing helps to simulate the effects of an inside job on your business. Two teams, red and blue, compete against each other to compromise or secure the system. The results provide eye-opening insight into the security posture of your business and ways to improve it.
Inception Network Services provides managed IT services, cloud support, you name it. Find the IT network services you need to protect your organization.