#1 Trusted Cybersecurity News Platform
Followed by 5.20+ million
The Hacker News Logo
Subscribe – Get Latest News

Penetration Testing | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Category — Penetration Testing
Beyond Compliance: The Advantage of Year-Round Network Pen Testing

Beyond Compliance: The Advantage of Year-Round Network Pen Testing

Nov 18, 2024 Penetration Testing / Network Security
IT leaders know the drill—regulators and cyber insurers demand regular network penetration testing to keep the bad guys out. But here's the thing: hackers don't wait around for compliance schedules. Most companies approach network penetration testing on a set schedule, with the most common frequency being twice a year (29%), followed by three to four times per year (23%) and once per year (20%), according to the Kaseya Cybersecurity Survey Report 2024 . Compliance-focused testing can catch vulnerabilities that exist at the exact time of testing, but it's not enough to stay ahead of attackers in a meaningful way. Why More Frequent Testing Makes Sense When companies test more often, they're not just checking a box for compliance—they're actually protecting their networks. The Kaseya survey also points out that the top drivers for network penetration testing are: Cybersecurity Control and Validation (34%) – ensuring the security controls work and vulnerabilities are minimized. Re...
Guide:  The Ultimate Pentest Checklist for Full-Stack Security

Guide:  The Ultimate Pentest Checklist for Full-Stack Security

Oct 21, 2024 Penetration Testing / API Security
Pentest Checklists Are More Important Than Ever Given the expanding attack surface coupled with the increasing sophistication of attacker tactics and techniques, penetration testing checklists have become essential for ensuring thorough assessments across an organization's attack surface, both internal and external. By providing a structured approach, these checklists help testers systematically uncover vulnerabilities in various assets like networks, applications, APIs, and systems. They ensure no critical area is overlooked and guide the testing process, making it more efficient and effective at identifying security weaknesses that could be exploited by attackers. A pentest checklist essentially leaves no stone unturned and is a detailed and comprehensive list of every type of vulnerability in which to simulate an attack against. Each asset being tested, however, requires a different pentest checklist tailored to its specific characteristics and risks. For example, a checklist fo...
Unlocking Google Workspace Security: Are You Doing Enough to Protect Your Data?

Unlocking Google Workspace Security: Are You Doing Enough to Protect Your Data?

Nov 22, 2024Google Workspace / SaaS Backup
Google Workspace has quickly become the productivity backbone for businesses worldwide, offering an all-in-one suite with email, cloud storage and collaboration tools. This single-platform approach makes it easy for teams to connect and work efficiently, no matter where they are, enabling seamless digital transformation that's both scalable and adaptable. As companies shift from traditional, on-premises setups focused on device security, to more user-centered, hybrid models, Google Workspace is perfectly positioned to support this evolution. Now, the user account itself is the central hub, allowing access from any device or location — a game changer in today's remote and distributed work environments. However, with all this connectivity and flexibility comes a challenge. Google Workspace connects to countless apps and touches every user in the organization, making it an appealing target for cybercriminals. The platform's internet accessibility opens up additional entry points, raisi...
How to Get Going with CTEM When You Don't Know Where to Start

How to Get Going with CTEM When You Don't Know Where to Start

Oct 04, 2024 Vulnerability Management / Security Posture
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) is a strategic framework that helps organizations continuously assess and manage cyber risk. It breaks down the complex task of managing security threats into five distinct stages: Scoping, Discovery, Prioritization, Validation, and Mobilization. Each of these stages plays a crucial role in identifying, addressing, and mitigating vulnerabilities - before they can be exploited by attackers.  On paper, CTEM sounds great . But where the rubber meets the road – especially for CTEM neophytes - implementing CTEM can seem overwhelming. The process of putting CTEM principles into practice can look prohibitively complex at first. However, with the right tools and a clear understanding of each stage, CTEM can be an effective method for strengthening your organization's security posture.  That's why I've put together a step-by-step guide on which tools to use for which stage. Want to learn more? Read on… Stage 1: Scoping  When you're...
cyber security

Creating, Managing and Securing Non-Human Identities

websitePermisoCybersecurity / Identity Security
A new class of identities has emerged alongside traditional human users: non-human identities (NHIs). Permiso Security's new eBook details everything you need to know about managing and securing non-human identities, and strategies to unify identity security without compromising agility.
How to Plan and Prepare for Penetration Testing

How to Plan and Prepare for Penetration Testing

Sep 27, 2024 Penetration Testing / Threat Detection
As security technology and threat awareness among organizations improves so do the adversaries who are adopting and relying on new techniques to maximize speed and impact while evading detection. Ransomware and malware continue to be the method of choice by big game hunting (BGH) cyber criminals, and the increased use of hands-on or "interactive intrusion" techniques is especially alarming. Unlike malware attacks that rely on automated malicious tools and scripts, human-driven intrusions use the creativity and problem-solving abilities of attackers. These individuals can imitate normal user or administrative behaviors, making it challenging to distinguish between legitimate activities and cyber-attacks. The goal of most security practitioners today is to manage risk at scale. Gaining visibility, reducing the noise, and securing the attack surface across the enterprise requires the right people, processes, and security solutions. With the use of penetration testing services , organ...
Cybersecurity Researchers Warn of New Rust-Based Splinter Post-Exploitation Tool

Cybersecurity Researchers Warn of New Rust-Based Splinter Post-Exploitation Tool

Sep 25, 2024 Penetration Testing / Cyber Threat
Cybersecurity researchers have flagged the discovery of a new post-exploitation red team tool called Splinter in the wild. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 shared its findings after it discovered the program on several customers' systems. "It has a standard set of features commonly found in penetration testing tools and its developer created it using the Rust programming language," Unit 42's Dominik Reichel said . "While Splinter is not as advanced as other well-known post-exploitation tools like Cobalt Strike, it still presents a potential threat to organizations if it is misused." Penetration testing tools are often used for red team operations to flag potential security issues in a company's network. However, such adversary simulation tools can also be weaponized by threat actors to their advantage.  Unit 42 said it has not detected any threat actor activity associated with the Splinter tool set. There is no information as yet on who developed the t...
Why Pay A Pentester?

Why Pay A Pentester?

Sep 18, 2024 Penetration Testing / Automation
The evolution of software always catches us by surprise. I remember betting against the IBM computer Deep Blue during its chess match against the grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1997, only to be stunned when the machine claimed victory. Fast forward to today, would we have imagined just three years ago that a chatbot could write essays, handle customer support calls, and even craft commercial artwork? We continue to be amazed by what software can achieve—tasks we once thought were strictly human domains. Such is the surprise unfolding in the sphere of cybersecurity testing. Hold tight! Demystifying Penetration Testing If someone had told me 10 years ago that computer software could one day perform the work of an ethical hacker, I would have said 'No way, Jose'. Penetration testing—PT for short—is when experts mimic hackers to test a company's defenses. It's a critical practice, mandated by major regulatory bodies like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and DORA to ensure network safety. Yet, despite...
Breaking Down AD CS Vulnerabilities: Insights for InfoSec Professionals

Breaking Down AD CS Vulnerabilities: Insights for InfoSec Professionals

Aug 30, 2024 Vulnerability / Network Security
The most dangerous vulnerability you've never heard of. In the world of cybersecurity, vulnerabilities are discovered so often, and at such a high rate, that it can be very difficult to keep up with. Some vulnerabilities will start ringing alarm bells within your security tooling, while others are far more nuanced, but still pose an equally dangerous threat. Today, we want to discuss one of these more nuanced vulnerabilities as it is likely lurking in your environment waiting to be exploited: Active Directory Certificate Services vulnerabilities.  vPenTest by Vonahi Security recently implemented an attack vector specifically designed to identify and mitigate these hidden AD CS threats. But first, let's explore why AD CS vulnerabilities are so dangerous and how they work. What is Active Directory Certificate Services? Active Directory Certificate Services ("AD CS"), as defined by Microsoft is, "a Windows Server role for issuing and managing public key infrastructure (PKI) cert...
The Facts About Continuous Penetration Testing and Why It's Important

The Facts About Continuous Penetration Testing and Why It's Important

Aug 22, 2024 Penetration Testing / Red Teaming
What is Continuous Attack Surface Penetration Testing or CASPT? Continuous Penetration Testing or Continuous Attack Surface Penetration Testing (CASPT) is an advanced security practice that involves the continuous, automated, and ongoing penetration testing services of an organization's digital assets to identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities. CASPT is designed for enterprises with an evolving attack surface where periodic pentesting is no longer sufficient. Unlike traditional penetration testing, which is often performed annually or semi-annually, CASPT is an ongoing process that integrates directly into the software development lifecycle (SDLC), ensuring that vulnerabilities are discovered and addressed in real-time or near-real-time. CASPT is a proactive security measure designed to stay ahead of potential attackers by continuously evaluating the security posture of an organization. It enables security teams to identify critical entry points that could be exploited b...
Expert Insights / Articles Videos
Cybersecurity Resources