You should already be aware that conducting penetration tests is essential to understanding and improving the cybersecurity efforts of your company. The next level of testing is known as internal penetration testing. But before you can understand why an internal penetration test is important for your company, you need to first understand what an internal penetration test is and how it differs from traditional or external penetration testing. Only then will you be able to fully appreciate the significance of an internal pen test.
When a company decides to commission a penetration test, the test will almost always begin with an examination from the outside. The team that is conducting the test will "attack" your network from the outside, making an attempt to breach your cybersecurity measures and taking advantage of any holes they find. It will assist you in determining the various entry points that an outside actor or hacker can use to bypass your security measures and access your systems.
Internal penetration testing goes a step further than that and determines exactly what the breach exposes as well as what information the malicious actor will be able to access once the external breach has occurred. In addition to this, it has the capability of simulating what an inside attacker, which is defined as a person who already possesses some level of access to your network or systems, is able to achieve from their vantage point within the internal network. If you are concerned about an attack from the inside of your organization or have conducted an external pen test and want to know exactly what additional risks you face once a breach on the outside of your organization has occurred, this is an important additional layer of protection to add.
Internal attacks are typically more damaging to businesses than external ones because the former get a head start and begin their work already within the target organization's network. In addition, if a breach is carried out by a disgruntled employee or an insider, the perpetrator typically is aware of where to look for the most damaging files and is more effective in their attack methodology, which results in a data breach that is both more rapid and more extensive.
Your company can determine the vulnerabilities or weaknesses within its computer systems, access points, WiFi networks, firewalls, local servers, passwords, and/or other employee-focused access areas by conducting an internal penetration. You will also be able to determine exactly how detrimental a breach of these internal components can be to your organization, as well as how to strengthen them or improve their efficiency in terms of cybersecurity and how to do so.
It is important to determine all of your organization's cybersecurity vulnerabilities and the potential effects a breach of those vulnerabilities could have on your business. Because of this, you should give some thought to conducting an external pen test followed by an internal penetration test because doing so may result in long-term benefits and cost savings for your business.
SubRosa would be more than happy to walk you through the various options available to you and discuss the steps you can take to bolster the security of your network. Visit our site if you would like more information.
