This is my favorite question, we should be the ones to conduct your test. But, a certified individual or company should be the one the conduct your assessment which we are. Preferably certified by a well known offensive security vendor. In our case Offensive Security. They are globally known to certified the best of the best penetration testers. Such a very respectful vendor in the penetration testing field. CREST is also a good vendor to certify our tests to meet EU testing requirements.

A penetration test, also known as a pen test, is a simulated cyber attack against your computer system to check for exploitable vulnerabilities.

Don't be alarmed if you're not sure when a penetration test should occur. Normally a penetration test should occur:

1.Before the deployment of the system or network or application to the environment.

2.When the system is no longer in a state of constant change.

3.Before the system is involved in the production process or is made live.

4.Best practice if no changes has occur would be quarterly according to security researchers.

5.Any changes to a policy that might change systems or processes should be tested

1. Detects Security Threats

A pen test determines the potential of an organization to defend its IT infrastructure such as applications, network, server, endpoints, etc. The test detects the security threats by performing internal and external intrusion and achieves privileged and unapproved access to protected assets. The test reveals the faults in the existing security process so that they can be fixed by technicians and experts before any outsider intrudes the system.

2. Protects the financial and reputation loss

A breach may result in database compromise, financial loss, or loss of reputation. Even a single incident of compromised customer data negatively impacts the company’s image in the industry. An effective pen testing supports an organization by proactively detecting the threats before the breach take place. The tests can help in avoiding data breaches that can place the company’s reputation and reliability at stake.

3. Saves potential down time

Recuperation from a security flaw includes retention programs, legal advice, IT remediation efforts, reduced revenues, and regaining customer confidence. This process involves a lot of effort, time, resources, and finance. In a research conducted by an IT company, Alvarez Technology Group, 39% of the companies report operational capacity downtime as the main effect of a cyberattack. For 37% of companies, downtime in business reporting was the biggest problem. [1]

4. Comply with regulatory laws or security audits

IT departments have to comply with the auditing or compliance procedures of legal authorities like Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, The Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, and Sarbanes–Oxley. Besides, the company shall also comply with the report testing requirements as recognized in the Federal National Institute of Standards and Technology, Federal Information Security Management Act, and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard commands. The reports submitted by pen testers assist organization in evading penalties for noncompliance and provide required secured control to auditors.

5. Validates BCP 

Business continuity is the main objective for any business to measure its success. A break in business continuity can be for many reasons, one of the major reasons being a security breach. According to National Cybersecurity Alliance, 60% of medium- and small-sized organizations that have experienced a cyberattack have gone out of business within 6 months. [2] Pen testers are hired to perform different types of attacks like denial of service, which can ultimately result in the closure of the business. This is done to find the loopholes and patch them to avoid any real damage from a malicious attack.

                      by: Eccouncil

We conduct penetration tests the right way by either entering a bug bounty program or have certified tester perform the assessment with permission.

Our goal is conduct and educated the client on the findings for remediation. You ultimate goal is to keep your business running not to tie you up with cybersecurity. No business means no security findings because we have nothing to test. We don't want that. We believe in bring awareness to the issue for management to make a business decision on the risk. Fight or flight!