Threat detection is an approach to identify potential threats which targets the organization’s systems. It can assess a malicious activity in the organization’s sensitive data. Threat detection is the process of identifying any abnormal activity or something unusual that could compromise the computer system or network. Organizations continue to witness various cyber security threats. Threat detection is basically catching the attacker, who has somehow managed to get into the organization’s system. Pen testers identify and assess the vulnerabilities and weaknesses present in the system. They will fix it using their tools and applying techniques. In this blog, we will explore the importance of threat detection in pen testing services.
Understanding Threat Detection
Threat detection is an important aspect of pen testing. It identifies potential security vulnerabilities in the infrastructure and organization’s system. Pen testers take appropriate measures to mitigate risk. Understanding the threat is crucial to have a detailed understanding of the nature of the threat and its environment. This knowledge is mandatory because it assists the pen testers to scrutinize and assess the threat vectors and area it has affected. Pen testers will have an idea how the target application will react with threat attempts. Pen testers form appropriate detection strategies.
Planning and Preparation
Planning and preparation of threat detection is a very essential part. It allows time for pen testers to establish a strong system to avoid any required interruption. Establishing clear goals and objectives of the penetration test is very necessary. Well begun is half done, therefore the pen testers will identify potential vulnerabilities and evaluate security controls.
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is a significant part in threat detection in penetration tests. It helps to accumulate data and required information about the target system or organization. Reconnaissance is categorized into two main parts: passive reconnaissance and active reconnaissance.
Passive reconnaissance is the method of collecting data available at public sources, such as social media, websites and public directories. This procedure attempts to gather information without actively engaging with the systems. In this way the pen testers presume that they are performing tests in the legal context.
On the other hand active reconnaissance the pen testers actively interact with the target. White hat hackers use active reconnaissance to access a client’s network. It is a computer based attack where white hat hackers communicate with the target systems. In this way they collect the required information. Active reconnaissance involves directly interacting with the target system. This technique involves OS fingerprinting, DNS enumeration and network mapping.
Vulnerability Scanning
Vulnerability scanning is the technique of assessing security weaknesses and flaws in the systems. It secures and protects the organization from exposure of sensitive data and breaches. Vulnerability scanning aids organizations to probe security threats in the IT infrastructure. It clearly identifies potential risks and vulnerabilities. It systematically examines the networks and the applications that could be exploited by the cyber attackers.These weaknesses and vulnerabilities are basically bugs, outdated software and weak passwords. When these weaknesses and vulnerabilities are discovered, they are categorized according to its severity, exploitability and threat impact.
Exploitation
Exploitation is the attempt to get identified weaknesses. Its aim is to gain unauthorized access to the system which is targeted. Pen testers assess the target system to identify the weaknesses. This process can be accomplished through manual analysis and the automated tools, or using both methods altogether to find out the vulnerabilities. Its purpose is to detect the vulnerabilities that could be exploited. The exploitation process involves various techniques such as buffer overflow attacks and brute force attacks.
Post Exploitation
Once the vulnerability is successfully exploited, the pen testers evaluate the impact of the compromise or potential threat. Post Exploitation is a sensitive phase of threat detection. Pen testers get into the internal system and start penetrating it. The purpose of the post exploitation is to assess the security posture to the next level. Pen taters attempt to escalate privileges within the system, which is targeted. This process determines the potential threat impact. The vulnerabilities are exposed in privileged management systems.
Report on Findings
Pen testers evaluate system logs and identify the suspicious activities, resulting from exploitation. This assists in finding out IoCs or indicators of threat compromises. These compromises are used to find out and react to potential threats. Pen testers finally prepare a document with their findings. The report includes vulnerabilities which are identified and scrutinized. The exploits are successfully executed. The organization uses this information to strengthen its secure posture. In this way the organization gets ready to address the vulnerabilities.
Final Words
In the current cyber threat scenario, pen testers play a significant role to identify and address the potential vulnerabilities and security threats from the network systems. Threat detection is the core component of cyber security of the organization’s system. Organization established an effective threat detection mechanism with the support of the pen testers. Threat detection is the vital part of the pen testing service, around the world.
In this way early signs of threat detection are identified. This includes unauthorized access attempts, suspicious and unusual network behavior and weak password login attempts. In this way, detection is essential for organizations to respond to any security threat or attempt. The organizations can hire professional pen testers to leverage advanced cyber security techniques to improve organization’s security posture.
