What is Pen Testing and Do We Need It?

Penetration testing: What Is It? Do We Need It? Are There Safer Vulnerability Testing Options?

Penetration testing, or a pen test, simulates a cyber attack against your devices or networks to discover exploitable vulnerabilities. Pen testing usually involves breaching systems, and other servers to uncover vulnerabilities that could be susceptible to attacks.

With the cyber threat landscape as dangerous as ever, it is critically important to understand your network’s vulnerabilities, where you may be susceptible to a cyber attack, and using that as a roadmap to improve your cyber posture and security.

While you are trying to learn more about the gaps and vulnerabilities in your network, there are risks that come with penetration testing and there are theories that pen testing is more risk than reward.

Compared to other methods of cybersecurity vulnerability testing, penetration testing can leave behind system outages, inadvertent exposure, damage to your servers from testing gone wrong, misleading information, false negatives, and some of this can lead to loss in productivity, not to mention potential financial implications. Penetration testing also requires trusting any tester with your system and sensitive data.

Given the drawbacks, there may be no such thing as a risk-free penetration test. When you open your system and expose it to different activities and people, it can be hard to hard to control your exposure.

Fill out the form to view our webinar on-demand. Learn the ins and outs of pen testing and gain insight into the benefits and risk of this method from our cybersecurity experts.