Penetration Testing
By having OCD Tech act as a simulated opposing force, the penetration test is a security exercise to identify risks to the organization. The OCD Tech team will analyze the environment and leverage found vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and the functionalities available to a low privileged user. This process will take advantage of the results identified via the vulnerability assessment. Rather than simply reporting identified vulnerabilities, the assessment team will attempt to exploit these vulnerabilities, and demonstrate the potential exposure with the goal of reaching the highest possible level of privilege and gaining access to sensitive information. The methodology presented below is broad, and a carefully defined scope will drive the actual components of the test. Sometimes, during penetration test, a previously unknown vulnerability is discovered. Once responsible disclosure is performed, a CVE is issued. Need to learn more about CVEs? Read about them here.
Methodology
The methodology presented below is broad, and a carefully defined scope will drive the actual components of the test. The penetration test, in general, includes the following components:
Leverage sources of Open Source Intelligence to collect information about the organization and its employees.
Characterize the target network and target systems to identify potentially exploitable vulnerabilities or misconfigurations.
Target end-users in an attempt to recover sensitive information or install malicious software. This can take several forms.
Gain unauthorized access to target systems.
Use the newly established foothold to gather information specific to the level of privilege gained that was previously not available.
Gain administrator-level access to target systems.
Leverage collected data to move throughout the network, with a focus on obtaining access to critical systems.
Depending on the scope of the test, ensure that compromised systems may be accessed throughout the test.
Depending on the scope of the test, ensure that all traces of attacker activity are removed.
Compile all information gathered during the penetration test for management.