Have you ever heard of penetration testing? It is a type of testing that’s commonly done to test the security of an organization’s system and infrastructure. Such testing aims to reveal any risks that could otherwise be exploited by nefarious individuals that can seriously damage the company.
Simply put, penetration testing is important to protect a company from unnecessary dangers. However, penetration testing also does a lot more than protect a company.
Here’s what penetration testing can do for companies:
1. Asses Risk Factors
Before going into the actual penetration testing, businesses need to take a step back and assess if their security is up to par. Penetration testing helps businesses know the current vulnerabilities that exist and gauge their risk of attack.
2. Prioritize Vulnerabilities
Failing to prioritize vulnerabilities is one of the biggest mistakes that some companies make. Just because you have hundreds of vulnerabilities, it doesn’t mean that they’re all equally important. Businesses need to understand the most important vulnerabilities that need to be solved first before the others. They can use penetration testing to help them do this.
3. Prepares Companies for Attacks
Penetration testers are skilled cyber security experts that are able to figure out a way to penetrate the security of a system. When penetration testers attempt to breach the system and find themselves blocked, they’ll know what security measures to take to prevent an attack. For example, a penetration tester may use malware to attack a system and find blockers in place. If they find the blockers in place are strong enough, they’ll use another path to attack a target. In this situation, the penetration tester is helping the company improve its defenses by showing what works and what doesn’t.
4. Stay Compliant
Government standards require that companies stay compliant with security requirements. Pen testing helps them stay compliant with the standards and helps them prevent fines. Penetration testing can be used to test compliance with security standards such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and ISO 27001. Of course, there are many other security standards out there, but penetration testing will ensure that the standards you need to meet will be well met.
5. Maintains Reputation
In the digital world, a company’s reputation is everything. If you have a bad reputation, customers will shy away from doing business with you. The vulnerability of an attack can be enough to ruin a company’s reputation overnight. This is why penetration testing helps maintain a company’s reputation by providing protection against attacks that can potentially damage it. Companies that are under a lot of scrutinies are also advised to use penetration testing to maintain a good reputation.
Conclusion
No matter the size of your business, penetration testing can do a lot for you. It’s important to properly protect an organization from cyber attacks, and penetration testing is a great tool for this. With it, you get to enjoy all of the above benefits that help ensure that, in the long run, your weaknesses are uncovered and tackled to reduce the risk of an attack successfully devastating your business.
Febyte are expert software developers that can meet a variety of needs, from CRM solutions to even websites. If you are looking for IT consultants in NY to help secure your business better, reach out to us today!