Penetration Testing & Vulnerability Management: Security Essentials

Organizations suffer an average of 130 security breaches per year, costing $4.45M per incident. Proactive penetration testing and vulnerability management reduce breach risk by 60% and demonstrate security due diligence.

Penetration Testing Framework

Types of Penetration Tests

Black Box Testing:

• No prior knowledge
• Simulates external attacker
• Tests external defenses
• Identifies public exposure
• Realistic attack scenarios

White Box Testing:

• Full system knowledge
• Source code access
• Architecture documentation
• Comprehensive assessment
• Internal threat simulation

Gray Box Testing:

• Partial knowledge
• Limited credentials
• Typical user access
• Balanced approach
• Most common type

Testing Methodology

Phase 1: Reconnaissance (Information Gathering):

• OSINT collection
• Network mapping
• Service enumeration
• Employee identification
• Technology stack discovery

Phase 2: Scanning (Vulnerability Discovery):

• Port scanning
• Service fingerprinting
• Vulnerability scanning
• Web application testing
• Wireless network assessment

Phase 3: Exploitation (Proof of Concept):

• Exploit development
• Privilege escalation
• Lateral movement
• Data exfiltration simulation
• Persistence establishment

Phase 4: Post-Exploitation (Impact Assessment):

• Access maintained
• Sensitive data identified
• Additional systems compromised
• Business impact assessed
• Cleanup performed

Phase 5: Reporting (Deliverable):

• Executive summary
• Technical findings
• Risk ratings
• Remediation guidance
• Retest recommendations

Penetration Testing Tools

Reconnaissance:

• Nmap (network scanning)
• Maltego (OSINT)
• Shodan (IoT discovery)
• theHarvester (email gathering)
• Recon-ng (reconnaissance framework)

Vulnerability Assessment:

• Nessus
• OpenVAS
• Qualys
• Rapid7 Nexpose
• Burp Suite

Exploitation:

• Metasploit Framework
• Cobalt Strike
• Empire
• BeEF (browser exploitation)
• SQLmap (SQL injection)

Password Cracking:

• John the Ripper
• Hashcat
• Hydra
• Medusa
• CrackStation

Testing Frequency

Annual Comprehensive Tests:

• Full scope penetration test
• All systems and applications
• Internal and external
• Regulatory compliance
• Executive reporting

Quarterly Focused Tests:

• High-risk applications
• New deployments
• Critical infrastructure
• Remediation validation
• Continuous improvement

Continuous Testing:

• Automated vulnerability scanning
• Bug bounty programs
• Red team exercises
• Purple team collaboration
• DevSecOps integration

Vulnerability Management Program

Discovery & Assessment

Asset Inventory:

• Hardware assets
• Software applications
• Network devices
• Cloud resources
• Third-party services

Scanning Strategy:

Weekly: Critical systems
Monthly: All systems
Quarterly: Full network
Ad-hoc: New deployments
Continuous: Cloud infrastructure

Vulnerability Sources:

• Automated scanners
• Penetration tests
• Bug bounty submissions
• Security research
• Threat intelligence
• Vendor advisories

Risk Prioritization

CVSS Scoring (Common Vulnerability Scoring System):

Critical: 9.0-10.0 (Patch immediately)
High: 7.0-8.9 (Patch within 7 days)
Medium: 4.0-6.9 (Patch within 30 days)
Low: 0.1-3.9 (Patch within 90 days)

Risk-Based Prioritization:

Risk = Severity × Exploitability × Asset Criticality

Example:
CVE-2024-1234:
- CVSS: 9.8 (Critical)
- Exploit available: Yes (High)
- Affects: Customer database (Critical)
→ Priority: P0 (Immediate)

Business Impact Factors:

• Data sensitivity
• System criticality
• Regulatory requirements
• Internet exposure
• Known exploits

Remediation Process

Remediation Options:

Patch Management:

• Apply vendor patches
• Test in non-production
• Schedule maintenance window
• Deploy systematically
• Verify effectiveness

Configuration Changes:

• Disable unnecessary services
• Strengthen authentication
• Update security settings
• Remove default accounts
• Harden configurations

Compensating Controls:

• Web Application Firewall (WAF)
• Network segmentation
• Enhanced monitoring
• Access restrictions
• Additional authentication

Accept Risk:

• Document justification
• Executive approval required
• Compensating controls in place
• Regular review
• Time-bound decision

Tracking & Reporting

Key Metrics:

• Total vulnerabilities
• Mean Time To Remediate (MTTR)
• Vulnerabilities by severity
• Remediation rate
• Aging vulnerabilities
• Coverage percentage

Executive Dashboard:

Current Posture:
- Critical: 0
- High: 3 (all in progress)
- Medium: 15
- Low: 42

Trends:
- 78% reduction in critical (90 days)
- MTTR: 14 days (goal: < 15)
- Coverage: 98% of assets

Specialized Testing

Web Application Testing

OWASP Top 10 (Focus Areas):

1. Broken Access Control
2. Cryptographic Failures
3. Injection (SQL, XSS, etc.)
4. Insecure Design
5. Security Misconfiguration
6. Vulnerable Components
7. Authentication Failures
8. Data Integrity Failures
9. Logging Failures
10. SSRF (Server-Side Request Forgery)

Testing Tools:

• Burp Suite Professional
• OWASP ZAP
• Acunetix
• Netsparker
• AppScan

API Security Testing

API Vulnerabilities:

• Broken authentication
• Excessive data exposure
• Lack of rate limiting
• Injection flaws
• Improper assets management

Testing Approach:

• API documentation review
• Authentication testing
• Authorization bypass
• Input validation
• Rate limiting verification

Cloud Security Assessment

Cloud-Specific Risks:

• Misconfigured storage buckets
• Overly permissive IAM
• Exposed databases
• Unencrypted data
• Insufficient logging

Tools:

• ScoutSuite
• Prowler
• CloudSploit
• Dome9
• Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

Mobile Application Testing

Testing Areas:

• Insecure data storage
• Weak cryptography
• Insecure communication
• Improper platform usage
• Code quality issues

Tools:

• MobSF
• Frida
• Objection
• Burp Suite Mobile Assistant
• Needle (iOS)

Bug Bounty Programs

Program Structure

Scope Definition:

In-Scope:
- *.techbant.com
- api.techbant.com
- Mobile apps (iOS/Android)

Out-of-Scope:
- marketing.techbant.com
- Third-party hosted services
- Denial of Service attacks
- Social engineering

Reward Tiers:

Critical: $5,000-$20,000
High: $1,000-$5,000
Medium: $500-$1,000
Low: $100-$500

Program Types:

Private Programs:

• Invited researchers only
• Controlled scope
• Lower volume
• Higher quality
• Manageable workload

Public Programs:

• Open to all researchers
• Broader coverage
• Higher volume
• Varied quality
• Requires triage team

Popular Platforms

Bug Bounty Platforms:

• HackerOne
• Bugcrowd
• Synack
• YesWeHack
• Intigriti

Program Management:

• Triage team
• Response SLAs
• Clear communication
• Fair rewards
• Researcher relationships

Compliance & Regulations

PCI DSS Requirements:

• Quarterly external scans
• Annual penetration tests
• After significant changes
• Approved scanning vendor (ASV)
• Qualified Security Assessor (QSA)

HIPAA Security Rule:

• Regular risk assessments
• Vulnerability management
• Penetration testing
• Remediation documentation
• Third-party assessments

ISO 27001:

• Systematic testing approach
• Risk-based methodology
• Documented procedures
• Continuous improvement
• Management review

Best Practices

Program Governance:

• Executive sponsorship
• Dedicated budget
• Clear policies
• Defined roles
• Regular reporting

Continuous Improvement:

• Lessons learned
• Metrics tracking
• Process refinement
• Tool evaluation
• Team training

Third-Party Management:

• Vendor assessments
• Contract requirements
• Regular testing
• Compliance verification
• Risk monitoring

Getting Started

Month 1: Foundation

• Inventory all assets
• Implement vulnerability scanner
• Establish baseline
• Define risk criteria
• Create remediation workflow

Month 2: Assessment

• First comprehensive scan
• Prioritize findings
• Begin remediation
• Schedule penetration test
• Set up metrics

Month 3: Optimization

• Complete penetration test
• Analyze results
• Refine processes
• Consider bug bounty
• Establish continuous testing

Conclusion

Penetration testing and vulnerability management are essential security practices that identify and remediate weaknesses before attackers exploit them. Systematic programs reduce risk, ensure compliance, and demonstrate security maturity.

Success requires executive support, appropriate tools, skilled practitioners, and continuous improvement. Combine automated scanning, manual testing, and bug bounty programs for comprehensive coverage.

Next Steps:

1. Inventory and classify assets
2. Deploy vulnerability scanning
3. Schedule first penetration test
4. Establish remediation process
5. Track and report metrics