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As time goes by, we become a society that is more and more dependent on computers and the internet for daily activities. Bills are paid, checking accounts are balanced, and confidential information is emailed all the time over the information highway. Sad as it is, there are dishonest people out there who monitor this electronic traffic and attempt to take a shortcut to obtaining money. In order to make the internet and information systems safer for users, penetration testing is employed. What is penetration testing and why is it important?

As time goes by, we become a society that is more and more dependent on computers and the internet for daily activities. Bills are paid, checking accounts are balanced, and confidential information is emailed all the time over the information highway. Sad as it is, there are dishonest people out there who monitor this electronic traffic and attempt to take a shortcut to obtaining money. In order to make the internet and information systems safer for users, penetration testing is employed. What is penetration testing and why is it important?

Penetration tests are sometimes referred to as vulnerability audits and security assessments depending on whom you ask. The point of these tests is to assess how secure a system is. Effective penetration tests employ the latest techniques and must be completed regularly. The key component of them is that they are active, meaning that they aim to look for and expose system shortcomings and vulnerabilities that may be exploited by criminals. It is not left up to someone at a desk writing up a theory that is only an educated guess rather than an actual test. Penetration tests simulate potential attacks from malicious sources upon a particular network or system. The test evaluates the process including inadequate configuration, inconsistencies in hardware and software, and weaknesses in the operation.

Upon completion of a penetration test, a report is compiled and given to the system owner. The report details how likely a successful attack could occur and possible methods to prevent the attacks in the first place. Also contained in the report are the possible impacts to a business in the event that a successful attack occurs. There are several different forms of penetration tests, with black box and white box tests being the most common. In a black box test, an attack is simulated from the position of someone totally unfamiliar with the network. White box tests are conducted with complete knowledge of how the infrastructure works and are intended to address issues involving inside jobs and sensitive information leaks.

The importance of penetration tests is found in the increased security of systems that prevents hackers form stealing funds and sensitive information. Businesses stand to directly lose funds to someone stealing them, and customers are affected as well. If someone has their credit card or debit card information hijacked while making a payment to a particular business, they may be scared to interact with it again. Penetration tests are designed to prevent these situations from occurring at all.

Information is electronically sent all the time. Penetration testing helps create safe transactions. They offer system security and peace of mind.