Vaultes, a Northern Virginia Cyber Security Company, recently released a blog to educate these executives about why penetration testing is important. These types of services involve the use of common hacker strategies in a controlled environment in order to identify vulnerabilities in a system before they can be taken advantage of to launch a cyberattack on an IT infrastructure. Operating systems, networks and web applications can all be tested for vulnerabilities, either manually or automatically with help from software. Companies should perform pen testing regularly (at least once per year) in order to ensure more consistent IT management and network security. The most commonly used pen testing tools are free or open-source software like The Metasploit Project, Nmap (network mapper), Wireshark and John the Ripper.

The blog goes on to explain that penetration testing (or "ethical hacking") can also be carried out to test an entity's security policy, its adherence to compliance rules and the quality of cyber security training it gives its employees to make them more aware of the dangers of potential cyberattacks. Pen testing can also help determine how efficiently a company detects and responds to cybersecurity threats. Reports generated by a pen test can also help application developers build more secure apps.

The post lists and explains the planning and goal-setting aspects of penetration testing (including Vulnerability Scanning) before moving on to describe the benefits of pen testing, like the fact that it helps meet monitoring necessities and avoid penalties and circumvents the rate of network downtime. Meanwhile, the risks of pen testing include the fact that systems can drop offline or affect the proper functioning of Internet of Things devices or other tools like IP cameras. The blog also explains how a cybersecurity attack is typically simulated and analyses the consequences of such an occurrence, and emphasizes how collecting key data and information can help improve overall security.

Vaultes is dedicated to helping all organizations that contain sensitive information and data perform penetration and vulnerability testing. Among the services it provides are external, internal and wireless network testing, social engineering, application security, malware analysis and code review. Vaultes services both commercial and federal clients and offers specialized training. You can call them at (202) 816-6658 or reach out to them online at https://www.vaultes.com/. Vaultes is located at P.O. Box 1481, Ashburn, Virginia 20147.

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