Advanced penetration testing
Advanced penetration testing
(also advanced pen test)
Advanced penetration testing definition
Advanced penetration testing is a type of cybersecurity test that can help discover and get rid of vulnerabilities and security weaknesses in IT systems. It is a simulated attack done by ethical hacking or by breaching the front end or back end servers. In other words, a hired expert tries to hack a system to discover what needs to improve and if there are any security risks. The expert will perform the attacks and create a report that shows the risks an organization faces with its current IT setup.
See also: fuzz testing, cyberattack
Types of advanced penetration testing
- Black box penetration testing. In this type of testing, the person conducting the tests doesn’t know anything about the system they are testing. They only know what the expected outcome should be and do not examine any programming codes. The tester does not need to be an expert to conduct this test.
- White box penetration testing. White box penetration testing is more complicated and detailed than black box penetration testing. The tester is provided with a lot of information about the system or network being tested, including the schema, source code, IP address, and OS details. It examines the code coverage and does data flow testing, loop testing, and path testing.
- Grey box penetration testing. This type of test simulates external attacks that might come from hackers who have illegitimate access to a network or systems. The tester does not need access to the source code.