Cyber Security threats are constantly evolving. While having security measures in place and regularly reviewing your systems is essential, relying solely on them can leave gaps that a hacker could exploit. That’s why we recommend a Penetration Test.
How can Penetration Testing help?
An external penetration test, often called a “pen test”, is a simulated cyber attack conducted by ethical hackers from outside your network. They act like real-world attackers, attempting to breach your defences via the internet. The aim isn’t to cause damage, but to identify weak points or a combination of weak points that together could be used to access your systems, data, or customer information.
One of the main reasons companies invest in external pen testing is to understand what their attack surface looks like from an outsider’s point of view. Firewalls, VPNs, web applications, cloud-hosted platforms all present opportunities for exploitation if not configured correctly or if vulnerabilities exist. A good pen test will highlight these risks, often finding issues that automated vulnerability scans miss due to the skill of the human doing the test!
Penetration testing is also essential for business compliance
Compliance is another major driver. Frameworks like ISO 27001, PCI DSS and Cyber Essentials Plus often require or strongly recommend regular testing. For companies handling sensitive data or processing payments, a pen test is something that should happen often to reduce their risk.
Data breaches can have a huge impact on customer trust, and the cost of recovering from an incident often far exceeds the cost of regular security testing. By conducting penetration tests, businesses can demonstrate due diligence to stakeholders, clients, and insurers.
Why do we use external Penetration testers?
At VMhosts we have partnered with testers rather than doing testing in house and this is for a number of reasons. Firstly, a pen test relies on the skill of the tester. By using people who test all the time we get people with the best experience to deliver the best work. Secondly, where we are managing the environment, it’s great to show it’s not just us ‘marking our own homework’.
If you’d like more information on pen testing and keeping your business safe, contact us!