24 August 2023
Black Box penetration testing – why you should get it done!
Black box penetration testing provides a holistic view of how secure your organisation is from a bad actor’s point of view, i.e. knowing little about your organisation.
The technical part of a black box penetration test looks to find vulnerabilities in your systems, networks and applications that attackers might exploit. The “human factor” element of the testing, e.g. social engineering etc., is designed to test how your user base interact with systems, make decisions, and respond to security threats.
Our black box penetration test combines these two components to create a more complete picture of the strengths and weaknesses of your organisation’s security. Armed with this information you can start to assess the issues found, consider their potential impact on the business, and work through the recommended remediation actions.
The outputs generated by this exercise are an ideal conversation starter for those who wish to improve cyber security’s mindshare with executives, and the associated budget allocation decisions.
In advance of testing we work collaboratively with our clients to reaffirm the testing goals align with their security concerns and business requirements. During the exercise, should any findings show urgent proactive remedial action is needed this will be communicated to our primary contact.
What are the key elements of a black box penetration test?
Reconnaissance
Gather publicly available information about the target, such as domain names, IP addresses, employee details, and other relevant data.
Social Engineering
If required, this may include activities such as sending harmless phishing emails to any identified corporate email addresses, and/or directly contacting employees by phone.
Enumeration
Find active hosts, services, and potential entry points. This phase involves network scanning and finding possible vulnerabilities based on the exposed services.
Vulnerability Analysis
Actively search for security weaknesses by using various tools and techniques to show vulnerabilities within the target system, applications, and network infrastructure.
Exploitation
Attempt to exploit the discovered vulnerabilities, simulating real attacks to understand the potential impact of a successful breach. This phase assists in evaluating the severity of the vulnerabilities.
Post-Exploitation
If an exploit is successful, our tester may try to escalate privileges, gather sensitive information, or move laterally within the network, mimicking a determined attacker's actions, if this was agreed on.
Documentation
Detailed documentation of the testing process, findings, and potential impact of the vulnerabilities discovered. This offers clear recommendations for remediation.
Reporting
Present a comprehensive report that outlines the vulnerabilities discovered, their potential impact, and recommended mitigation strategies.
Debrief
A follow up meeting is held with the testing consultant to discuss the exercise, report findings and the best strategies to address vulnerabilities shown in the testing.
To get more details on our black box penetration test service please contact us.
Policy, Process or Procedure?
In delivering Policy Management as a Service, we aid organisations to get clarity around what constitutes a policy, process, or procedure - and the inter relationship between these 3 key elements of an IT management framework.
IT Policies are high-level statements or documents that outline an organisation’s intentions, principles, and rules for the use of information and technology.
IT processes supply a high-level view of the flow and structure of IT work within an organisation and define the sequence of actions, decision points, and interactions between different stages of that work.
IT Procedures show the detailed step-by-step instructions on how to execute a specific task or activity within a process.
Treating IT policies, processes, and procedures as 3 distinct components of an IT management framework will help guide and improve an organisation’s IT operations, decision-making capabilities, and overall functioning.
Contact us to discuss how we can help.