Many may not realize how old penetration testing is, but it has been in existence for decades. This form of ethical hacking has been used to examine the effectiveness of an organizations security posture in different settings for several years. Its history can be traced to the 1960s, when white hat testers manually examined their systems to prevent hackers from destroying information networks.
Today, penetration testing has evolved significantly in response to the increased sophistication and relentlessness of cyberattacks. Attacks evolve every so often, and defenses are upgraded in response. However, it is extremely difficult to keep up with this routine when the attacks overwhelm with their numbers and the frequency of their evolution.
Here’s a look at how penetration testing has improved to more effectively and efficiently detect, prevent, and mitigate cyber-attacks. This is not a comprehensive chronicling of penetration testings origins, but a review of the more recent technological and strategic enhancements.
The rise of breach and attack simulation
What is breach and attack simulation (BAS)? Combined with vulnerability assessments, it has been described as the cause of death of traditional penetration testing, as it brings with it a multitude of advancements that significantly improve the way organizations test their cyber defenses. It enables highly efficient security testing and a more thorough way of finding defects or weaknesses in an organization’s security posture.
With the help of modern technologies such as the cloud and artificial intelligence, BAS does not only offer a better alternative to traditional penetration testing. It makes conventional pen tests obsolete and an inexpedient use of resources. Why should organizations settle with manual processes that are prone to mistakes and time-consuming?
Based on data from Markets and Markets, the breach and attack simulation market will be worth $916 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 33.2 percent for the 2020-2025 forecast period. It is already a significant component of the cyber security testing market and is set to grow even bigger in the years to come. With the increasing adoption of BAS and its continued evolution to address emerging threats, it presents a new direction for penetration testing that is more suitable to meet present-day needs.
Automated and repetitive
In addition to its ability to detect weaknesses and vulnerabilities speedily, breach and attack simulation also comes with the benefit of requiring fewer people in the security team. BAS can be automated, as it employs a complex set of attack scenarios that try to bypass security systems. It can automatically test a variety of vectors under different situations to find exploitable vulnerabilities. It can even simulate attacks that are not detectable by behavior-based threat detection systems.
BAS is capable of performing actions that mimic real cyber threats or harmful activities. These include the introduction of files that are very difficult to distinguish from malware into machines or networks and the attempt to send data traffic through a firewall or malicious email through email security controls. Everything can be done automatically without human intervention.
With its automatable nature, it follows that BAS can be continuously repeated to ceaselessly keep an organization’s security controls in check. It is not just a one-off or periodic security testing solution. It can be run continuously and tweaked in view of newly identified threats and actual attacks.
Automation and repetitiveness are key advancements in penetration testing because of the scarcity of cybersecurity professionals. According to the 2021 (ISC)’ Cybersecurity Workforce Study, the number of unfilled cybersecurity job openings in 2021 was at 2.72 million. More people are needed to address the growing problem of cyber threats worldwide, and having automated BAS is a welcome option for organizations.
Artificial intelligence in pen testing
Breach and attack simulation may leverage artificial intelligence or machine learning not only for automation but also to launch more sophisticated and complex attacks. Cyberattacks can be tweaked or modified every so often until they manage to defeat existing cyber defenses. If the parameters of security tests do not correspondingly evolve, they will likely fail to detect and prevent evolved threats.
Additionally, AI is useful in analyzing security data. Most organizations use multiple security controls that generate huge amounts of security data and incident alerts or reports. Going over all of these manually is impossible, and making sense of the humongous loads of data is a tall order. Artificial intelligence makes security testing considerably more efficient.
The classic penetration testing process involves five basic steps, namely planning and reconnaissance, scanning, gaining access, maintaining access, and analysis. Artificial intelligence can impact all of these. Reconnaissance and scanning can be automated with the help of AI while special software can be developed to gain and maintain access and analyze the resulting data.
Incorporating collaborative cyber threat intelligence
Moreover, penetration testing greatly benefits from the collaboration among cybersecurity professionals, organizations, and institutions worldwide. The development of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, for example, is a significant boost for the security posture of organizations. It provides a globally accessible resource for the latest adversarial tactics and techniques, helping organizations in identifying, detecting, mitigating, and preventing emerging attacks.
MITRE ATT&CK can be integrated with cybersecurity testing platforms to update their threat detection capabilities and make sure that malware and other harmful files or actions are caught before they cause serious problems. Most organizations do not have adequate cyber intelligence capabilities, so they have to rely on free resources, particularly those supplied by collaborative efforts.
Most cybersecurity firms operate as for-profit businesses, so it may appear uncharacteristic for them to work together. However, with the overwhelming volume and evolution of modern cyberattacks, it has become more practical to work together instead of competing on which security firm gets to address a new security threat first or offer the most effective prevention and mitigation solutions.
In conclusion
Penetration testing has gone through decades of improvements but continues to be relevant. Newer methods such as breach and attack simulation may appear to supplant it, but the reality is that they only replace the old or traditional methods. Penetration testing will continue to exist for as long as threats exist. It may be known with new names, but the core idea of evaluating security controls for their effectiveness in view of known and emerging threats remains.
Penetration testing meets today’s cybersecurity needs by incorporating automation, artificial intelligence, and collaborative cybersecurity resources and efforts. All of which are crucial in keeping up with the increasing volumes and sophistication of attacks. AI and collaborative threat intelligence are crucial in promptly addressing the latest threats while automation and repetitiveness make it possible to conduct tests effectively and efficiently.
