Your organisation is at risk if you are still using traditional penetration testing instead of intelligence pen testing. But why?
The pen testing done by testers earlier included the security assessment and finding out vulnerabilities, and providing solutions to the organisation in order to prevent them. Also, the traditional method lacks the depth and precision needed to identify and address complex vulnerabilities.
However, intelligence-led penetration testing emerges as a proactive and strategic approach to enhancing cybersecurity. By integrating intelligence insights into the testing process, organisations can gain valuable contextual information, anticipate threats, and fortify their defences. In this article, we'll understand the concept of intelligence-led penetration testing, its benefits, and how organisations can implement this approach to bolster their cybersecurity posture.
What is Intelligence-Led Penetration Testing?
The incorporation of threat intelligence in the regular penetration testing technique is defined as intelligence-led pen testing. It is a methodology that majorly focuses on collecting the relevant information about possible threats, their motive and the techniques involved. This intelligence-driven approach helps penetration testers simulate real-world attack scenarios, mimicking the behaviour of sophisticated threat actors and identifying vulnerabilities that may have otherwise gone undetected.
Why Intel-led Pentesting?
Organisations that wish to identify and strengthen weak points in their systems to guard against advanced persistent threat actors can show their interest in this testing. But before you choose Intelligence-led Penetration Testing, you must know the benefits of this technique. A few are stated below.
- Enhanced Threat Detection : Threat Intelligence feeds, open-source intelligence (OSINT), and information-sharing platforms could help organisations to gain a good understanding of emerging threats and evolving attack methodologies. This allows them to stay ahead of attackers and identify potential vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
- Targeted Testing : Intelligence-led penetration testing enables organisations to focus their efforts on critical assets and high-risk areas. By understanding the specific adversaries and their approach, testers can tailor their techniques and emulate attacks that closely resemble the attackers' tactics. This method provides a more accurate assessment and highlights areas requiring immediate attention.
- Incident Response : Intelligence-led penetration testing equips organisations with a proactive incident response capability. By understanding the techniques employed by threat actors, organisations can prepare and refine their incident response plans accordingly. Furthermore, intelligence-led testing helps gather valuable evidence during simulated attacks, aiding in forensic investigations and strengthening incident response capabilities.
Intelligence-Led Penetration Testing - Implementation Steps
How is the intelligence-led penetration testing report prepared? The steps involved in this process are mentioned to get a better understanding of how it could help your organisation in putting a full stop to cyber attacks.
Intelligence Integration
The very first step is to establish a framework describing how intelligence would be integrated into the penetration testing process. It is done by collaborating with internal teams, such as threat intelligence, incident response, and IT security, to gather and analyse relevant intelligence from both internal and external sources.
Threat Modelling
The next step is to identify potential threat actors, their motivations, and the attack vectors they are likely to employ. By mapping intelligence to specific vulnerabilities and risks, organisations can simulate targeted attack scenarios that closely mirror real-world threats.
Scenario Development
At this step, whatever information is collected from the security and threat intelligence experts is used to design realistic attack scenarios. And by emulating the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by threat actors, testers identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses that align with the organisation's specific risk profile.
Reporting and Recommendations
Lastly, a document is prepared and actionable recommendations are provided based on the intelligence-led testing results. The final report explains to the stakeholders about the identified vulnerabilities, their potential impact, and steps to remediate them effectively.
Why choose Secninjaz?
Secninjaz has a team of experienced penetration testers that can help you protect your organisation's security infrastructure. Our testers integrate up-to-date hacking techniques while performing penetration testing resulting in providing you with the most comprehensive documentation of the potential threat scenarios. Moreover, we could match your budget as we provide personalised services.
