Performing Regular Penetration Tests is Essential, but There Are Some Limitations to Consider

Although penetration tests are suggested and must be performed on a routine basis, they do have some constraints. In this blog page, we will discuss the major constraints of penetration testing programs in organizations.

What are common penetration testing constraints?

Time limits

A Pentest program is usually time-limited because of financial constraints unless a business agrees to hire a full-time expert, which is unlikely. However, hackers have unlimited opportunities to analyze the system and discover new flaws.

Technology restrictions

No instrument is perfect. The testing crew must be familiar with such tools and must identify alternatives to the functionality that are lacking from them.

Scope restrictions

A Pentest program is always concentrated on the most essential aspects which we think are more dangerous for the company’s business strategy, which means that not all potential targets are evaluated. Furthermore, online systems are usually treated with caution and restraint since no one wants an organization to fail as a result of a check. As previous breaches have shown, hackers may probe all supply chains at any moment and without limitations.

Lack of customized attacks

In certain heavily secured systems, standard pentesting methods and techniques are ineffective, and the team must think outside the box, such as designing a customized attack and manually rewriting scripts to meet the goal. Developing exploits takes a long time and is not a skill set that most penetration testers have. Creating customized hacking tools would have an impact on the total cost and duration of the testing.

Skill set restrictions

Pentesters spend their days running tests rather than exploring innovative flaws and attacks. As a result, the professionals rely on testing for existing known vulnerabilities, which results in restricted capabilities.

Access restrictions

Networks are separated into segments, and the testing team would frequently have access and permissions to test just those portions that have servers and are accessible over the internet in order to mimic a real-world attack. This type of test, though, will not uncover setup flaws or weaknesses in the corporate network.

Avoiding DoS attacks

Testing may result in a DoS attack instead of obtaining access to the system. Many testers avoid doing such tests in order to prevent accidentally triggering downtimes on the organization’s system. Because systems have not been evaluated for DoS attacks, they are much more vulnerable to attacks by script kiddies who are eager for such Internet-accessible systems to become famous by bringing them down.

Conclusion

To recap, a Pentest program inside an organization is always hampered by a number of criteria, restricting its ability to identify all conceivable security flaws and their related criticality levels. When participating in a Pentest program, it is critical to understand the restrictions in order to properly evaluate the benefits and set expectations.

See also

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