Ethical hacking vs penetration testing

Hacking vs Penetration Testing

The terms 'hacking' and 'penetration testing' are often used interchangeably, but there are actually distinct differences between them and they can lead to very different job roles. In this essay we explore the key differences between them and help you to determine which might suit you best.

Hackers come in many forms and mostly with malicious and destructive intentions. They will use their computer skills to exploit vulnerabilities in systems and compromise security to gain unauthorized access to resources or cause harm. A hacker is usually an individual with excellent computer skills with abilities to probe the hardware and software of a computer system. Hacking has many stages:

Information gathering is where the hacker indirectly gains as much information as possible about the target they are planning to attack.

Scanning is where the attacker gets directly involved with the target system but still at the pre attack phase to gather in depth information on systems by extracting network data, live machine details, port details and any other information about the network that would be useful for gaining access.

Gaining Access to the target system and taking control by exploiting the earlier discovered vulnerabilities from the information gathering and scanning stages. Maintaining access to the compromised systems to retain ownership of the systems they have gained control over. They have to protect this from other hackers and create backdoors to keep using that access to achieve their goals with the compromised system.

Clearing tracks while having continuous access to the owned systems is what most, good hackers do, so they don’t get caught. They cover their tracks by overwriting system logs and deleting any evidence of their activities so that they can remain undetected. This is why it takes a long time for some businesses to identify they have been hacked. Good hackers don’t get caught easily and often the first time a company finds out they have been hacked is when company confidential data is leaked on the internet. A good example of this was the Talk Talk hack.

Penetration testing is a formal procedure aiming at discovering security vulnerabilities, flaws risks, and unreliable environment. In other words, penetration testing can be seen as a successful but not damaging attempt to penetrate a specific information system; mimicking activities cyber criminals would engage in with the intention to compromise this system.

Generally speaking, organizations conduct pen tests to strengthen their corporate defense systems comprising all computer systems and their adjoining infrastructure. It is to be noted that while penetration testing can help organizations fortify their cybersecurity defenses, this measure should be performed on a regular basis since malicious entities invent all the time newer and newer weak points in emerging systems, programs, and applications. Even though a pen test may not provide answers to all of your security concerns, such a test will significantly minimize the possibility of a successful attack. Here are several of the main pen test strategies used by security professionals.

Targeted testing is performed by the organization's IT team and the penetration testing team working together. It's sometimes referred to as a "lights turned on" approach because everyone can see the test being carried out.

External testing targets a company's externally visible servers or devices including domain name servers, email servers, web servers or firewalls. The objective is to find out if an outside attacker can get in and how far they can get in once they've gained access.

Internal testing mimics an inside attack behind the firewall by an authorized user with standard access privileges. This kind of test is useful for estimating how much damage a disgruntled employee could cause.

Blind testing simulates the actions and procedures of a real attacker by severely limiting the information given to the person or team performing the test beforehand. Typically, the pen testers may only be given the name of the company. Because this type of test can require a considerable amount of time for reconnaissance, it can be expensive.

Double-blind testing takes the blind test and carries it a step further. In this type of pen test, only one or two people within the organization might be aware a test is being conducted. Double-blind tests can be useful for testing an organization's security monitoring and incident identification as well as its response procedures.

Black box testing is basically the same as blind testing, but the tester receives no information before the test takes place. Rather, the pen testers must find their own way into the system.

White box testing provides the penetration testers information about the target network before they start their work. This information can include such details as IP addresses, network infrastructure schematics and the protocols used plus the source code.

Hacking, on the other hand, is an all-embracing term that includes all hacking methods, and other related cyber-attack methods. Some people disagree with hacking being considered “ethical” in any way. They believe that the word “hacker” in the term “ethical hacker” is added to appeal more people to training programs and courses.

Compared to hacking, penetration testing is a more narrowly focused phase. Basically, hacking is something like an canopy term, and penetration testing is merely one piece of all techniques, which is designed, as already mentioned, to find security issues within the targeted information surface. Hence, penetration testing is some subdivision of hacking.

As well as a difference in the scope that you cover, there are also a number of other key differences in roles as a hacker and penetration tester. As a hacker you are required to write lengthy, in depth reports illustrating your findings and solution recommendations. This is not required for penetration testing. There can be lot of legal paper work that is required for hacking, including legal agreements. Again, this is not required for pentesting. As a penetration tester, there is a lot less time to do the work, and less time is required. You need relevant qualifications to do hacking work, however anyone that is familiar with penetration testing can perform a pen test. A pen tester only needs to know about the specific area they are conducting a pen test on, a hacker requires much wider knowledge. A hacker will have access to the entirety of an organization’s systems in order to carry out their work, a pentester only needs access to the specific area of interest.

References

https://blog.learningpeople.com/ethical-hacking-vs-penetration-testing

https://www.metadefencelabs.com/single-post/2016/10/01/Hacking-vs-Penetration-Testing-and-Hackers-vs-Ethical-Hackers

https://www.securitymetrics.com/blog/types-penetration-testing-what-why-and-how

https://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/penetration-testing