Penetration Testing Software:
Today, IT managers currently have limited capability to assess real risk, technically validate the effectiveness of security products they use, and make intelligent IT security investment decisions.
This Brief will discuss how penetration testing software can efficiently address these challenges. Penetration testing is an important addition to the vulnerability assessment and management (VA&M) portfolio in that it picks up where "scan and identify" products leave off, substantiating whether theoretical threats to network security are real or not. Penetration testing software provides the capability to test the overall IT security infrastructure and polices to ensure that an organization's security investments are actually working. This capability will become increasingly important as companies continue to spend more on solutions to protect their information assets and meet compliance requirements. Management will need to those investments by proving that they are indeed paying off.
Penetration testing software is necessary for organizations to:
- Understand the actual risk to their business posed by specific vulnerabilities
- Test the security of their network
- Determine if their current security investments are actually detecting and preventing attacks
Penetration testing software represents the best option for doing so.
The network security efforts of IT managers have so far been focused on keeping the bad guys at bay. Traditionally, this has been accomplished by trying to outsmart hackers by creating barriers or providing defensive mechanisms once a vulnerability was identified. As networks become more complex, however, it's impossible to protect everything. Instead, managers need to prioritize their security to protect the most critical assets and ensure the technology they have deployed is functioning as effectively as possible. Vulnerability scanners can help, but the list of potential vulnerabilities produced by a scanner can be dauntingly long and not wholly accurate.
Additionally, managers should probe deeper to understand the true threat to assets when specific vulnerabilities are exploited on their network. A new class of penetration-testing software products has emerged to do this. These products represent a potential solution for managers to test the security of a network, identify what resources are exposed, and determine if current security investments are actually detecting and preventing attacks. This Brief examines key trends in the vulnerability assessment and management (VA&M) market and identifies the value of penetration testing as part of a comprehensive security methodology.
The Need for Better Vulnerability Management
IT infrastructure is getting more complex, and wider access to internal networks is being granted to credentialed users located outside the firewall. Today, IT managers currently have limited capability to assess real risk, technically validate the effectiveness of security products they use, and make intelligent IT security investment decisions.
In addition, the following factors are driving demand for better vulnerability management solutions:
- Organizations need something more than a status check and a laundry list of items to fix and the solution is penetration testing software. Scanners are good for detecting potential flaws, but not with security penetration testing but companies need to know not only what vulnerabilities they have, but also a means of measuring policy compliance and risk management.
As the market grows, security technology is becoming more specialized, with vendors designing products to target specific pain points. One pain point is the need to measure security effectiveness, and vulnerability management products such as penetration testing software provide the security measurement that enterprises require.
