Network pentesting is a critical process to mark out faulty areas within a network system of a business.
It helps in identifying the defects and shortcomings within a network. It also enables a business organization to take necessary steps and ensure no security breaches take place.
In 2023, when hundreds of security breaches are occurring every second, network pentesting can be a life-saving option.
Although the process is highly effective in an organization’s security set-up optimization, it can be a complicated practice for some.
Those challenged by the complexity of the process may even opt out of pentesting or perform a failed test or even create more weak spots in the existing network infrastructure.
Here is an effective and proven checklist for a successful network pentesting to maximize security in this cyber crime-prone era.
Proven Checklist For A Successful Network Pentesting
1. Pre-Engagement Phase
- Define Scope: In this phase, the first and foremost thing to do is to define the limitations along with the systems, software applications, and networks that will be tested.
- Get Mandatory Permissions: The next thing to do in this phase is to obtain the necessary permissions in written form from all the parties involved.
- Set Goals: After securing permissions, goals need to be planned. Keep in mind the goals must be realistic and practical. From marking out the defects, putting the system to the test, to measuring the reaction time – all of this need to be concurrent with the budget, resources, and timelines.
- Prepare the Inventory: Once the goals are set, it is time to finalize the inventory. You can use the tools and techniques like vulnerability scanners, system analyzers, and more.
- Documentations: Once the tools and tactics are selected, it is time to record all the findings and move to the next phase.
2. Information Gathering Phase
- Perform Reconnaissance: By utilizing tools like Google Dorks, Whois, and nslookup you need to collect information that includes IP addresses, domain names, email addresses, and social media handles about the target network system.
- Network Topology & Assets: Identification of network topology and assets, including routers, switches, firewalls, and more of the network is critical for effective pentesting.
- Discover Potential Attack Vectors: Potential attack vectors, like open ports, weak passwords, misconfigured services, and more, need to be discovered for the effective utilization of the network.
- Data from Social Engineering: A tester will also need to collect information, such as email addresses, phone numbers, and staff names, which can be used in social engineering attacks.
- Testing Physical Security Weaknesses: As a tester, you must test the network systems for physical security weaknesses like unattended workstations, access control systems, and more.
- Documentations: The final thing to do in this phase is also documentation of the outcomes.
3. Vulnerability Scanning and Analysis Phase
- Vulnerability Scans: To identify the flaws and misconfigurations in the network or the system, you need to perform vulnerability scans using tools like Nessus, OpenVAS, or Qualys.
- False Positives: It is critical to eliminate false positives from the vulnerability scan findings. To do that, you can verify and test them manually or simply by adjusting the scan configuration.
- Manual Testing: In pentesting, automated tools can skip detecting the vulnerabilities like logical flaws, authentication bypass, or privilege escalation. So you need to perform manual testing using tools like Burp Suite, ZAP, or SQLMap.
- Prioritize Vulnerabilities: Once you have all the vulnerabilities, organize them based on priority and probability of exploitation. You can opt for a vulnerability scoring system like CVSS.
- Validate Verify, & Documentation: All the vulnerabilities must be validated and verified manually or by using exploit frameworks for maximum accuracy. In the end, documentation of all the findings is a must to keep a record of the events in this phase.
4. Exploitation Phase
- Plan the Exploitation: To craft the most accurate exploitation plan with minimal risks, you should focus on the prioritized vulnerabilities and the available frameworks to exploit, like Metasploit, Core Impact, or Cobalt Strike.
- Test the Exploit: To certify the plan’s effectiveness and for safety purposes, you must test the exploit in a safe and suited environment.
- Access & Escalate: You must obtain access to the target system or network utilizing the selected exploit and escalate your privileges to achieve greater access levels like root or administrator.
- Maintain & Persistence: To retain access even in the post-exploitation phase, you must maintain access and persistence within the network or system. You can try installing backdoors, creating user accounts, or adjusting configuration settings.
- Documentation: Like every other phase, documentation of all the processes and findings is essential in this phase too.
5. Post-exploitation Phase
- Conduct Lateral Movement: To shift to other systems and software available in the network, you need to conduct lateral movement. Tools like PsExec, PowerShell, or SSH can come in handy in doing that.
- Gather Sensitive Information: For further exploitation, you need to collect all the sensitive information like passwords, user accounts, configuration files, or databases.
- Maintain Persistence: To keep access to the network, you should maintain persistence by hiding your activities, deleting logs, and adjusting security settings.
- Final Report: Once the network pentesting process has been completed, you need to create a final report that includes a summary of your findings, suggestions, and actions to fix. Not just that, but a clear and concise summarization of the flaws, and their significance, along with proposed activities to fix the issues and detailed insights to maximize cyber security must be included in the report.
- Follow-Up: When the final report is ready, you need to offer a follow-up session to the company’s security team, where you will discuss the identified vulnerabilities, suggestions, and remediation activities.
Wrapping Up
Network pentesting can help businesses strengthen their security and avoid security breaches that cause huge data loss and financial troubles.
Although the process can be very critical and complex at certain times, with the benefits of a completely optimized security infrastructure as a prize the process is worth all the challenges.
But to help you out this checklist covering all the pentesting phases will help you perform a successful network pentesting effectively and efficiently.
