Pentesting, or penetration testing, is a widely employed offensive security service driven primarily by regulatory requirements and certifications. Organizations in specific sectors are obligated to identify vulnerabilities in their systems, verify controls, and ensure compliance to collaborate with other entities. This demand has created a significant business opportunity for service providers.
However, the most common approach in the pentesting industry is often focused on compliance checklists and running tools, leading to low-severity findings that may only grant organizations a false sense of security and their seal of approval.
A more effective approach is needed to protect organizations, data, users, and their people. So, how can we do better? Let’s find out.
As attack surfaces become increasingly complex and human resources have more awareness of interaction-based attack vectors, new vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild that do not solely depend on human error. When organizations expose services to the Internet, they attract malicious scans from various sources to identify and exploit potential weaknesses. Automated malicious attempts are also rising, intensifying the race to manually and automatically identify vulnerabilities.
This race mainly involves:
Hacking is not cracking. It’s about uncovering unknown paths to perform unintended actions in the depths of technology. We are creative individuals by nature and can collaborate with organizations to identify and report vulnerabilities before they are exploited maliciously.
Fortunately, the past decade has witnessed very positive changes, with the rise of bug bounty and disclosure programs. Companies like HackerOne, Bugcrowd, and Intigriti have paved the way for hackers to work legally in a crowdsourced manner, demystifying the definition of hacker. Another great initiative is Hacking is NOT a Crime, a non-profit organization “advocating global policy reform to decriminalize hacking”.
These efforts create fair and legal vulnerability reporting channels through well-defined policies and rules. Such opportunities transform the landscape, providing a more secure Internet and uniting a global community of security researchers. Suppressing ethical hacking may ultimately endanger technological progress and democracies as we know them today.
An increasing number of organizations are transitioning from traditional pentesting approaches to adopting comprehensive attack surface management solutions. These modern approaches include continuous vulnerability scanning, bug bounty programs, red team engagements, and crowdsourced pentesting. By targeting the root cause of the problem - vulnerabilities -, you can conduct faster identification and patching while reducing the risk of unknown exploitation.
Recognizing that security analysis must be an ongoing and continuous process is crucial. It is no longer sufficient for organizations to request pentests once a year or limit testing to specific times of the day or week. Real attacks can occur anytime, and new vulnerabilities are disclosed daily. Organizations shall adopt an approach that involves continuous monitoring and testing to protect their customers.
While Ethiack is not a bug bounty platform, we provide autonomous ethical hacking as a good starting point. We offer machine hacking and human hacking. Machine hacking goes beyond the scope of conventional pentests by providing continuous reports to customers. Human hacking, on the other hand, involves our team of elite, vetted elite hackers with the right skill match for your assets and going deep into your systems to identify vulnerabilities nobody thought could exist.
Our unique approach allows for the efficient detection of vulnerabilities through automatic continuous testing. The results are delivered through our Portal and in comprehensive executive and technical reports that focus on the most critical aspects of your security posture, providing valuable insights and actionable recommendations.
In an era of intensive risks in the digital realm, organizations shall adopt a more straight-to-the-point approach. By leveraging ethical hacking and continuous analysis, organizations can take their security measures to the next level. Ethiack stands ready to help organizations in this pursuit, combining modern hacking techniques with a team of skilled hackers to deliver impactful results.
If you are willing to give us a try, signup for free at ⬇️ https://portal.ethiack.com/signup
Until next time,
André Baptista
Hacker, Co-founder & CTO