What Is Ongoing Security Testing?
Ongoing security testing combines industry-leading application-scanning technology with regular advice, support and testing from penetration testing consultants. It’s used in conjunction with a full-scale penetration testing programme to continually assess your network infrastructure. With ongoing security testing, penetration testing experts and automated scanners work together to discover and exploit issues, with all issues being assessed to verify possible impact and business risk.
Types of Security Testing
1. Vulnerability Scanning
Vulnerability Scanning uses automated scanning software that looks for common vulnerabilities within your systems and should be utilised on an ongoing basis. This testing can quickly highlight problems you may have missed such as an internal user account with a weak password. It will help your business secure low-level issues at little cost.
2. Penetration Testing
For a deeper dive, organizations should look to conduct Penetration Testing whereby automated and manual techniques are used to emulate methods of attack used by cyber criminals. Many companies conduct this form of testing at least annually; however we recommend a continual testing approach due to systems continually changing through on-going development and advances.
3. Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is a form of analysis used to determine the necessary controls and measures that should be put in place based on an organisation’s cyber security risk. Risks are classed into three categories; low, medium and high.
4. Security Auditing
Security auditing assesses and verifies the security measures that have been implemented to safeguard the organisation’s network infrastructure.
5. Ethical Hacking
Ethical hacking is where an experienced penetration tester will attempt to gain access to your network and exploit system vulnerabilities. This is done to measure the consequences that may stem from a real cyber security attack. Ethical hacking is followed up with a detailed report of all findings as well as a plan for remediation.
How Is It Delivered?
1. Vulnerability Scanning & Regular Testing Activity
Our ongoing security testing service combines continuous vulnerability scanning with regular penetration testing activity to enable your internet-facing attack surface to be continually tested for vulnerabilities.
2. Manual Testing & Application Scanning
By using a combination of manual testing and state-of-the-art application scanning software, we’re able to identify vulnerabilities that arise with the agile development of your infrastructure. Once identified, we’ll look to verify the threat through manual penetration testing activity in order to assess real-world risk.
3. Remediation To Prevent Unauthorised Access
Once verified, we’ll provide you with a detailed plan for remediation to prevent unauthorised access to your network.
Advantages of Ongoing Security Testing
- Reduced Spend
Repeated penetration tests can be both costly and time-consuming. Ongoing security testing allows for the best of both worlds, incorporating vulnerability scanning with regular guidance from penetration testing experts to provide a cost-effective method of continuous threat monitoring.
- Immediate Threat Detection
Although full-scale penetration testing remains as the most thorough manner of detecting system vulnerabilities, its sporadic nature can cause threats to go undetected for several months.
Ongoing security testing compliments full-scale penetration testing by identifying threats as soon as they arise, ensuring no vulnerability goes unchecked in between tests.
- Ongoing Support
Vulnerability scanning can be difficult to execute in-house. Automated scanners must be configured by an industry expert in order to allow for a thorough and cost-effective scan. Similarly, the knowledge required to filter through and understand the data results from automated scanners is not always available in-house.
With ongoing security testing, our team of industry-recognised experts are with you every step of the way to ensure you not only identify vulnerabilities in your systems, but understand how to remediate them in the most effective manner possible.
We Have Experience In The Following Sectors:
Why Choose Bruce & Butler?
Our dedicated team of security testing specialists are both OSCP and CREST-accredited, adhering to a robust framework built upon industry best practices. This is combined with many years’ worth of cyber security experience across a wide range of sectors.
Our approach to ongoing security testing is completely bespoke and custom-tailored to the needs of your business. We’ll take both the nature of your infrastructure and your unique cyber security risks into account to provide a thorough, yet cost-effective solution.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about how our ongoing security testing service can help to protect your business.
