Ethical hacking and penetration testing are two different things, but the terms are often used interchangeably. Although these terms are very different, they enable companies to improve their cybersecurity and reduce the likelihood of a cyber attack. Carefully choosing the right testing methods is essential for companies to protect themselves from cyber-attacks.
Penetration tests
Penetration testing is just one of the many tools available to ethical hackers and cybersecurity specialists. The purpose of a penetration test is to detect weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the cybersecurity of a company. In itself, a penetration test mimics an attack by a cybercriminal to steal information from the server. However, this is done without damaging the server or files.
Penetration tests are performed to reveal vulnerabilities and vulnerabilities so that organizations can improve their security. This is a proactive way to build good cybersecurity and is designed to detect and fix problems before criminals can use it to steal your data. Penetration tests should be performed on a regular basis. The reason for this is that criminals are always finding new techniques to invade servers and bypass security. Penetration testing is essential for organizations running a new program or installing new systems. A penetration test then helps to reduce the risk of a cyber attack.
The Role of a Penetration Tester
A penetration test is a coordinated assessment carried out by an independent team contracted by an organization, with the client organization defining the scope of the test. The test scope describes what systems need to be tested and what methods the tester will use. The penetration tester then attempts the client’s system according to the scope outlined by the client. The tester exploits any weaknesses they encounter so that they can quantify the risk these vulnerabilities pose to the client.
After testing is complete, the penetration tester prepares a report that includes an executive summary of the test parameters along with vulnerability classification documents and suggestions for remediation. Testers generate a risk score by pairing the penetration test report with the business value of the targeted systems to calculate the level of risk that a cyberattack would pose to the client. The report’s end goal is to provide the client and their stakeholders with information about any security vulnerabilities in the system and outline the actions required to resolve those vulnerabilities.
Penetration testing has many applications in security maturity modeling and risk management. Businesses frequently use penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities in their security infrastructures that cybercriminals can exploit when launching cyberattacks (EC-Council, 2021c). Organizations also use penetration testing for audit compliance to ensure that their operations adhere to relevant laws, regulations, and company policies. For example, if a company is subject to SEC filing requirements, an independent security audit using penetration testing is needed to validate the integrity of the organization’s security infrastructure (EC-Council, 2021a).
Ethical hacking
The best defense is an attack – ethical hackers are hired by companies and organizations to find weaknesses in the systems and cybersecurity that bad hackers – called black hat hackers – can use to attack the company. Ethical hacking – also called white hat hacking, is an umbrella term used to describe all the hacking techniques used to expose security holes and vulnerabilities in the system. An ethical hacker can do anything from penetrating and scanning the network to testing the penetration and trying to hack into social media profiles or even trying to get hold of employees’ passwords via phishing or their phone.
The Role of an Ethical Hacker
While penetration testers focus solely on carrying out penetration tests as defined by the client, ethical hacking is a much broader role that uses a greater variety of techniques to prevent different types of cyberattacks (EC-Council, 2021b). Ethical hackers may be involved in:
- Web application hacking
- System hacking
- Web server hacking
- Wireless network hacking
- Social engineering tests
- Forming blue and red teams for network exploitation attacks
An ethical hacker’s responsibilities are not restricted to testing a client’s IT environment for vulnerabilities to malicious attacks. Ethical hackers also play a crucial role in testing an organization’s security policies, developing countermeasures, and deploying defensive resolutions to security issues. When employed by a company as in-house cybersecurity professionals, ethical hackers may help build the foundations of an organization’s cybersecurity system or augment app, tool, and protocol communication networks (EC-Council, 2021a).
While ethical hackers may use penetration testing in the process of identifying vulnerabilities in a system and quantifying the threat that cyberattacks pose to an organization, penetration testing is just one of the many tools that they use. In short, an ethical hacker’s methodologies and roles are more varied than those of a penetration tester.
Read more: How Pentesting Differs from Ethical Hacking
The difference between penetration testing and ethical hacking
There are some big differences between penetration testing and ethical hacking. For example, if we look at the skills of the tester, we see that a penetration tester makes a cybersecurity assessment of a specific IT system. An ethical hacker assesses all systems and security vulnerabilities. In addition, an ethical hacker can perform penetration tests, but a penetration tester will not hack ethically. An ethical hacker will sometimes have to give you access to a number of systems within the IT infrastructure because the tests of an ethical hacker are much broader.
Penetration testers do not need certification as long as they have sufficient experience. However, ethical hackers often need very strict and difficult-to-reach certification and knowledge.
One final big difference is that a penetration test is often short and does not last very long, whereas an ethical hacker often works on a project for a longer period of time and provides deeper reporting. Ethical hackers are also required to sign legal papers before starting their tests, while this is not the case with penetration testers.
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