3 Common Vulnerabilities Found During Penetration Testing

Penetration testing effectively identifies hidden vulnerabilities in network security by allowing experts to safely hack into systems. But what are they most likely to uncover? Keep reading to find out. 

Penetration testing is one of the most effective ways to uncover hidden vulnerabilities and ‘open doors’; things that cyber criminals could exploit to gain access to your network, and – even worse – to your data. The testing itself is a straightforward activity. It involves experienced security experts employing advanced techniques and frequently used methods to hack into a business network in a safe and controlled way. This allows organisations to clearly understand where their security weaknesses lie. They can then take direct, immediate action to secure these areas, and ultimately, keep real criminals at bay. 

As you can see, choosing penetration testing can be a smart decision for any business wanting to keep their data more secure; to better understand what they’re doing right, and where there’s room for improvement. Why, then, aren’t more organisations embracing penetration testing?

What’s holding businesses back?

Last year, just 11% of UK businesses and 9% of charities carried out penetration testing. This figure is remarkably low, especially when compared to the 29% of businesses carrying out cyber risk assessments, and the 19% undertaking phishing simulations. Why isn’t pen testing a bigger thing?

There are a number of possible reasons, of course; anything from not really knowing much about the technique, to simply not having the time to find a reliable provider. But perhaps one of the biggest reasons is that organisations are worried about what sort of things this activity could unearth. 

Could penetration testing uncover a massive flaw in your network security?

Don’t panic. 

Penetration testing isn’t intended to be scary. If you’ve already got some sort of cybersecurity strategy in place – however basic – there shouldn’t be any massive surprises. In most cases, penetration testing highlights smaller, more obscured vulnerabilities that may not even be on your radar. But they’re weaknesses that experienced cyber criminals know to look out for. 

Here are 3 of the most common notes most businesses will find on their pen testing report:

1. Misconfigured settings

When implementing new technologies and security devices, many businesses simply move forward with the default settings. This can cause problems. It may provide data access to unauthorised users, or enable some users to access system functionalities that are beyond the scope of their work. 99% of firewall breaches, for example, are caused by misconfigurations, not by actual flaws. 

2. Outdated software

How many times have you hit ‘remind me later’ when prompted to download a software update? It’s an incredibly common thing to do, especially when we’re busy with other things. And that’s why it’s often picked up during penetration testing. Pen testing can highlight unpatched software that could have known security errors. These could be exploited and used by cyber criminals to access data. 

3. Authentication weaknesses

From using the same easy-to-guess passwords for every account, to development flaws that enable access without requiring all necessary credentials, authentication issues pop up in practically every penetration test report. Authentication weaknesses mean that cyber criminals may be able to log in or access systems as if they were a real user, making breaches more difficult to detect. 

Gain a better understanding of your security posture

While it can be nerve-wracking to dig into your security weaknesses, the more you know about the weak points in your strategy, the quicker you can get to work fixing them and making things right. 

As you can see, the types of vulnerabilities that are most commonly found during penetration testing aren’t major flaws. Instead, they tend to be hidden issues that have simply been overlooked. While these hidden issues certainly have the potential to have devastating impacts on operations, they’re also typically very quick and easy to resolve. And that’s the beauty of penetration testing: it gives businesses the opportunity to fix small issues before they have the chance to cause a big disaster. 

Ready to learn more about your business? Contact us to find out more about penetration testing.