Tag Archives: security
How Does Penetration Testing Work?
In the digital age, data can be as valuable as physical assets. Every year, companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on hardware and software to protect the data located on their computers. A single security breach could mean having trade secrets compromised or customer information in the wrong hands. Passwords, firewalls and encryption are valuable tools in the ongoing battle against those who would attempt to bypass a company’s network security.
Once all of the components of a proper security system are in place, it is proper procedure to run a final test. This test is referred to as penetration testing. The cyberspace version of a military unit conducting war games, the test is an effort to compromise the newly installed security. A thorough test is the best way to reduce the risk of a security breach at the hands of a real threat.
The first step in the process is risk assessment. This is the practice of determining exactly what is at stake. By finding out exactly where vulnerabilities lie, a better picture can be formed as to exactly what a would-be information thief would be after. For instance, if an online retailer has a large database containing sensitive customer information such as credit card numbers or bank information, they can identify those assets as being a huge liability if compromised, as well as a prime target for hackers. Anther example of a potential liability is a company that has gone through great lengths to assemble a list of leads or clients. These kinds of assets are particularly appealing to unscrupulous competitors or hackers intent on blackmail.
After areas of vulnerability are determined, the penetration test can commence. Generally, the first systems tested are those that can be accessed from the outside. Websites, email access points and remote access platforms are the most frequent gateways for security breaches, and as such are the subject of the most intense tests.
In order to conduct a proper test, a security company must not only be familiar with the most current techniques and tools available to hackers and cyber criminals, they must also have the ability to foresee potential methods of bypassing security systems. This will keep a company’s computer system defense one step ahead of those who would wish to do harm. A solid penetration test is the last, and perhaps most important step, in being protected against important data being lost or stolen.
Reliable Signs that Website Security has Been Breached
Until relatively recently, attacks against websites were fairly easy to spot. In most cases, the hacker or hackers behind such attacks defaced vulnerable websites or simply caused them to crash. Such attacks were typically mass scale in nature and were designed to cause as much damage as possible to a very wide number of targets. In contrast, many of the web attacks these days are far more targeted and stealthy in nature and are designed specifically to evade detection by anti-malware tools and intrusion detection systems. The most common modern goal behind website attacks is often to steal sensitive information such as customer data, financial information and customer data or to extort money from targeted businesses. Detecting such website security compromises can be challenging, but even the most sophisticated attacks often end up leaving telltale signs.
One reliable sign that website security has been compromised is when an internal system suddenly begins to transmit data to an unknown IP address. Web attacks are often launched to steal data from the underlying Web servers and the systems that are attached to it. The theft is typically carried out using malware programs that are capable of sniffing out specific pieces of information and then stealthily sending it out to a remote server from where the stolen data is collected by the attacker. Sometimes, the stolen data can be sent out in a continuous stream via commonly used ports, or sometimes in can be sent out in batches at previously scheduled intervals. In either case, such data transmissions are a good indicator of compromised site security. The rogue traffic can be hard to spot without the proper malware detection and network monitoring tools.
Unexplained traffic slowdowns can be another sign that website security has been compromised. Hackers often employ what are known as distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to disrupt a websites operations. In a DDoS attack, the network connections linking a website to the Internet become clogged up with useless data packets making it very hard for legitimate traffic to get through. Such attacks are very common these days and are often used to extort money from targeted websites. Dealing with DDoS attacks can be extremely challenging and often require companies to add extra network capacity and traffic filtering tools.
One of the most obvious signs of a website security compromise is when it starts serving up malicious code, adware or spyware programs. Hackers often compromise reputed and well-known websites and use those sites to distribute their malware programs to unsuspecting web page visitors. The malware programs can be hidden in banner advertisements or on other parts of the site and get automatically downloaded onto a visitors browser. Such compromises are often hard to find, but can be detected using website malware monitoring and malware detection tools.
Secure Your Wifi Networks with Wifi Security Software
Portable Penetrator is powerful wifi security software for either business or home use. There are many essential reasons for having regular scans of your wifi network to test for any security vulnerabilities that could compromise your confidential data. Portable Penetrator is a complete automatic wifi cracker for testing any vulnerability over any wifi network. It also provides VM virtual machine support. The software allows users to find these vulnerabilities and deal with them before any potential hacker has the chance to do so. Without this solution, testing for security issues and dealing with them requires a great deal of work and expert knowledge. Portable Penetrator provides the ultimate solution since it automates the testing procedure and greatly simplifies the entire process.
Portable Penetrator exists to test for security issues over a wireless network before a hacker has the chance to take advantage of them. It can also recover WPA2, WPA and WEP keys and it supports 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz. Hackers will always be trying to find a way to access your confidential data over a wifi network and then exploit any security holes for their own ends. When hackers find these security holes, they can then attempt to get into your wireless network and steal important confidential information being carried over your wifi network. They can also severely disrupt the operation of your network. Fortunately, Portable Penetrator provides a solution. Most hackers use tried and tested methods to hack into wireless networks and, thanks to this fact, it is possible to prevent their actions before they have a chance to do any damage. New security systems make it impossible for them to get this far.
Portable Penetrator will thoroughly scan and test your wifi network and its security settings in the same way that a hacker will to get access to your network. Security holes are common in almost any wireless network, so regular testing is essential if you have confidential business or personal information being carried over your network. It will do a full examination of your network without requiring expert knowledge and hours of tedious work on your part. In the same way that a doctor carries out a physical examination of a patient, Portable Penetrator thoroughly scans your network for any security vulnerability. Once Portable Penetrator finds and exposes these issues, there is no way that hackers can take advantage of them, thus keeping your network safe from unwanted visitors.
Portable Penetrator also provides the advanced features that users need in wifi security software. It provides an advanced array of reporting tools to give users the information that they need about the security of their wifi network. The pen testing appliance provides fully comprehensive reports on the security status of your entire wireless network. This is an essential feature that network administrators need to keep their networks protected.
The wifi security software also supports the newest security technologies, making it an extremely versatile solution for any type of wireless network currently available. This way, when you upgrade your network, you can be sure that Portable Penetrator will still be able to perform its scans with your new hardware, regardless of its specifications.
You can learn more about the Portable Penetrator pen testing solution at secpoint.com/portable-penetrator.html. Here you can also find detailed licensing information for the software.