Top 5 Penetration Testing Companies and Service Providers in 2022

Last Updated on November 23, 2022 by Rashid Hassan

As businesses are becoming more and more aware of the importance of cybersecurity, the demand for penetration testing services is on the rise. Penetration testing is a process by which vulnerabilities in a system are identified and exploited. In this blog post, we will take a look at the top 5 penetration testing companies and service providers in 2022. We will also discuss the different types of penetration testing and approaches to pentesting.

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Penetration testing basics:

It involves simulating real-world attacks on a system, network or application to identify vulnerabilities that can then be fixed before a data breach takes place.

5 stages of penetration testing

1. Reconnaissance:  Reconnaissance is the first step in a penetration test. It involves gathering information about the target and identifying its vulnerabilities.
2. Vulnerability Scanning: Scanning refers to finding out what ports are open on a system or network, as well as their associated services running at those ports. After scanning, an attacker may attempt to connect with these services using various credentials or exploits.
3. Exploitation: Exploiting is the process of using these vulnerabilities and gaining access to a system or network, often with elevated privileges such as root.
4. Post-exploitation: Post-exploitation refers to activities that take place after an attacker has gained access to a target system. This might include compromising multiple systems in the network, installing malware on them and so forth.
5. Reporting: Reporting is where all the data gathered during reconnaissance and exploitation stages are analysed for potential attacks or vulnerabilities. The report should also include recommendations about how to prevent such attacks from happening in future iterations of penetration testing.

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Types of penetration testing

Black-box pentesting: Black box penetration testing is when an attacker does not have any knowledge of the system being tested. This means that they cannot see code or configuration files which would help them to find vulnerabilities more easily.

White-box pentesting: White box pentesting is the opposite of black-box testing, where an attacker has complete knowledge of the system being tested. This makes it much easier to find vulnerabilities as they have all the information they need right at their disposal.

Grey-box pentesting: Grey box pentesting is a compromise between black and white box testing, where an attacker has some but not complete knowledge of the system being tested. This allows them to find vulnerabilities that may be hidden in less easily accessible areas of a target system.

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Different approaches to penetration testing:

There are two main approaches to penetration testing – automated and manual.

Automated pentesting: This approach makes use of automated tools or scripts to quickly perform large scans and detect several flaws at once.

Manual pentesting: This approach requires more time and effort, but it allows the tester to detect subtle flaws that may be missed by automated tools.

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Top 5 penetration testing providers in 2022

1. Astra Security: This is a leading provider of penetration testing and security audits. Their tool Astra Pentest provides many essential features:

• testing for 3000+ vulnerabilities
• re-scans to check everything is in place and working
• risk scores
• real-time threat updates
• can be used for SaaS cloud applications
• hacker-style testing
• testing based on top standards such as OWASP, NIST, etc. and for compliance requirements such as HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2, etc.

2. Offensive Security: Offensive Security was founded in 2001 with the aim of providing training for security professionals so they can learn how to identify vulnerabilities before attackers do. They offer a range of certification courses as well as their own distribution of Linux called Kali Linux which contains over 300 different pentest tools built into it (and more than 600 packages).

3. CrowdStrike: This is a cybersecurity firm that provides endpoint security, responds to security incidents and provides threat intelligence. They offer both automated and manual pentesting services.

4. HackerOne: HackerOne is a vulnerability management and bug bounty platform that connects businesses with hackers to help identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. Since its founding, It has raised over $118 million in funding from investors.

5. Veracode: Veracode is a cloud-based application security provider that offers static analysis, dynamic analysis, runtime protection, API testing, mobile app security, and container security. They offer both automated and manual pentesting services.

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Who needs penetration testing?

Penetration testing is vital for any organisation that wants to assure the security of its systems and data. This is especially crucial for businesses that handle delicate client data, such as credit card information or medical records. It is also important for companies that want to ensure compliance with industry-specific regulations, such as the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

How often do pentests need to be performed?

Based on risk factors, the kind of data being housed, and the nature of the systems being tested, this answer could vary. Important systems should be tested every time there is a change made to the software or infrastructure, while non-critical systems may only need testing once or twice per year.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, penetration testing is a great way to ensure information security. It allows you to identify vulnerabilities before attackers do and fix them before they can be exploited. This will help protect your company from cyberattacks and reduce the risk of data breaches or financial loss due to system downtime.

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