PEN TEST KEY PLAYERS

1.  The Network Mapper: NMAP is a tool that discovers weaknesses in an enterprise’s network environment. It can also be used for auditing purposes. NMAP takes raw data packets that have just been created and uses them to determine:

• What hosts are available on a particular network trunk or segment

• The information about the services which are being provided by these hosts

• What operating system is being used (also known as “fingerprinting”)

• The versions and the types of data packet filters/firewalls being used by any particular host

By using NMAP, organizations can create a virtual map of the network segment, and from there, pinpoint the major areas of weakness that a cyber attacker could potentially penetrate. NMAP can be used at any stage in the pen testing process, and it is a free open-source tool available at this link: www.nmap.org.

2. Metasploit: Rather than a single tool, Metasploit provides a package of different pen testing tools. It is a framework that is constantly evolving to keep up with today’s ethical hackers, who are able to contribute their knowledge to this platform as well. Powered by the PERL platform, Metasploit comes with an entire host of built-in exploits which can be used to execute various kinds of pen test, and these are even customizable. For example, it already comes with a built-in network sniffer, and various access points from which to mount and coordinate various kinds of cyber-based attacks.

3. Wireshark: Wireshark is an actual network protocol and data packet analyzer that can point out what is happening with the network and assess traffic for vulnerabilities in real time. By reviewing connection-level information as well as the constituents of data packets, it highlights their characteristics, origin, destination, and more. While it flags potential weaknesses, a penetration testing tool is still required to exploit them.

4. The Web Application Attack and Audit Framework: W3AF is a pen testing suite created by the software developers at Metasploit. Its main purpose is to find and try to exploit any security weaknesses in web-based applications, and it consists of many tools that can root out these kinds of threats.

5. John the Ripper: JTR is a fast, efficient password cracker, currently available for many flavors of operating system (Unix, macOS, Windows, DOS, BeOS, and OpenVMS). It can be used by pen testers to detect weak passwords and address the inherent weaknesses in typical password use. JTR has been created and developed on an open source platform, and it can be found at this link: http://www.openwall.com/john/.

Note: A key advantage of using open-source pen testing tools is the fact that they are constantly being refined by contributors and other cybersecurity professionals. This helps ensure that they stay at the forefront of the ever-changing threat landscape.

What is FISMA?

The Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) is a United States legislation, enacted as part of the Electronic Government Act of 2002. FISMA’s goal is to protect government information and assets from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. FISMA is the law; NIST Special Publication 800-53, 

Security Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations, is the standard that contains the individual security controls required to comply with FISMA.

In order to comply with FISMA, organizations must first determine the security category of their information system in accordance with FIPS 199, Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems, derive the information system impact level from the security category in accordance with FIPS 200, and then apply the appropriately tailored set of baseline security controls in NIST Special Publication 800-53. This allows organizations to tailor the relevant security control baseline so that it more closely aligns with their mission and business requirements and environments of operation. Certification is achieved when an Authorization to Operate (ATO) is signed by a federal agency’s senior management official. 

COMMON PEN TESTING TOOLS

Pen testing gives IT teams a different perspective on how to fortify defenses, and it adds an effective set of tools and services to the security professional’s arsenal. These include:

• Port scanners

• Vulnerability scanners

• Application scanners

• Web application assessment proxies

COMMON PEN TESTING STRATEGIES:

Commonly used penetration testing strategies:

• External testing: The attack is within organization's network perimeter using procedures performed from outside the organization's systems, e.g., the Extranet and Internet.

• Internal testing: The attack is performed from within the organization’s environment, this test attempts to understand what could happen if the network perimeter were successfully penetrated or what an authorized user could do to penetrate specific information resources within the organization's network.

• Blind testing: The penetration tester tries to simulate the actions of a real hacker. The testing team has little or no information about the organization but instead must rely on publicly available information (such as corporate website, domain name registry, etc.) to gather information about the target and conduct its penetration tests.

• Double blind testing: In this form of testing, only a few people within the organization are made aware of the testing. The IT and security staff are not notified or informed beforehand, and as such, they are "blind" to the planned testing activities. Double-blind testing helps test an organization's security monitoring and incident identification processes, as well as its escalation and response procedures.

• Targeted testing: Target testing involves both IT and penetration testing teams. Testing activities and information concerning the target and the network design are known going in. Targeted tests require less time and effort than a blind test, but typically don’t provide as complete a picture of an organization's security vulnerabilities and response capabilities as other testing strategies.

Understanding Penetration Testing

WHAT IS PENETRATION TESTING:

Penetration is a form of ethical hacking. The well known form of penetration testing, also known as pen testing, security pen testing, and security testing,  Pen testing is the intentional launching of simulated cyberattacks by “white hat” penetration testers using strategies and tools designed to access or exploit computer systems, networks, websites, and applications. Although the main objective of pen testing is to identify exploitable issues so that effective security controls can be implemented, security professionals can also use penetration testing techniques, along with specialized testing tools, to test the robustness of an organization's security policies, its regulatory compliance, its employees' security awareness, and the organization's ability to identify and respond to security issues and incidents such as unauthorized access, as they occur.

Ethical hacking techniques help security professionals evaluate the effectiveness of information security measures within their organizations. The pen test attempts to penetrate an organization’s cyber defenses, checking for exploitable vulnerabilities in networks, web apps, and user security. The objective is to find weaknesses in systems before attackers do.

• In the case of networks, the high-level goal is to strengthen security posture by closing unused ports, troubleshooting services, calibrating firewall rules, and eliminating all security loopholes.

• In the case of web applications, pen testing is designed to identify, analyze, and report on common web application vulnerabilities such as buffer overflow, SQL injection, cross-site scripting, to name just a few.

• Pen testing can also be used to attempt to gain privileged access to sensitive systems or to steal data from a system that is believed to be secure.

In the context of web application security, penetration testing is often used to augment a web application firewall (WAF).

Authorize Information System

The authorization of an information system’s operation is based on a determination of the risk to organizational operations and individuals, assets, other organizations and the nation resulting from the operation of the information system and the decision that this risk is acceptable. Using a risk assessment report (RAR) and a security assessment report (SAR) will help develop a POA&M (Plan of Action & Milestones) report. This provides the tracking and status for any failed controls and a determination of how risky or not risky the system is. A quality authorization package would include a multitude of documents to determine an accurate risk of the system. The authorization official would then determine whether or not a system can have the authority to operate (ATO) or denial of authority to operate (DATO). 

How to monitor security controls

Continuous Monitoring programs allows government agencies to maintain the security authorization of an information system over time while operating in an environment where systems adapt to changing threats, vulnerabilities, technologies and mission/business processes. Automated support tools are not required however risk management can become near real-time through the use of automated tools. This will help with potential security incidents associated with unexpected change on different core components and their configurations as well as provide ATO (Authorization to Operate) standard reporting.

How to implement Security Controls

How to Implement Security Controls

Step 3 of the Risk Managment Framework requires an organization to implement security controls and describe how the controls are employed within the information system and its environment of operation. Policies and configuration settings should be tailored to each device to align with the required security documentation.

References: FIPS Publication 200; NIST Special Publications 800-34, 800-61, 800-128; CNSS Instruction 1253; Web: SCAP.NIST.GOV.