A penetration test is a deliberate attack on a software or hardware system to expose security flaws that could lead to a costly cyber breach. The extent of the operation entirely determines the scope of any penetration test. For instance, consider the level of intrusion. In certain circumstances, simply identifying the flaw is sufficient.

As a result, it is critical for CREST security specialists to select the most appropriate sort of penetration test for their customers (based on an agreed scope). Penetration tests are an excellent technique for businesses to uncover exploitable holes in their network that could give cyber criminals access to sensitive information.

Penetration tests come in various shapes and sizes, and not all are created equal. Depending on how much information the CREST penetration tester is provided before the assessment, the outcomes of different penetration tests can vary dramatically.

How Many Types of Penetration Testing are There

There are two types of penetration testing, Internal and External.

• An internal pen test is performed within an organization’s network, looking for vulnerabilities from the inside.
• An external pen test is conducted remotely, with an ethical hacker searching for security vulnerabilities in internet-facing assets such as web, mail, and FTP servers.

There are various examples of penetration testing, or you can say there is various level of penetration testing, which includes:

• Web application penetration tests
• Cloud penetration testing
• Physical penetration testing
• External network penetration testing
• Online website penetration testing
• Network security penetration testing
• Internal network penetration testing

One of the benefits of performing a range of penetration tests is that you can better understand your security posture. It enables you to examine the security of each of your network’s gateways and the ease with which a hacker could access your systems and sensitive data.

White box penetration testing:

A white box penetration test is a type of penetration testing in which the testers are familiar with the internal workings of the software or system. Unlike the black or grey box, the test tries to show or expose the system’s features under test. It’s also known as clear box or transparent box testing for similar reasons.

Penetration testers use white box testing to break into an internal system and verify its flaws. Security assessments such as white box penetration testing are crucial for discovering internal and external threats before web-based systems are pushed to production.

Types of penetration testing white box:

You’ll need these tools or resources to do a white box test.

• Metasploit
• EclEmma
• John the Ripper
• Efix
• NUnit
• Junit

Black box penetration testing:-

In a black box penetration test, the tester is given no information. In this case, the pen tester mimics the actions of an unprivileged attacker, from initial access to execution to exploitation. This scenario is the most realistic, showing how an attacker with no inside information would target and compromise a company. However, because of this, it is also the most expensive alternative.

Types of penetration testing black box:

You’ll need these tools or resources to do a black box test.

• Selenium
• Appium
• Applitools
• HP QTP
• Microsoft Coded UI