penetration test

A penetration test, colloquially known as a pentest, is an authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system, performed live to evaluate the security of the system. The test is performed to identify weaknesses (or vulnerabilities), including the potential for unauthorized parties to gain access to the system's features and data, as well as strengths, enabling a full risk assessment to be completed.

The process typically identifies the target systems and a particular goal, then reviews available information and undertakes various means to attain that goal. A penetration test target may be a white box (about which background and system information are provided in advance to the tester) or a black box (about which only basic information other than the company name is provided). A gray box penetration test is a combination of the two (where limited knowledge of the target is shared with the auditor). There are different types of penetration testing, depending on the goal of the organization which include: Network (external and internal), Wireless, Web Application, Social Engineering, and Remediation Verification. A penetration test can help identify a system's vulnerabilities to attack and estimate how vulnerable it is.