Penetration Testing Kassel

A penetration test, or "pentest" for short, is a security check that emulates an attack by a malicious party on a network or application to identify security vulnerabilities. This test is coordinated in advance and conducted in such a way that no system is damaged. At the end of the test, you will receive a report that includes the problems and vulnerabilities found, along with suggestions on how to fix them.

This can vary - depending on the type of pentest. However, the following points are often part of the scope or the mutually reached agreement:

- Target systems (IP/host name) or IP address spaces
- Test periods as well as contact persons

Cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, and Google have provided blanket consent forms for certain areas, but this may vary by provider. In principle, one must be available if the systems to be tested are not on your own infrastructure. It is often useful to involve the system managers concerned in the planning process at an early stage so that the "pentest" is not perceived as an attack but as a potential analysis for improving IT security. To be honest, we are not interested in showing that we can hack a company, but to uncover potential for improvement in the IT landscape in a collaborative working atmosphere, deriving and prioritizing measures and improving IT security as effectively and efficiently as possible.

An IT security audit examines the security of a company's IT systems from a holistic perspective. Security threats can arise not only from attacks, but also from technical incidents, organizational deficiencies or force majeure.
Security audits often take place as part of an ISMS (information security management system) and examine not only technical security elements but also compliance with the company's own standards and guidelines, security processes, employee training (keyword information security awareness) and similar aspects. Some security audits also include elements of a vulnerability scan.
However, a security audit usually does not go into as much technical detail as a manual penetration test.

In black-box testing, the pentester attempts to attack the target without any prior knowledge of addresses, systems, applications and processes. The main argument for this approach is that this scenario comes closest to the real world and thus simulates a real attack scenario. However, this is only partially true because a real attacker does not have just a week or two like a contracted pentester, but has the entire time, including months or years, to prepare the attack. In fact, some of the most successful hacker attacks have taken place over a period of up to 12 months.
This bias means that black-box testing is often inconclusive and gives customers a false sense of security. Redlings therefore recommends black-box testing only in exceptional cases. The argument that attackers (must) implement a black-box approach also only works to a limited extent, since a long preparation time can lead to extensive internal informtions.

As with any business service, the cost of a penetration test varies significantly depending on several factors. significantly depending on several factors.

Scoping details such as network IP addresses, complexity and number of (web) applications and employees for social engineering are key factors in determining project size. Taking these variables into consideration, our team works diligently to, align the scope details with your organization's security requirements.

Nevertheless, some empirical values that can serve as an initial guide can be mentioned. A high-quality, professional pentest performed by experts usually costs usually from about €10,000, but can be for large projects also significantly above this amount.

Redlings also offers discounts for multi-year contracts ("continuous pentesting") to ensure, that your company has a consistent pentesting partner, and can can stretch the security budget further.

One question that is not asked often enough is how much of the testing is automated and how much is manual. Automated tools, especially at the beginning of a project, can save save a pentester a lot of time and their use also depends on the project. However, experience shows that about 90-95% of the pentest is "manual work".

This is not to say that automated vulnerability scanners do not add value; Vulnerability scans are quick and easy tools that should be used on a regular basis to should be used to identify missing patches or outdated software in larger environments.