Today’s networks and systems are an order of magnitude more complex than they were even a few years ago, which means that defending them has become hugely uncertain. Even the best-resourced organisations can’t see or anticipate every vulnerability. Penetration tests give clients a wealth of insights into where weaknesses lie, allowing fixes and countermeasures to be put in place before attackers discover and exploit them. The test report delivered at the end of this process provides a critical baseline for the management of risk, including which fixes should be given a high priority. This helps organisations understand how they should plan security investments going forward.
A misconception is that only poorly managed networks have vulnerabilities. In fact, networks are so diverse and complex that almost any network can suffer from basic weaknesses. Even among carefully secured networks, the dynamic nature of modern IT means that new vulnerabilities can appear at any moment. Because, simple oversights can have severe repercussions, what matters is to find them before the attackers do.