A penetration test (or pen test) is a simulated cyberattack against an application, system, or network to identify vulnerabilities that can be exploited by real hackers. In a manual test, experienced security professionals use their expertise to meticulously probe a system for potential weaknesses and report on any identified vulnerabilities.
Conducting regular penetration tests is crucial in today’s threat landscape, as cybercriminals conduct high-scale campaigns against anyone from small businesses to large enterprises.
A manual penetration test gives organizations unprecedented insights into their most glaring cybersecurity weaknesses and provides them with a clear path to remediating them with the assistance of certified professionals.
Manual vs Automated Penetration Testing
Aside from manually, penetration tests can also be conducted automatically, or with a hybrid approach that combines both methods.
Automated testing involves the use of vulnerability scanning tools to identify known flaws, such as an unpatched operating system, weak passwords, or external exposure to critical assets. While automated testing has its advantages, such as quick and continuous tests that identify most glaring vulnerabilities, it is not a true substitute to manual testing.
Manual tests are conducted by security experts who will meticulously analyze complex systems, identify subtle vulnerabilities that automated tools may miss, and simulate sophisticated attack scenarios to uncover hidden security flaws. These experts bring a deep understanding of the system’s architecture, the ability to think like an attacker, and the flexibility to adapt their testing methods in real-time, ensuring a thorough assessment of the security posture.
Ideally, the pen testing team should adopt a hybrid approach, utilizing automation to efficiently handle repetitive tasks and broad vulnerability scanning, while leveraging manual testing for in-depth analysis and the identification of complex, nuanced threats.
Types of Manual Penetration Testing
Manual penetration testing can be categorized based on the level of information provided to the testers:
- White box: Testers have full knowledge of the system, including architecture, source code, and configurations. It’s mainly focused on identifying internal vulnerabilities.
- Gray box: Testers have partial knowledge, such as access to some documents or user-level access. Balances internal and external perspectives.
- Black box: Testers have no prior knowledge of the system. This approach simulates real-world attacks from an external threat actor’s perspective.
Additionally, manual penetration testing can be tailored to meet specific security needs. This customization typically involves either focusing on targeted areas or conducting a comprehensive assessment of the entire system or network.
Focused manual penetration testing targets specific areas or components of a system. It’s useful for testing high-priority assets, or when the environment has undergone recent changes.
On the other hand, comprehensive manual penetration testing covers the entire system or network, providing a thorough security assessment.
Common items that teams manually test
When conducting manual penetration testing, security teams focus on a variety of critical components within an organization’s IT infrastructure. Here are some of the most common ones:
| Item | Description |
| Web Applications | Testing for vulnerabilities in web applications |
| Network Infrastructure | Assessing routers, switches, and other network devices |
| Wireless Networks | Evaluating the security of Wi-Fi networks |
| Mobile Applications | Identifying flaws in mobile apps |
| APIs | Testing application programming interfaces |
| Physical Security | Checking physical access controls |
| Social Engineering | Simulating human-targeted attacks like phishing |
| Databases | Assessing database security and configurations |
| Operating Systems | Identifying OS-level vulnerabilities |
| Cloud Services | Evaluating security of cloud-based services |
What’s the Manual Penetration Testing Process?
Manual penetration testing is a structured process executed by a team of professionals who have to follow a systematic approach to ensure a thorough and effective evaluation of security vulnerabilities. The typical manual penetration testing process involves the following steps:
Planning and Reconnaissance
The first step is to determine the scope, objectives, and rules of engagement for the penetration test. This is done in cooperation with the client to ensure the test achieves the desired outcome with minimal disruption to business operations.
Then, the testers gather as much information about the target system as possible, either provided by the client, or through other methods such as open-source intelligence (OSINT) or social engineering.
Scanning and Enumeration
After the initial stage, it’s time to start scanning the target environment to try to find a way in. The testers use various tools and techniques to identify active devices, open ports, and services to map the network and identify potential entry points.
The goal of this stage is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the target environment, making it ready for vulnerability assessment and subsequent exploitation efforts.
Vulnerability Assessment
Once the testers have a clear picture of the target environment and its assets, they can start assessing them for potential vulnerabilities. The testers will use manual inspection techniques along with vulnerability scanning tools to thoroughly analyze the identified assets and detect security weaknesses.
These weaknesses are then prioritized based on their potential impact and exploitability to determine which vulnerabilities should be addressed first and form the focus of the subsequent exploitation phase.
Exploitation
This is the pivotal point of the penetration test, where the ethical hackers actively attempt to exploit the identified vulnerabilities. Their goal is to gain unauthorized access, escalate privileges, and extract sensitive data to demonstrate the potential impact of these security weaknesses.
This phase simulates real-world attack scenarios to understand how far an attacker could penetrate the system and what damage they could inflict if the vulnerabilities were exploited.
Post-Exploitation
After gaining initial access, the testers assess the extent of their control and how much potential damage they could inflict. They will try to use their access to pivot to other systems, gather additional information, or or escalate their privileges further to demonstrate the broader implications and potential reach of the attack.
Reporting and Analysis
Throughout the penetration testing process, the testing team documents all of their actions. In the final stage, all of this documentation is compiled into a comprehensive report.
This report outlines the vulnerabilities discovered, the methods used to exploit them, the potential impact of these exploits, and provides actionable recommendations for remediation to enhance the overall security posture of the organization.
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