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Top 8 Questions to Help Pick Your Penetration Testing Provider Company

Every month you can hear news where a large corporation gets mauled by cyber-attacks resulting in the loss of several thousand and millions of dollars. No matter how much you can upgrade the network system, a cyber-criminal always finds a way to get through the cracks and sabotage the assets of the company.

To deal with these ongoing issues it is necessary to employ an efficient cyber security service that is capable of providing effective pen testing services at an affordable rate. But before proceeding with any company, you have to need to do your own research about the pen testing company that will give you a clear picture of whether to hire them or not.

This blog aims to educate you on what exactly to look for by following these specific questions. So without wasting any time let's get started.

1.Certifications owned by the company

Certifications represent credibility as a certified pen testing service provider. Certain industry-standard practices must be followed at all times. At first, you can start by checking whether the penetration testing service company is CREST (The Council for Registered Ethical Security Testers) certified or not. Other certifications that you can check are PCI DSS, ISO/IEC 27001:2013, and compliance with the GDPR & the HIPAA.

2.The methodology of the pen testing followed by the company

There is no perfect answer to this question because every organization is a bit different in terms of objectives, infrastructure, experts that they hire, technologies, challenges, etc., or in simple words, there is no one approach that suits everyone here.

However, there will be a specialist as your point of contact with the penetration testing provider who might be able to walk you through all the methodologies and come up with a strategy that suits your organizational needs. The Penetration Testing Execution Standard (PTES) is a good base on which a penetration test can be planned and know exactly what your company needs.

3.Aspects that the pen testing report will cover

This report is critical for your organization to assist you in recognizing and fixing the weaknesses in the company's technical infrastructure. After the test, a well-documented report can be a good reference point for the pen testing team to plan their course of work. You can ask the pen testing service provider for a sample report and get a rough idea of what they are capable of.

The report might contain

  • Vulnerability overview and details
  • Risk score
  • Executive summary
  • Action plan
  • Conclusion

4.How the company maintains internal security in the company

This test can uncover some critical vulnerabilities in the technical infrastructure that can have a serious impact on the business operations if exploited successfully. All this information must be kept in secret archives with the pen testing service provider even after the test has been completed.

You must be concerned and ensure the security of this confidential data and check what steps are taken to maintain an adequate level of security?

5.Does the company also provide remediation service?

Some organizations offer pen testing services and after a test is done, they only end up getting a basic vulnerability scan. An effective penetration testing service provider conducts an in-depth test and offers remediation of the vulnerabilities. Some service providers believe in building trustworthy relationships by offering full-fledged remediation services. As a business owner, you should prefer who can provide pen testing service with remediation for the vulnerabilities.

6.Is the Penetration Testing done manually or is it automated

Automated tools are good but they have their own limitations and hence, they might miss out on important and high-risk vulnerabilities. These exact limitations can only be overcome with extensive manual testing by qualified personnel. In general practice, at least more than 70% of the total activities in pen testing should be manual.

7.Details about the personnel conducting Pen Testing

Penetration Testing providers usually sell their services in the name of their most senior expert but at the time of an actual test, they send junior personnel without sufficient experience. This might not be the case with every penetration testing Service Company.

However, these blunders can lead to poor test, testing incidents, and a direct impact on your business. So, when you are meeting with a potential service provider, thoroughly ask for the details such as qualification, background, work experience, etc. of the personnel who will be actually performing a penetration test on your organization.

8.Will the company business remain available during pen testing?

Since a penetration test is a simulated attack, it is not practically feasible to guarantee the availability of the business services while a test is being conducted. Also, the testing team should know which attack weakens a system and which does not.

However, you can also share relevant information about the less-robust systems or networks that you think might be in your technical infrastructure. A good cyber security service provider will work closely with you to address all operational concerns and constantly monitor all the systems.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these questions have helped you in deciding an effective Penetration Testing Online service agency for your business. Also, you must understand the importance of pen testing and how it can protect you from several cyber-attacks.