Psy 270 Week 4 Chapter 7 Paper

Security audit is a measurable technical assessment of a system. Penetration test is a part of security audit. At the end of security audit process, there will be report-generated use for future reference and mitigation plan if

Testing- Test plans that show how to verify each security requirement. Prioritize a list of vulnerabilities from the automated and manual analysis.

The most comprehensive software solution for assessing security of web application, network systems, end point systems and email users is CORE IMPACT Pro. It allows you to take security testing to the next level by safely replicating a broad range of threats to your organization’s sensitive data and critical infrastructure. You gain extensive visibility into the cause, effect and prevention of data breaches, enabling you to drive effective risk mitigation

My experience with the critical skill of evaluation is most apparent in my ability to accurately review and critique facility security assessments (FSA). These assessments are prepared and completed by the Federal Protective Service (FPS) Inspectors as a part of their performance plan and core document. Facility security assessments are comprised of a Vulnerability Survey Report (VSR) that FPS provides as a unique yet comprehensive evaluation report that was developed under the Modified Infrastructure Survey Tool (MIST). As the Area Commander, it is my responsibility for overseeing all stages of the assessment process. The FSA includes the VSR. The VSR evaluates the weakness in the overall facility design noting areas of concern

My experience with the critical skill of evaluation is most apparent in my ability to accurately review and analyze facility security assessments (FSA). These assessments are prepared and completed by the Federal Protective Service (FPS) Inspectors, and are a vital part of their performance plan and core document. Facility security assessments are comprised of a Vulnerability Survey Reports (VSR) that FPS provides as a unique, yet comprehensive evaluation report that is developed under the Modified Infrastructure Survey Tool (MIST). As the Area Commander, it is my responsibility for overseeing all stages of the assessment process. The FSA includes the VSR in the vulnerability survey report. The VSR evaluates the weakness in the overall

With the constant threat of increased attacks on networked systems, there is a pressing need to keep up vulnerability testing. Many times network professionals only patch systems and make sure that they are up to date on antivirus software and feel that is adequate, when in actuality it is not. By understanding professional testing coverage vs. script kiddies, recognizing new zero day vulnerabilities and understanding Black/White/Grey Box assessments, we can help to comprehend why vulnerability testing is not only advised, but perhaps the best way to move forward when analyzing our systems against greater disrupting future attacks.

We also described various Vulnerability Assessment (VA) tools that allow customization of security policy, automated analysis of vulnerabilities, and creation of reports that effectively communicate security vulnerability discoveries and detailed corrective actions to all levels of an organization. Vulnerability Assessments tools will identify known network, operating system, web application, and web server exploits/vulnerabilities with the use of automated scanning

Audit and Assessments: These two forms the force for initiating improvement activities. While assessments offer a platform for improvement, audits help in verifying control and compliance. Assessments take place prior to audits in order to plan for improvements that make sure there is readiness in audit, (Control Disease Center, 2013). Such activities are planned periodically depending on the need, annually or semi-annually. Through Microsoft Operation Framework, structures that support audits and assessments for services and processes are made available.

Acunetix’s WVS allows Advanced Research’s IT Department to scan its external and internal websites for a multitude of vulnerabilities. The WVS takes the results it finds and categorizes the vulnerabilities as high, medium, low or informational. High are considered immediate risks to a web application that should be corrected immediately. High risks are considered Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities, outdated versions of applications or operating systems and Structured Query Language (SQL) injection vulnerabilities. These types of

Any time a new security system is implemented it needs to be tested thoroughly. Part of the tests that are performed to ensure that the new or prosed system meets the goals set forth by the organization, is penetration testing. Penetration testing involves security professionals simulating “attacks by a malicious external source” (Whitman & Mattord, 2012, p. 551). These tests allow the security professionals to determine points of failure that may not have been identified in vulnerability testing, as well as the criticality of the items defined in the vulnerability tests. These tests can be performed in one of two ways, either with or without knowledge of the organizations information technology infrastructure. These two tests are known

The team leader and operatives need to carry out a dynamic risk assessment of the area of work to check if any new hazards have developed since the original risk assessment was carried out and risks identified need to be reported and dealt with before proceeding.

Once the scans are complete and the current vulnerabilities are patched it is a good idea to implement a regular scanning schedule, once per month is an acceptable frequency to scan the network for new vulnerabilities. Vulnerability assessment is a continuous cycle due do new vulnerabilities being discovered every day, organizations must stay on top of their game if they want their organization to remain secure. Figure 1 illustrates the continuous cycle of vulnerability assessment.

A good penetration tester must be technically competent and methodical. In many situations, a test team is more appropriate than an individual tester. 2 Care must be taken in selecting, installing and configuring the platforms used to perform the testing. Although there are several commercial tools that can be used to perform penetration tests such as Internet Scanner® from Internet Security Systems3, free tools will be used throughout this testing. Kurtz and Prosise make an excellent point when they claim; “Running a commercial vulnerability scanner is penetration testing” is a myth. 4 There are several problems with simply running a vulnerability scanner and assuming that a complete penetration test has been performed. The first is that the vulnerability scanners are only as good as the person running them. As will be discussed latter in this paper, there is more to performing a penetration test than just finding

A penetration testing is a software-testing model that is intended mainly for implementing IT security mechanisms in software systems. The fundamental purpose of this study is to learn and uncover the primary aspects related to penetration testing components. To be more precise, the mechanism of penetration testing relies on obtaining access to system’s resources without the permission or knowledge of the users of the particular system. Several literatures and articles have been reviewed for understanding the recent trends, compare and contrast the different techniques and approaches applied in this specific area of software testing (Engebretson, Patrick). Apart from that, the paper also focuses on evaluating and analyzing the major strengths and weaknesses of those individual techniques. Unlike vulnerability scans, penetration testing are conducted less frequently (usually annually), which can further incorporate the tools or methods utilized in vulnerability scanning or other automated processes (Falkenberg, Andreas, et al). The underlying approach of penetration testing is to test the effectiveness of the security of the IT system architectures from the point of view or perspective of the attacker (may be a cracker or hacker).

The principal behind writing this article is to put forward a precise approach that needs to be followed to perform a successful penetration test by selecting right tools and by making a good Development of assessment plan (ROE). This plan document includes different types of penetration testing; a different penetration testing technique a web application penetration testing methodology and a high level tools and techniques for analysing the security of a particular web application. The reason for making plan document is to make a robust security assessment plan.