We know, we spoiled the action-packed ending before you even had to keep reading. Yes – penetration testing services help boost cybersecurity, but it’s super important to know what they are and exactly how they help, which is where we come in.
Penetration testing (sometimes referred to as pen testing… as you’ll see in the image) encompasses the ways that you can test out the robustness of your cybersecurity. These are proactive tests that you and your managed IT provider (like Xenex Systems) can work through, and they’re proactive because businesses are chasing peace of mind that what they’ve put in place will actually work in a real-life scenario.
It’s really that simple. Now that we know what penetration testing services are, let’s jump straight into it and chat about the ways in which they’re helping Perth businesses boost their cybersecurity efforts.
#1 Keeps Businesses One Step Ahead
Penetration testing is helping keep businesses one step ahead of the attackers they’re trying to freeze out. By simulating attacks that could happen in the real-world, you can figure out what the vulnerabilities are, and how cyber criminals might be able to exploit them. Not only that, but it gives businesses a strong platform from which they can build security measures to then combat those threats before they even happen.
#2 Gives a Clear Understanding of How Your Cybersecurity Holds Up
It’s not just about staying ahead. Through penetration testing, businesses get a clear understanding of how their current cybersecurity efforts and security posture hold up against legitimate threats. The simulation itself is not an online tool, nor does it give you a score out of 100. It’s real humans who work to find areas to exploit and detail any areas for improvement.
#3 Helps Prioritise and Address Any Risks
Once you’ve got a good lay of the land in terms of how many areas could be exploited and how, you can prioritise based on your specific business operations. What’s important to your business might not be important to others, and your industry will have different requirements to others too (especially when you look beyond the basics).
From there, any weaknesses or areas of improvement are ranked by severity; helping you to prioritise based on what will actually impact your business in a real-world situation, and placing energy into remediating those as soon as possible.
#4 Ensures Compliance
We’ve only just mentioned that businesses and industries are different in terms of how they might prioritise and address cybersecurity risks, which rings true here too. In some industries, penetration testing is actually mandatory. When you think about it, it makes total sense. From the healthcare and medical industry, to finance and even government departments, there’s bound to be a few that require penetration testing so that sensitive data and patient information is as secure as possible.
Sometimes, businesses can even be penalised with warnings and fines if they’re not compliant with industry standards and best practice when it comes to cybersecurity and penetration testing.
#5 Helps Retain the Trust of Customers and Clients
Businesses that can demonstrate how they’re safeguarding data (like personal information, transactions, and more) are likely to retain the trust of their customers and / or clients. Through taking cybersecurity seriously and proactively penetration testing, you’re showing a tangible commitment to protecting your customers and your business, which builds confidence and can even reinforce their decision to choose you over competitors.
If you’re wanting to explore penetration testing services and how they can benefit your business specifically, reach out to our team at Xenex Systems. We can start with a free audit of your IT systems, before working more closely with you to understand your priorities, identify risks and put measures in place to protect you from cybersecurity threats.