As cybersecurity gains importance, the use of penetration testing software and techniques is important to ensure that the operations of the firm continue uninterrupted. While penetration testing cannot provide a 100% guarantee that the systems will be protected from hacking attempts, it’s recommended to remain one step ahead of the hacker by thinking like one.
Penetration testing software essentially assists in testing potential weaknesses or vulnerabilities to understand the impact they have on the system. It then suggests security recommendations on the basis of the criticality and retests the system to understand if they have been resolved.
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8 Penetration Testing Tools Commonly Used
The ideal combination of penetration testing is through automated and manual techniques and penetration testing software is best suited for the former purpose. There are tools that simply scan for vulnerabilities and other tools that design and execute customized attacks. This helps in discovering all potential weaknesses and identifying their business impact before the hacker gets to it.
1. Metasploit
One of the most popular software penetration testing used by security experts, this tool is specifically used for designing exploitation techniques through coding that can breach security measures. Once the ethical hacker is able to enter the system, the tool runs a payload that performs attacks on the target machine, thus propagating the pentesting procedure. Metasploit can be used for servers, web applications, and networks with a command-line and an interface that works for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
2. Kali Linux
This is an open-source project maintained by Offensive Security with unique characteristics such as accessibility, full disk encryption, customization of Kali ISOs, etc. It also offers Tools Listings, Metapackages, and version tracking as a part of its online penetration testing package.
3. Acunetix
This tool performs the role of an automated web vulnerability scanner with the ability to detect and resolve over 4500 vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and cross-scripting (XSS) attacks. Every pentester will benefit from the complementary role played by this penetration testing software since it automates tasks that may take hours if conducted manually.
It also claims a low probability of false positives and completes the given tasks at high speed. Acunetix supports JavaScript, HTML5, and other single-page applications as well as CMS systems. It also includes advanced manual tools for pentesters and allows integration with web application firewalls (WAFs) and issue trackers.
4. Core Impact
Core Impact includes a wide range of exploits customized to every situation as well as the provision to conduct free Metasploit exploits within the framework. A lot of the testing procedures are automated and provide the complete audit trail, including the PowerShell commands. This allows them to retest the client systems by simply replaying the audit trail.
They also have their own advanced exploits that assure both quality and technical support for the exploits and if any issues are faced on the platform.
5. Intruder
This tool functions as a vulnerability scanner for identifying all potential security weaknesses within the system and helping with the remediation. It offers over 9000 security checks with the help of enterprise-grade software that can be modified as per the size of the firm. Some of these security checks include detecting the misconfigurations, missing updates, and SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
Intruder will assist in penetration testing methodologies by taking over the category of vulnerability management and prioritizing weaknesses based on their criticality. It also has the provision to proactively scan the system for any vulnerabilities that may pop up and integrate with the cloud providers such as Slack and Jira.
6. Wireshark
Wireshark is essentially a network protocol analyzer and goes in-depth into the company’s networks, decryption techniques, and packet information. The tool is suited for different operating systems such as Windows, Linux, OS X, NetBSD, etc. Information gained through this tool is usually presented through a graphical user interface (GUI) and the tool is also available in a free version.
7. Cain & Abel
If you’re looking into cracking encrypted keys or network keys, Cain & Abel is the ideal tool. It uses various techniques for reaching its goal such as network sniffing, brute force attacks, cryptoanalysis, routing protocol analysis, cache recovery, dictionary attacks, etc. One disadvantage is that the tool can only be used for Microsoft-based systems.
8. John the Ripper
This tool is also a password cracker and can be adapted to most environments, specifically for UNIX systems. It has codes that target password hashing and the strength of the credentials which can be integrated into the pentester’s code, allowing for much needed flexibility.
These are a few suggestions for penetration testing software that can assist in the procedure and improve its efficiency. It’s important to finalize the goals of the pentesting procedure and choose the right kind of tool so as to get the most accurate results and move onto remediation. Both the firm and the penetration testing service provider should have adequate knowledge and follow through the right steps before moving forward with penetration testing.
