Introduction to network penetration testing

Network penetration testing is the systematic approach and techniques used by ethical hackers and penetration testers to simulate a real-world cyberattack on a targeted organization, its systems, and networks, with the intention of discovering hidden security vulnerabilities and providing recommendations for implementing countermeasures and security controls to mitigate and prevent a real adversary from compromising the organization and its assets. During the technical phases of network penetration testing, the ethical hacker or penetration tester uses similar Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) as a real adversary to test the cyber defenses, Monitoring, and prevention techniques of the organization’s security team, and to identify security flaws on targeted systems.

Based on the findings during the technical phases of the penetration test, the information collected can be leveraged to better understand how a real attacker...