There's little debate about whether penetration tests should be part of a comprehensive cybersecurity plan. It's critical that defensive systems be tested by real-world pros so vulnerabilities and weaknesses can be found and corrected.
Instead, the question is how to get the most from the investment.
In all but the rarest cases, a pen test means having a third party explore the strength of an organization's security. Many of the keys to effectiveness have been repeated as business wisdom so often they've become cliché: Know what you want, know the group you're hiring, communicate clearly, write it down, and have a plan for what you'll do with the results.
[Hear John Sawyer, director of red team services at IOActive, present Getting the Most Out of Penetration Testing and Red Teaming at Interop 2019 next week]
With each of these points, and the others on this list, factors specific to third-party pen tests need to be considered. This list, cherry-picked from conversations, conference panels, Internet articles, and personal experience, include the basics about what an organization needs to think through before launching a third-party pen test. What other factors should be on this list? Let us know in the Comments section, below.
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