A Comprehensive Guide for PCI DSS Compliance Penetration Testing 2024
April 30, 2024
In 2023, Ferrari, the automotive behemoth, encountered a data breach in its IT systems. The data breach was triggered by a vulnerability within a WordPress plugin, which allowed malicious actors to infiltrate a part of Ferrari’s IT infrastructure. This plugin reportedly had a CVE-2019-6715 vulnerability that unauthenticated attackers use to read arbitrary files.
As a result, sensitive customer data, such as names and contact details, was compromised. That’s not an isolated instance. Even as organizations worked to fight back, data breach instances registered a 20% increase from the year 2022 to 2023, as per the latest MIT report.
The evidence indicates that organizations must go beyond traditional defensive mechanisms, such as firewalls, protective tools, and techniques. Instead of being reactive, they must adopt a proactive or offensive approach to protect their digital assets. Ferrari could have proactively identified the security loophole by conducting offensive security testing and averted the incident.
This article provides a comprehensive guide on mastering offensive cybersecurity, why it matters, the advantages of offensive security, and how to proceed with this approach.
Understanding Offensive Security
Offensive Security, or OffSec, refers to a process involving techniques, tools, and strategies to identify and fix systems’ vulnerabilities before threat actors exploit their loopholes to their advantage. Offensive security measures include mimicking actual attacks by ethical hackers and cybersecurity professionals to better understand IT systems, networks, and overall security posture.
Why You Need an Offensive Security Approach
Offensive security solutions involve simulated attacks to test defenses, ensuring robust protection against real threats. This works well even when the boundaries between IT networks, the Internet, and computer systems are unclear, such as when cloud computing has blurred them. Given the consequences of data breaches, investing in offensive security solutions has a higher ROI than dealing with costly data breaches.
Advantages of Offensive Security Measures
The value of a cybersecurity strategy is uncertain until it is tested in the event of a real cyberattack. Some of the benefits of offensive security measures include:
- Mitigates Risks By Proactive Vulnerability Identification
A better way to deal with modern security challenges is to adopt a proactive approach rather than waiting for things to happen. An offensive security strategy involves thinking and acting like an adversary, detecting potential vulnerabilities and risks before they get exploited.
- Improves Incident Response with Simulated Attacks
Offensive security measures involve simulating real-world threat scenarios to evaluate how various teams, including executive leadership, respond to the incident. This helps evaluate organizations’ incident response capabilities, identify deficiencies, refine security processes, and improve training programs, preparing organizations to react appropriately whenever a cyberattack occurs.
- Enhances Cost And Operational Efficiency
Defensive security tools, such as automated scanning tools, can thwart specific security threats but often raise false alarms. As a result, security teams may be wasting their productive time finding vulnerabilities that don’t exist.
On the other hand, offensive security processes involve simulation exercises, which means the vulnerabilities detected are genuine. This enables organizations to operate more efficiently while helping them save costs associated with incident remediation and regulatory fines.
- Promotes Security Awareness
Offensive security exercises help beef up organizations’ technical defenses. This promotes a culture where each individual is aware of dangers and takes precautions, empowering them to safeguard the organization’s critical assets from potential operations actively.
- Strengthens Overall Security Posture
Offensive security measures bolster defenses against known and unknown security threats, fortifying an organization’s overall security environment.
- Enhances Risk Compliance
Risk compliance is a crucial concern for many industries and sectors. Non-compliance with mandatory laws and regulations can invoke penalties or ruin a brand’s reputation. Offensive security measures allow security teams to strengthen their data protection practices by identifying and fixing various data protection and privacy risks.
Use Case: Leveraging Offensive Security for Enhanced Protection
An offensive security process identifies security problems that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. For example, a web application with weak session IDs used to authenticate users’ sessions can be vulnerable to attacks by malicious actors. A penetration tester might identify that these session IDs are predictable or susceptible to brute-force attacks by simulating a real-world threat actor.
Based on this insight, the security team can beef up traditional security defense mechanisms by altering its session ID generation or introducing 2-factor or multi-factor authentication.
Who Are Responsible For Conducting Offensive Security Tests?
Conducting offensive security assessments typically involves in-house security teams, also known as red teams and external security testing providers.
The problem with internal teams is they may have the necessary expertise to conduct offensive security testing, but their inherent biases can cause them to overlook numerous vulnerabilities. It is also essential to understand that internal security teams are restricted by their technologies and systems, regardless of their competence.
On the other hand, third-party penetration testing providers don’t have such biases and approach systems with fresh perspectives without preconceived notions. Additionally, some industries have strict and clear compliance frameworks that mandate security assessments to be performed by independent third-party companies.
Offensive Security Certifications and Training
Offensive security certifications validate an individual’s skills and expertise in simulating cyber threats and identifying system vulnerabilities. Here is a list of industry-recognized certifications offered by Offensive Security (OffSec):
OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional): Known for its rigors in penetration testing, OSCP enjoys a great reputation. It requires passing a challenging exam that demands considerable practical hacking skills.
CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker): CEH is known for high-quality, ethical hacking techniques and tools. Its aim is to equip security professionals to identify vulnerabilities and secure systems ethically.
GPEN (GIAC Penetration Tester): GPEN certification focuses on enhancing penetration testing expertise.
OSWE (Offensive Security Web Expert): OSWE aims to equip security professionals in web application security, empowering them with the advanced skills required to secure web environments effectively.
SANS: SANS foundation offers a broad range of courses, training certifications, and courses to enhance offensive security skills.
Other Resources to Master Offensive Security Skills
Various training platforms can also help offensive security professionals to develop their skills and expertise. For instance, platforms like Github Defensive Resources, HackTheBox, provide enough resources to develop an offensive security skill-set.
Additionally, ZAP, formerly known as OWASP ZAP, offers an open-source web application security scanner, which is useful for enhancing skills for security professionals.
Why Continuous Learning Matters in Offensive Security
Offensive security is constantly evolving, with new attack vectors emerging regularly. Continuous learning ensures security professionals keep up with the latest security trends and emerging cybersecurity threats to secure IT assets.
Furthermore, there is a huge shortage of offensive security professionals. According to the latest Cybersecurity Workforce Study from ISC2, 2023, the global shortage of cybersecurity professionals has surpassed 4 million. Investing in ongoing education and skill development allows businesses to bridge this gap.
Offensive Security: Penetration Testing vs. Ethical Hacking
Though offensive security, penetration testing, and ethical hacking are used interchangeably, they differ. Offensive security is an umbrella term that encompasses penetration testing and ethical hacking as core components.
Penetration testing, or pen tests, simulates a cyberattack to ascertain security weaknesses in applications, websites, IT networks, and other informational systems. Its objective is to evaluate whether an IT system can fall prey to unauthorized access or malicious activity. Security experts use penetration testing to gauge the extent of damage if cyber criminals successfully exploit the vulnerability. The insights gained from penetration tests enable businesses to evaluate their security posture and prioritize vulnerability fixing.
On the other hand, ethical hacking encompasses a much broader role that includes various practices, such as vulnerability disclosure (see VDP), bug bounty programs, and pen testing.
Let’s take a closer look at some vital differences between penetration testing and ethical hacking in a tabular form:
| Aspect | Penetration Testing | Ethical Hacking |
| Scope | Focuses solely on carrying out penetration tests as defined by the client | Engages in continuous assessments across systems |
| Approach | Well-defined processes with time-limited engagements | Uses a greater variety of techniques to prevent different types of cyberattacks |
| Focus | Identifies vulnerabilities and provides detailed reports with remediation recommendations | Prevents cyber threats using diverse attack vectors and strategies to secure systems effectively |
| Depth | Adopts a more targeted approach within defined parameters | Uses comprehensive methodologies, tools, and techniques |
| Reports | Requires less paperwork | Requires detailed paper works, including legal agreement |
| Time | Needs less time to perform because of the limited scope | Requires a lot of time and effort owing to the broader scope. |
Despite differences, offensive security, penetration testing, and ethical hacking form an interconnected framework that enhances the overall security posture.
Offensive Security Strategy: Key Strategies
Offensive strategies include numerous tactics, such as penetration testing, red teaming, threat hunting, and attack surface management, to bolster security teams’ capability to effectively identify and deter security threats. This includes the following:
- Red Teaming
Red teaming is the process of finding unique vulnerabilities. So, what exactly do red teamers try to unearth using this technique? A few particular breaches may not appear during the routine audit process, red teaming enables the identification of such hidden vulnerabilities.
Red Teams conduct a simulation attack from an adversarial mindset to evaluate how easily an organization’s people, processes, and technologies could resist an attempt with the specific objective.
- Attack Surface Management
As businesses grow, especially those relying on the cloud to deliver services, their platforms and assets inevitably expand to meet their needs.
However, unmanaged sprawling of attack surfaces is not good for organizations’ security. This may leave many possible entry points for attackers. Attack Surface Management or ASM continuously detects, classifies, and evaluates security to minimize the attack surface.
- Threat Hunting
Threat hunting involves proactively seeking and identifying signs of malicious activities within networks to respond to and mitigate potential cyber threats swiftly.
- Active Defense
According to the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity( ENISA), active defense is used to outmaneuver an adversary. This includes techniques and tools to slow down the attacker, forcing them to make a mistake so that they cannot advance.
A good example of realistic Active Defense deployment is utilizing an isolated, configured, and information-loaded environment that mimics a real environment to track attackers’ movement accurately. This includes deploying honeypots to thwart attackers’ movement and effectively defend digital assets from their threats.
Ethical Considerations in Offensive Cyber Operations
Offensive cyber operations (OCO) involve ethical considerations involving moral responsibility, accountability, compliance with international and national laws, and adherence to ethical principles in conducting offensive cyber activities, ensuring these operations are performed within the accepted legal boundaries. While performing offensive operation, it’s essential to keep in mind the following ethical considerations:
- Moral Responsibility: Those conducting offensive activities should follow ethical standards and take moral responsibility for their actions.
- Authorization: Offensive security professionals are duty-bound to conduct security activities on authorized targets only after appropriate consent.
- Compliance with International Laws: Security experts should adhere to various international laws, such as the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), which are necessary for legal compliance.
- Ethical Decision-Making Tools: Ethical decision-making tools can help guide OCO activities to ensure they are conducted ethically within a compliance framework.
- Vulnerability Disclosure: Proper disclosure regarding the nature of vulnerability and its potential impact is essential for transparency.
Closing Thoughts
We’ve often heard the cliché, “Offense is the best defense.” The adage holds true, especially in the context of offensive security. Adopting an offensive cybersecurity strategy helps organizations move beyond the reactive cycle of finding and fixing vulnerabilities. Instead, it empowers them to take full control of their cybersecurity posture.
How Can SecureLayer7 Help?
Protecting business-critical data has become increasingly crucial as it’s under attack from cybercriminals worldwide. They mainly target organizations containing sensitive personal data.
At SecureLayer7, our certified security professionals conduct comprehensive penetration testing that leaves no room for vulnerabilities in your business infrastructure. Our penetration testers go beyond checklists and scanners to identify and detect security vulnerabilities that automated systems often miss. We detect and suggest actionable remedial actions to plug every loophole and fortify your defenses.
It is essential to understand that combining offensive security techniques, such as penetration testing, with defensive security strategies can yield the best results.
Protect your business from costly security breaches with our manual penetration testing services.
To learn more about how our partnership can strengthen your overall IT environment, get in touch with us today!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are the different types of offensive security services?
There are numerous types of OCO, including vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, application penetration testing, red teaming/blue teaming, cloud security testing, social engineering, SOC services, source code audit, and more.
2. What are the most common vulnerabilities that can be identified using offensive security activities?
Offensive security activity can help find vulnerabilities in systems and networks, such as the application layer, cloud infrastructure, and device security.
