Third-party consultant to perform a penetration test Term Paper

Third-party consultant to perform a penetration test - Term Paper Example This poses a threat to the ability of the organization to protect their secret information and other essential information that should not be exposure to the public or unauthorized persons. The most commonly deployed security systems include anti-virus software, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems. The organizations and institutions are interested in securing their information systems in order to protect some of the vital information and contents that are restricted to non-executive members of the firm. However, this is not very effective as these institutions are faced with the task of ensuring proper information security. It is reported that most organization incurs losses because their security systems are hacked and critical details of the organization exposure to the competitors and enemies. This therefore lowers the ability of the organization to excel and protects its key information systems. The business community is not spared too. Hackers pose a great security threat to the secrecy of information of organizations and the business community. ... ically a method in which the security of a network and the computers that are involved in the network are evaluated so as to determine the degree of security on the network or the strength of the response to the breach of the security. It is also referred to as a pentest which is a short form of the term in full. A penetration test is conducted by simulating an attack to the system from either external or internal threats, or both, on a network or a computer system (Allen, 2012). It is therefore evident that penetration testing is vital for ABC Company which has high presence in the internet. In the present day, the world is indeed a global village and due to the fact that information is power, every organization endeavors to protect its information from people who would go to any length to obtain information from an organization. Organizations and institutions use penetration test as a way of identifying the weakness and vulnerabilities of their security and network systems and maki ng necessary protection measures. The penetration test entails the application of attacking methods that are conducted by professional who are entrusted with the organization’s essential information. However, the same attacking systems are used by the hackers and hostile intruders, hence posing more threat to the organization following the fact that such information are very sensitive to be exposed. Depending on the nature and type of the penetration test to be conducted, the entire security building process entails IP address scan in order to assist in the identification process of machines used in the offering of the system information and other services with known degree of vulnerability and further exploiting the existence of any unpatched operation system that may also be vulnerable