How a Black Box Pentest works ?
A Black Box Pentest consists of 5 essential steps.
Planning
The planning phase is the first phase of the Black Box Pentest. It involves defining the objectives, targets and techniques of the pentest.
The aim of the planning phase is to ensure that the pentest is carried out efficiently and meets the organization's needs.
Auditors work with the organization to define the pentest objectives. These goals may include:
- Identify potential vulnerabilities in the organization's systems and applications.
- Test the security of the organization's networks and infrastructures.
- Evaluate user security awareness.
- Measure the effectiveness of existing security measures.
Once the pentest objectives have been defined, auditors identify the pentest targets. These targets may include:
- The organization's systems and applications.
- The organization's networks and infrastructures.
- The users of the organization.
Auditors must also select the techniques they will use to carry out the pentest. These techniques may include:
- Port scanning.
- Traffic analysis.
- Exploitation of known vulnerabilities.
- Social engineering.
Auditors must also define a schedule and budget for the pentest. They should also develop a communication plan to keep the organization informed of pentest progress and results.
Information gathering
The information gathering phase of a black box pentest aims to identify the target's systems, applications, networks and infrastructure, as well as potential vulnerabilities.
Auditors use a variety of techniques to perform discovery, including:
Port scanning
Auditors can scan open ports on target systems to identify services that are available. They can also use vulnerability scanning tools to identify known vulnerabilities in the target's systems.
Traffic Analysis
Pentesters can analyze the target's network traffic to identify anomalies and suspicious activities. This enables them to detect ongoing attacks and potential vulnerabilities.
Social engineering
Auditors can use social engineering techniques to attempt to deceive the target's users and obtain sensitive information. This allows them to access the target's system or application even if there are no known vulnerabilities.
The objectives of the collection phase are as follows:
- Identify potential vulnerabilities in the target's systems and applications.
- Confirm potential vulnerabilities identified during the reconnaissance phase.
- Determine whether potential vulnerabilities can be exploited.
The results of this phase are used to plan the exploitation phase, which consists of testing the identified vulnerabilities to gain access to the target's system or application.
Exploitation
The exploitation phase of a black box pentest involves exploiting vulnerabilities identified during the discovery phase to gain access to the target's system or application.
The aim of the exploitation phase is to demonstrate to the organization the potential impact of the identified vulnerabilities, and to help it take steps to correct them.
Here are a few examples of activities that can be carried out during the operational phase of a black box pentest:
- Exploit known vulnerabilities in the target's systems to gain access to the target's system or application.
- Use social engineering techniques to deceive target users and obtain sensitive information.
- Escalate privileges in order to access more sensitive areas of the system or more sensitive information.
- Demonstrate to the organization the potential impact of identified vulnerabilities by deleting or modifying data, installing malware, or launching attacks against other systems.
It is important to note that the operating phase must be conducted in a responsible and ethical manner.
Auditors must obtain the organization's authorization before launching attacks against its systems or applications. They must also avoid damaging the organization's systems or data.
Report
The reporting phase involves documenting the findings of the pentest and making recommendations for correcting them.
The aim of the reporting phase is to provide the organization with a complete understanding of the vulnerabilities identified and the measures to be taken to correct them.
The pentesters draw up a detailed report of the pentest findings. This report includes a list of all the vulnerabilities that have been identified, as well as recommendations for correcting them.
The report may also include evidence of the impact of identified vulnerabilities, such as screenshots or video recordings.
The reporting phase is an important phase of the black box pentest. It enables the organization to take actions to correct identified vulnerabilities and improve its security posture.
Counter-Audit
In order to validate the correction of the vulnerabilities identified during the Black Box Pentest, the client can request a counter-audit.
The counter-audit enables our experts to check that the corrections have been applied, and that the correction philosophy has been understood by the teams.
Ziwit experts remain on hand between the pentest and the counter-audit, at no extra cost, to advise the customer on correction options.
Ziwit Consultancy ServicesManual audits and Pentests on-site or remotely
