Tutorial: The Definitive Red Team Assessment List for Full-Stack Safety
Red Team Assessment Guides Bear More Significance Than Ever
Considering the broadening assault terrain combined with the escalating complexity of aggressor maneuvers and practices, red team assessment checklists have become vital for guaranteeing thorough evaluations across an institution’s assault terrain, both internal and external. By furnishing a methodical approach, these checklists assist testers in methodically revealing vulnerabilities in various properties like networks, applications, APIs, and systems. They assure no crucial area is neglected and direct the assessment process, rendering it more efficient and potent at identifying security frailties that could be capitalized on by intruders. A red team assessment checklist fundamentally spares no effort and is an exhaustive and all-inclusive list of every genre of vulnerability in which to mimic an onslaught against.
Every property undergoing assessment, however, necessitates a distinct red team assessment checklist personalized to its specific attributes and jeopardies. For example, a checklist for assessing web applications – which remains one of the prime targets by malevolent actors – will be quite verbose but encompasses vulnerabilities that are distinctive to outward-facing applications. These specialized checklists are a touchstone to affirm that safety preemptives are assessed, weighing their efficacy, contingent on the property, and making the overall assessment more pinpointed and applicable to each context.
BreachLock recently introduced an extensive manual that incorporates detailed red team assessment checklists of the principal stages involved in risk-testing using various frameworks such as OWASP Top 10 and OWAS ASVS across every property and all respective interlinked vulnerabilities for the following:
- Network – A red team assessment checklist for a Black Box external network testing including data reconnaissance, endangerment scrutiny and enumeration, generic safety findings, and service-oriented testing.
- Web Applications. A red team assessment checklist for Gray Box testing including user validation, permission testing, input evaluation, file-inflicted assaults, error management, operational logic scrutiny, and detecting and surveying.
- APIs – A red team assessment checklist for Gray Box testing including user validation, permission testing, input evaluation, file-related assaults, error management, operational logic scrutiny, and detecting and surveying.
- Mobile – A red team assessment checklist for Gray Box testing including static study, kinetic analysis, and network analysis.
- Wireless – A condensed red team assessment checklist including detection of wireless network (SSID), illegitimate entry to wireless networks, accessibility safety authorizations, and rogue entry point discovery
- Social Engineering– Aa condensed red team assessment checklist including phishing raids, pretexting and impersonation, USB drops, and physical intrusion.
This is a synopsis of why red team assessment checklists are critical encompassing an outline of an all-purpose red team assessment checklist. A thorough manual for full-stack safety, encompassing BreachLock’s compendium of comprehensive red team assessment checklists across all properties, can be accessed here.
Insight into Penetration Testing Delivery Designs
Penetration testing has evolved into one of the most impactful aggressive security measures to diagnose and assess vulnerabilities across both internal and external assault terrains. Traditional penetration testing techniques have undoubtedly transformed, and penetration testing amenities are now broadly employed to help strengthen an institution’s security stature.
Penetration testing is executed by certified security professionals who simulate real-world assaults to pinpoint vulnerabilities for evaluation and alleviation within a precise scope. These evaluations are grounded on thorough red team assessment checklists that are tailored by property (e.g., web applications, network, APIs, etc.) and serve as a guide for the red team assessment process, guaranteeing standardized frameworks are employed and testing aligns with pertinent compliance requisites.
To comprehend penetration testing better, listed below are the assorted methods employed for penetrating testing that lie in the delivery model, scalability, and frequency of testing, succeeded by red team assessment checklists by property type.
Delivery Designs
- Conventional Penetration Testing: Usually conducted manually by a team of certified penetration testing specialists over a fixed period (frequently a few days or weeks). The engrossment is project-oriented with a final report provided upon testing culmination.
- Frequency: Typically conducted periodically, such as annually or semi-annually, as a component of compliance requisites or security reviews.
- Scalability: Restricted in scalability due to the manual labor demanded by human evaluators and the one-time nature of the engagement.
- Advantage: Thorough analysis, comprehensive testing customized to particular security needs, and direct interaction with penetration test specialists.
- Challenges: Fixed time frame and confined range of evaluation, which can create lacunae between evaluations.
- Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS): PTaaS is a cloud-centric model that provides continuous penetration testing services, often integrated with platforms that deliver real-time reporting and cooperation. It amalgamates automated tools with human-guided proficiency.
- Frequency: A more proactive approach enabling perpetual or more recurrent approach to detecting and rectifying vulnerabilities as they emerge, .
- Scalability: Highly scalable, as it harnesses automation, cloud infrastructure,
- Utilizing hybrid testing methods (comprising automated testing with human validation) to enable the swift testing of diverse assets in various environments.
- Merits: Offer scalability, on-demand access, efficiency in hybrid processes, convenience, real-time insights, and enable continuous security testing.
- Automatic or Continuous Penetration Testing: Harnesses automation to consistently monitor and analyze systems for vulnerabilities, usually integrating tools that conduct periodic scans.
- Recurrence: Delivers ongoing or continuous evaluations instead of periodic assessments, suitable for continuous pentesting to validate security measures and/or detect emerging vulnerabilities.
- Scalability: Extremely scalable due to automation, facilitating rapid assessment of multiple assets across diverse environments.
- Merits: Efficient for regular testing tasks in high-computing environments, cost-effective, ideal for expansive attack surfaces, and intricate IT infrastructures.
- Challenges: Limited in identifying intricate vulnerabilities and unique attack paths necessitating human analytical skills.
- Human-led Penetration Testing: Follows a manual and well-defined process involving certified pentest specialists simulating realistic attack scenarios and TTPs, focusing on intricate vulnerabilities overlooked by automated tools.
- Recurrence: Depends on a human-centered methodology where certified pentest professionals explore possible attack routes. Frequency is typically project-based and periodic.
- Scalability: Highly tailored to an organization’s distinct environment and assets. Nevertheless, it comes with limited scalability due to the manual input needed from human testers.
- Merits: Offers in-depth analysis, enhanced flexibility, and a high success rate in uncovering complex vulnerabilities.
- Challenges: Can be more time-intensive and expensive compared to automated approaches.
Penetration Test Checklists Across Your Attack Surfaces
Comprehensive Pentest Checklist
Developing a detailed pentest checklist is crucial for conducting comprehensive and efficient security evaluations. This initial checklist is a broad yet detailed guide that provides a structured approach to ensure both enterprises and CREST-certified pentest professionals address all crucial aspects when assessing cybersecurity defenses.
- Establish Clear Objectives and Scope
- Define Objectives: Outline clear goals for the pentest engagement, such as pinpointing vulnerabilities in specific assets, compliance checks, security audits, or post-incident analysis.
- Delineate Scope: Specify the systems, networks, and applications to be evaluated, along with the testing types (e.g., black box, white box, gray box) for each asset.
- Set Boundaries: Establish parameters to prevent operational disruptions, like excluding specific assets from testing or limiting testing to off-business hours.
- Construct Penetration Testing Team
- Form a Skilled Team: Include proficient experts with diverse skills, such as network security, application security, or social engineering specialists.
- Verify Credentials: Ensure pentest professionals possess relevant certifications like CREST, OSCP, OSWE, CEH, or CISSP, coupled with practical experience.
- Acquire Essential Approvals
- Obtain Formal Authorization: Secure written consent from stakeholders detailing the scope, objectives, and constraints of the test to ensure legal compliance.
- Document Process: Record all stages of the approval process, including discussions and agreed conditions. If utilizing an external pentesting provider, document and obtain sign-offs on the scope and process.
- Information Collection
- Analyze Targets: Collate extensive information about the infrastructure, covering hardware, software, network architecture, and configurations.
- Employ OSINT: Use open-source intelligence techniques to gather additional insights into the organization’s online presence and potential vulnerabilities.
- Developing a Penetration Testing Roadmap
- Managing Attack Surfaces: Execute automated scans using tools like Nessus or OpenVAS to identify vulnerabilities, prioritizing issues for initial roadmap creation without manual intervention.
- Validate Discoveries: Validate scan results to eliminate false positives, understand the genuine context and impact of each potential vulnerability, and classify severity levels to develop a precise roadmap for penetration testing.
About Author
