Penetration testing is a vital component in the field of cyber security. To be theoretical it should be placed in the forefront for any security tragedy. Now let’s look at the stages of pen testing that AI can impact. As cyber-attacks grow in volume and complexity, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping under-resourced security operations analysts stay ahead of threats. Curating threat intelligence from millions of research papers, blogs, and news stories, AI provides instant insights to help you fight through the noise of thousands of daily alerts, drastically reducing response times.

AI technologies like machine learning and natural language processing enable analysts to respond to threats with greater confidence and speed. Let’s look at the stages of pen testing that AI can impact.

1. Planning and reconnaissance-

This is the most important stage in the pen-testing. This is the stage for information gathering. Using AI to automate this stage would provide more accurate results as well as it saves a lot of time. Using the combination of NLP, Computer vision, AI, experts can identify a wide variety of details that can be used to build a profile of the company, employees, software, or hardware components of the network and computers.

2. Scanning-

Manual scanning through thousands of systems in organizations is paradoxical. At this point, AI can be used to pull the code of the scanning tools to scan systems as well as interpret the results of the scan. It helps save time and increases the overall efficiency of pen-testing.

3. Gaining access and Maintaining access-

Gaining access involves taking control of one or more network devices to extract the data from their target, or using the same device to launch attacks on the targets. Once the system is scanned for vulnerabilities, the pen testers need to ensure that the system is loophole-free and doesn’t have any sign of getting exploited by the attackers and the pen testers also need to check whether the network devices are protected with strong passwords.

AI-based algorithms can actually try out different combinations of passwords to check the system for a susceptible break-in. Maintaining access focus on establishing other entry points to the target. It is expected to trigger mechanisms, to ensure the pen tester’s security when accessing the network.

AI-based algorithms should be running regularly at equal intervals of time to guarantee that the primary path to the device is closed. Not only that, but the algorithms also should be able to discover the backdoors, encrypted channels, new network access, and many other.

4. Analysis and WAF configuration-

This stage mainly tests whether an attacker can actually remove all traces of his attack on the system. AI-powered tools can oblige the discovery of backdoors and multiple access points. By using this, all this information is stored automatically in a report with a proper timeline connected with every attack done. In these ways, AI can have a huge impact on the network and pen-testing. So, the main points on which we need to reminisce about are:

  • By automating the vulnerability analysis, you can reduce the operational cost and speed up the reporting.
  • AI-enabled pen testing is accurate as compared to automated testing.
  • Human pen testers have something that AI and ML do not- common sense; which means the organizations need qualified pen testers to train AI and ML algorithms for continuous improvement.

Conclusion:
AI is used almost all over the world along with cyber security to make it rich in the security of data, and sensitive information. AI is the most powerful tool used to protect data. But, the same AI can also be used against the security by the attackers to loot the same which is being protected by the organizations using the AI.

To ensure that network infrastructure is secure, Organizations must identify what you’re protecting and what you’re protecting it from. The most accurate method to evaluate your organization’s information security stance is to observe how it stands up against an attack. E Com Security Solutions, a big 4 cybersecurity firm utilizes embedded intelligence gathered from their global visibility to Identify the ways a threat actor would gain access to your environment and evaluate the reaction to a simulated adversary and improve defense and response.

By applying AI and advanced analytics of E Com Security Solutions, cyber security research team organizations would receive actionable recommendations to enhance their security and establish controls to help maintain compliance with laws and industry mandates like PCI DSS, GLBA, HIPAA, SOX, EU GDPR, ISO 27001, FISMA/NIST.