Are your data and systems exposed to external attack?

Hytec Information Security

Taking a radical new approach to the delivery of Vulnerability Assessment Services, Hytec's very different 3-Level approach assesses an organisation's vulnerability to attack:

• from the Internet
• from compromised DMZs
• from compromised hosts on the internal networks

The requirement

Well-designed security infrastructures, where applications and information are segregated into De-Militarised Zones (DMZs) or Semi-Secure Networks, are now commonplace.  However, Hytec believes that penetration testing, which only addresses external Internet-based attacks, does not meet the requirements of such security infrastructures. 

For example, web servers are now frequently placed in a dedicated DMZ.  What if the web servers become compromised? Could information assets be released?  Our experience tells us that these are real risks, but until now few organisations have been able to fully assess their vulnerability to threats, both internal and external.

3 levels of Vulnerability Assessment

In the belief that traditional penetration testing falls short of the requirement, Hytec has developed three different levels of Vulnerability Assessment service.  Individually these focus on an organisation's vulnerability to attack from the Internet, from compromised DMZ's or from compromised hosts on internal networks.

Same approach as a hacker

In identifying threats, we use the same approach as a potential attacker, namely investigating the network, identifying possible weaknesses and exploiting vulnerabilities.  However, unlike attackers we use non-invasive and non-malicious testing to avoid causing any Denial of Service.”

We take a holistic view of a client's security.  To assess the breadth of a client organisation's security presence, or points of risk, we use creativity allied to our knowledge base of security best practice, known security threats and legislative requirements.”

Frequency of testing

Security infrastructures need testing at regular intervals to ensure they remain effective and correctly managed.

Hytec's Vulnerability Assessment Service is for organisations seeking to understand their exposure to Information Security risks and breaches.  We use the same approach as a potential attacker, namely:

• Investigating the network
• Identifying possible weaknesses
• Exploiting vulnerabilities.

Clients can tailor the service to their specific needs. For example, it is normal to undertake the investigation stage a number of times whilst perhaps performing the other tasks less frequently.  We can also undertake assessments over any period of time, accurately depicting the actions of a skilled attacker, who will act slowly and deliberately to avoid alerting Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS).

Different from Penetration Testing

This is a very different approach to that of penetration testing, which often fails to identify vulnerabilities due to high traffic densities triggering IDS systems.  With Hytec's Vulnerability Assessment, the investigation is undertaken in a non-invasive manner. Your network infrastructure is targeted but not penetrated, and no client information is obtained.

Service deliverables

An initial report is produced, highlighting:

• Ports open.
• The Services behind open ports.
• Version numbers of any identified software providing the Services.
• Identified vulnerabilities with the software versions, including details of where to obtain information.
• Susceptibility to illegal or mal-formed packets

We then identify security weaknesses, using invasive testing to determine the nature of vulnerabilities, without causing any Denial of Service (DoS).  In effect, we are looking to see whether, and how, potential vulnerabilities can be exploited.

Every vulnerability is documented, together with an analysis of risk and details of whether the vulnerability is demonstrable and repeatable.

Source: Hytec Information Security, reproduced from www.hytec.co.uk