AN OVERVIEW OF NETWORK PENETRATION TESTING

Abstract

Penetration testing is a well known method for actively evaluating and assessing the security of a network or an information system by simulating an attack from an attacker's perspective. A penetration tester must necessarily follow certain methodology so as to successfully identify the threats faced by an organization's network or information assets from a hacker and reduce an or-ganization's IT security costs by providing a better return on security investments. This paper gives an overview of methodology of penetration testing and the tools used.