From the course: Security Testing Essential Training

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Goals of a pen test

Goals of a pen test

From the course: Security Testing Essential Training

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Goals of a pen test

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- [Instructor] Well scoped penetration tests often have very specific goals in mind. Most penetration tests have the stated goal of stealing privilege credentials, but you can define other goals. Maybe you want access to the CFO's inbox. Maybe you want intellectual property. Maybe you want a database of customer information. Remember the CIA triad, confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The goals of a pen test should be influenced by how the organization prioritizes these concepts. Penetration tests often focus on compromising sensitive data like customer records or intellectual property. This is appropriate for organizations that prioritize confidentiality. If you as a penetration tester succeed in your goals and compromise sensitive data at the organization, you're bound to keep those secrets secret, either through a non-disclosure agreement or through a code of ethics. Exploiting integrity vulnerabilities could result in unauthorized changes to production systems or data. At…

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