Fundamentals of cyber security - AQAPenetration testing

One way to make sure a system is safe from security threats is to employ someone to test it using penetration testing. This can reveal if there are any weaknesses that an attacker could use to get into or harm the system.

Penetration testing uses the same techniques a hacker would try, but the aim is to identify the weaknesses, rather than stealing data or damaging the system. Black-box penetration testing is used to simulate a hacking attempt that is external to the company, whereas white-box penetration testing simulates a malicious insider who might have knowledge of how the computer systems are set up.

When a system is breached, this can cause bad financial and reputational damage for the company involved.