A huge number of businesses are moving to the cloud and it is vital to understand the security risks involved.
Those risks can be understood by conducting penetration tests, or pentests.
Penetration testing is the technique of gaining access to a system or network without having the given permissions. It can help us find vulnerabilities in the secure AWS based systems and can be patched before an attack.
AWS pentesting is especially important because AWS is one of the most popular cloud platforms. If an attacker can gain access to an AWS account, they can potentially wreak havoc on an entire business.
There are some challenges that come with pentesting in the cloud, though. Because cloud environments are constantly changing, it can be difficult to keep up with all the changes and ensure that all systems are properly tested.
What is AWS Penetration Testing?
AWS Penetration Testing is a process of trying to gain unauthorised access to an AWS account or AWS-hosted applications. It can be used to find vulnerabilities and fix them before they are exploited by attackers.
Why is AWS Penetration Testing Important?
AWS Penetration Testing is important because AWS is one of the most popular cloud platforms. It can be a potential disaster if an attacker is successful in gaining access to an organisation`s AWS account.
Challenges in AWS Penetration Testing
AWS penetration testing is an important part of securing your environment, but it can be challenging. By taking the time to plan your test, understand your assets and vulnerabilities, and use the right tools, you can help ensure that your systems are safe from attackers.
One of the challenges that come with pentesting in the cloud is that because cloud environments are constantly changing, it can be difficult to keep up with all the changes and ensure that all systems are properly tested.
Steps to Perform AWS Penetration Testing
There are six steps that you should take in order to perform AWS penetration testing:
Planning: Define the scope of the test, identify the systems and data you need to protect, and understand your legal and compliance obligations.
Reconnaissance: Collect information about the target environment. This includes identifying assets and vulnerabilities.
Gaining Access: Try to gain access to the target environment using various methods, such as brute force or exploit kits.
Maintaining Access: Maintaining Access: Once the access is gained it’s important to maintain it for as long as possible. This will give you time to further explore the environment and find additional vulnerabilities.
Reporting : It is important to document the vulnerabilities found in the pentest along with more actionable information about each vulnerability. The report helps the target organisation remediate the issues.
Tools for AWS Penetration Testing
There are a few different tools that can be used for AWS penetration testing. Some of the tools and services are as follows:
- Amazon Inspector: It is a service that contributes in the improvement in the security standards and compliance of the applications deployed on the Amazon Web Services platform.
- Nmap: It is a network exploration tool and port scanner. It is used to identify hosts and services on a deployed network, and recognize the vulnerabilities.
- Metasploit: It is a framework that is used for development and execution of exploited code which can result in exploitation of the services
Benefits of Conducting Frequent AWS Pentesting
The safety of your cloud infrastructure can have a significant impact on your business. You can keep the security health of your AWS platform in check by conducting regular pentest. The primary benefits are
- A thorough understanding of the security posture of your cloud platform
- A pentest is useful in terms of getting compliance
- You can safeguard your data along with the data of your customers
- You can ensure zero business interruption
- Buiding trust among the customers.
Being proactive about cloud security is a necessity considering how dependent a lot of businesses are upon cloud providers like AWS and Azure.
Conclusion
AWS pentesting is a technique that should be done on a regular basis to keep your data secure. The procedures and resources outlined in this post will assist you in getting started with AWS pentesting, ensuring that your data is secure.
