Internal Security Assessment and Penetration Testing Solution – Internal Platform Diagnostic

Following our previous article on external security assessment and penetration testing solutions, today I would like to continue introducing internal network security assessment and penetration testing solutions for enterprises.

Before going into the details of this solution, let us first review the concept of IT system security assessment and penetration testing.

IT security assessment and penetration testing is the process of scanning vulnerabilities in IT devices and the IT services running on them in order to prevent malicious activities by hackers that could cause data loss or system disruption.

This service is designed to help protect businesses against targeted cyberattacks that may impact operations, as well as to avoid the high costs required to recover from potential damage.

In the previous article, we explored external security assessments. So, how is internal security assessment and penetration testing different? The fundamental difference lies in the assessment targets, which are entirely within the enterprise’s internal network.

Objectives and Scope of Internal Security Assessment and Penetration Testing

The internal environment includes all devices and services that make up an enterprise’s IT architecture. These devices include servers, storage systems, switches, computers, printers, video conferencing equipment, and more. Internal services include Active Directory, internal websites, file-sharing servers, application servers, and others.

All these assets form the foundation of business operations. If they are attacked or damaged, production and business activities may be severely disrupted. Such attacks may originate from outside the firewall or even from within the organization itself.

Therefore, the targets of internal security assessment and penetration testing are all IT devices within the enterprise. The assessment helps identify existing vulnerabilities on each device so that appropriate preventive measures can be implemented in a timely manner.

Internal Security Assessment and Penetration Testing Process

In general, internal security assessment and penetration testing is carried out through the following six steps:

Step 1 (Network Discovery): Identify internal IP addresses of all devices within the organization.

Step 2 (Vulnerability Scanning): Scan open TCP/UDP ports on internal addresses, identify running services, and determine their versions.

Step 3 (Result Analysis): Analyze and evaluate vulnerabilities in the running services.

Step 4 (Attack/Exploit): Attempt to exploit existing vulnerabilities.

Step 5 (Reporting): Report services that contain exploitable vulnerabilities.

Step 6 (Remediation): Propose solutions to patch vulnerabilities and enhance system security.

Conclusion

Compared with external security assessment solutions, internal assessments are generally more costly due to the larger number of devices involved. However, to achieve a high level of security, each device must strengthen its own defense capabilities before facing potential attacks from outside the firewall.