Penetration testing is the best way to figure out if your security measures are working and whether there's a chance a hacker could breach your network. Penetration testers will help you understand what vulnerabilities exist in your IT infrastructure, providing insight into ways to improve your defences. And once you've completed the pen test remediation process, it's just as important not to brush off those fixes or move on without learning from them. Here's how:

Key Takeaways on Pen Testing Remediations

1. Understand the pen test results: Thoroughly analyse your penetration test results to identify vulnerabilities and prioritise remediation efforts based on risk levels.
2. Develop a detailed action plan: Create a comprehensive remediation plan with clear objectives, timelines, and responsibilities to address the identified vulnerabilities.
3. Involve relevant stakeholders: Engage stakeholders from various departments to ensure a collaborative and coordinated approach to implementing remediation measures.
4. Educate and train employees: Provide training and resources to employees involved in remediation efforts to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge.
5. Monitor remediation progress: Regularly track the progress of your remediation efforts to ensure timely completion and maintain accountability among team members.
6. Verify the effectiveness of remediations: Conduct follow-up penetration tests or vulnerability assessments to confirm the successful implementation of remediation measures.
7. Continuously improve your security posture: Use the insights gained from pen test remediations to strengthen your overall cyber security strategy and stay ahead of threats.

Don't just fix it and move on.

There are three important steps to take after remediating a pen test finding:

• Don't just fix it and move on. It is crucial that you understand why the problem occurred, how it can be prevented from happening again, and how you can improve your existing processes.
• Ask yourself why the issue occurred in the first place. For example, did someone accidentally leave their laptop unattended? Or was there an issue with encryption? Was there an employee who had access to sensitive information but didn't need it for their job function, and could have been removed from having access without negatively impacting their productivity or morale? These are all things worth considering when thinking about solutions for preventing similar issues from occurring in the future (or at least making sure they happen less often).

Look for patterns.

After you have completed your pentest, it's time to examine the data and look for patterns. Patterns are important because they can help you understand how an attacker would attack again in the future. They also allow you to predict when an attack is likely to occur based on previous behaviour. For example, if a hacker was able to access one system with weak passwords by brute-forcing them, then it's likely that he or she will try again using similar tactics (or even the same ones). Identifying these kinds of patterns allows you to take steps before an incident occurs so that it does not happen at all, or if it does happen, then it won't be as bad as it could have been because of your preparation beforehand!

• Look at each individual finding from every report generated during this phase:
• Look for trends;
• Look for specific weaknesses such as lack of encryption;
• Look for specific vulnerabilities such as weak passwords; and/or * Look for specific security controls being used incorrectly.

Assess your overall risk level.

When you're conducting your pentest, it's important to keep in mind the overall risk level of your organisation. The first step is to evaluate your overall risk level and identify the most important areas to focus on. You should focus on the areas where you are most vulnerable, but also consider what risks are most likely to happen based on business objectives and threats from competitors or hackers.

Find problem areas that need attention or are new.

The pen test remediation process should be a continuous one. It's important to keep an eye on your business, so that you can find problem areas that need attention or are new. By reviewing the findings from your pentests regularly and making changes based on those findings, you can prevent future problems from occurring. There are several ways to make sure you're staying on top of things:

• Make sure that IT is communicating well with other departments in the company (for example, sales).
• Ask employees what they would like their computers' security settings set at and then make sure those settings match what they want them set at. This will help ensure compliance across all devices used by employees, and it will also mean fewer headaches when users need assistance because they don't know how something works!

See if there's a trend in the data, such as a specific time of day or day of week.

The pentest results will give you an idea of when your network is most vulnerable, but it's important to know what trends are happening. For example, if there is a trend that shows that on Tuesdays at 3 pm, the network slows down and becomes more susceptible to attacks, then you can create a new policy or procedure addressing this issue. In addition to identifying when your network may be more vulnerable than usual (such as during certain hours), consider looking into other factors including:

• The number of devices connected each day
• How much traffic each device generates
• What type of applications are being used

Use real-time reporting tools to see where you're weak and what you can do about it.

When you're conducting a pentest, it's important to have real-time reporting tools in place. These tools will help you identify areas of weakness and give you the information needed to determine what changes need to be made. Real-time reporting tools can also be used after a pentest has been completed. They can provide insight into which remediation steps have been successful or not, allowing security professionals to make adjustments as needed before an actual attack occurs.

You won't get better unless you know where you stand and how to improve

You want to get the most out of your pentest remediation, but how can you do that? You need to know where you stand and how to improve. You won't get better unless you know what the problem is and how to fix it. Knowing where things are going wrong is an important part of improving performance and achieving results in any area of life or work. And when it comes down to security testing, this means understanding what went wrong during a penetration test so that it doesn't happen again (or at least less often).

FAQs on Maximising Pen Test Remediations

Do you have questions about getting the most out of your pentest remediations? Our FAQs section is here to help! We've compiled answers to the most frequently asked questions related to pentest remediation, including insights on planning, stakeholder involvement, and follow-up assessments. Explore these answers to optimise your remediation efforts and enhance your cyber security defences.

Why is penetration testing important?

Penetration testing is a method of evaluating the security of an information system by simulating an attack from a malicious outsider. It's used to test the effectiveness of your system's security controls and identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by real attackers. Penetration testing can provide valuable insight into the security of your systems and help you determine whether or not they're secure enough to withstand real-world attacks, if they are vulnerable to attacks, or if additional measures need to be taken to mitigate risks.

Why is cyber security important for my new business?

As a business owner, you have to think about the impact of cyber security on your bottom line. Cyber attacks can lead to financial loss, reputational damage and legal issues. Cyber security is often perceived as an issue that only affects large companies with big IT budgets but this is not true - even small businesses are at risk from cyber criminals who are increasingly targeting SMEs because they tend not to have adequate protection in place. In fact, some studies suggest that smaller organisations may be more vulnerable than larger ones due to their lack of resources and expertise in this area (1). The good news is that there are steps you can take now to minimise these risks and ensure your organisation has effective safeguards in place before any incidents occur:

What harm can cyber attacks do to my company?

The cost of a cyber attack can be high, as it can lead to the loss of revenue and reputation. In addition, a company's customers may leave if they are concerned about their data being compromised. A company's intellectual property can also be stolen if attackers are able to access sensitive information through these attacks.

How can I effectively analyse Pen Test Results?

You should have a good understanding of what you are looking for, how to look for it and how to interpret the results. You need to know what to do with your findings, whether that be improving security or communicating them back to your client.

Conclusion

Penetration testing is not just a tool to find security vulnerabilities in your network. It's also a way to improve your overall cyber security posture and make sure that you are fully prepared for any potential attack. If you want to get the most out of penetration testing and make sure it doesn't just become another line item in your budget, then we suggest following these tips: Don't just fix it and move on - look for patterns! Assess your overall risk level Find problem areas that need attention or are new. See if there's a trend in the data such as a specific time of day or day of week Use real-time reporting tools so you can see where you're weak and what needs improvement. You won't get better unless you know where you stand!