Vulnerability Assessment for Applications Security Through Penetration Simulation and Testing

Cybersecurity threats and attacks are a critical concern for computing systems as general and specifically in web applications. There are many types and categories of cyberattacks on web applications. Many of these attacks are made possible due to existing vulnerabilities in the networking environments and platforms that host these web applications. So, the vulnerability assessment and attacks simulations on these networking platforms are of extreme importance to protect and secure the top web applications that play a prime role in our daily life. One of the widely used mechanisms to identify vulnerabilities and defend against different attacks on systems and networks is Penetration Testing. It allows us to simulate real-world attacks on a network or a single device to determine the susceptibility and impact of cybersecurity attacks. Pen testing aims to secure a system or network by performing a full-blown attack against it. Several techniques have been used for that, from port scanning, service, and operating system detection to network enumeration, creating specially crafted packets, and modifying software to exploit vulnerabilities. However, while it is used widely as a defensive technique, some attackers also employ it for malicious intentions utilizing available open-source penetration testing tools. Penetration testing on internal networks such as networks that connect IoT/sensors/web cameras, can be utilized to find vulnerabilities and fix them to secure the networks. In this research, we present a detailed discussion on penetration testing and its seven phases of action and provide a step-by-step procedure with instructions using various open-source tools to conduct penetration testing and vulnerability assessments of a network. We finally demonstrate the process and results of simulated attacks on our network within the testing environment. This research provides a comprehensive introduction to penetration testing and testbed through real-world attack simulation. The IT administrator or security enthusiast can utilize them to secure networks, devices, clients, servers, and applications while enhancing the overall organization's security.