Penetration Testing Methodology Step by Step Checklist

1 Signing the Contract
Getting contracts signed is the most important step needed before a penetration test takes place. Without it, all actions against a company could be considered malicious and potentially illegal. All contracts should be signed by authorized personnel for both companies.

2 Setting the Rules of Engagement
Setting these rules helps to establish how much information the pen testers are given and what approaches are allowed during the test. This also helps to protect the pen testers from project scope creep.

3 Planning the Attack
The penetration testing team carries out this step. Its purpose can include the following:

Gathering your team of personnel
Collecting tools
Planning an attack strategy

4 Gathering Information
This step is sometimes called "foot printing" the victim. It is where all relevant information about the company is gathered and used for later steps in an attempt to gain access.

5 Scanning (Enumeration)
Scanning consists of searching and probing for systems and enumerating ports and applications running on them. This can also include enumerating user accounts and shared resources on computer systems. Note that some testers in the field separate scanning and enumeration into separate steps.

6 Gaining Access
This is the most exciting yet typically the most time consuming of all the steps. Gaining access might just fall into your lap, but more often it is a lengthy process. Hopefully in some cases, it will result in a failed attempt. This step can contain almost any approach to gain access, such as the following:

Access via the Internet
Dialup access
Social engineering
Wireless access
Denial of service
E-mail attacks (spam)
Trojans
Dumpster diving

7 Maintaining Access
[*] After the penetration testing team gains access, they might need to return to complete more testing. This step includes the installation of backdoor-style applications to allow an easier return into the system for further penetration attempts. This also simulates a scenario where backdoors have been maliciously installed and assesses whether current security measures are likely to detect them.

8 Covering Tracks
[*]This step allows the penetration testers to attempt to clear all traces of the attack just like a highly skilled hacker would.

9 Writing the Report
This step allows the team to assemble its findings into a document. This is the product that is presented to the customer. This step consumes a significant part of the time taken for the penetration test as a whole. Sometimes the client retains the only copy of this document, which summarizes the information collected in the previous steps.

10 Presenting and Planning the Follow-Up
After the team completes the tests and presents them to the customer, it should schedule a follow-up test on a recurring basis to ensure that the customer does not become vulnerable to future exploits and weaknesses that might occur.

Penetration Testing and Network Defense By Andrew Whitaker, Daniel P. Newman