‫So first things first, what is the penetration test?
‫To answer this question, I would like to show you three definitions from three different resources,
‫talk about reconnaissance.
‫The first one is from Wikipedia.
‫The definition of penetration test in Wikipedia is as follows, and I quote, an attack on a computer
‫system with the intention of finding security weaknesses, potentially gaining access to it, its functionality
‫and data, end quote.
‫Now, I want you to pay attention to the words with the attention of finding security weaknesses.
‫Mm hmm.
‫Second definition is from the CISSP preparation guidebook, and I quote, A pen test can determine how
‫a system reacts to an attack, whether or not a system of defenses can be breached and what information
‫can be acquired from the system.
‫Now, the words that I want to emphasize here are how a system reacts to an attack.
‫And the last definition is from another book, it's called Penetration Testing, Protecting Networks
‫and Systems.
‫And I quote, Ben, testing is the simulation of an attack on a system network piece of equipment or
‫other facility with the objective of proving how vulnerable that system or target would be to a real
‫attack, end quote.
‫We want you to notice the words here, this simulation of an attack.
‫So my take on this, since you're asking, is basically bringing a few of these selected parts of the
‫previous definitions together, so my definition penetration test or pen test is the attack simulation
‫on IT systems with the intention of finding security weaknesses to determine how systems react to these
‫weaknesses.
‫See what I mean?