Cloud Penetration Testing

Identify security vulnerabilities within your cloud systems and applications with CREST-approved penetration testing.

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What is cloud penetration testing?

As organisations increasingly move data and applications to the cloud, it’s vital to ensure their cyber security efforts don’t stop at the network perimeter. Cloud penetration testing simulates an attack on a cloud environment to evaluate its defence mechanisms and find any vulnerabilities. It aims to discover weaknesses in the configuration of cloud services that malicious actors could use to compromise data or systems.

Cloud penetration testing can be performed manually or with automated tools. Manual testing is more time-consuming and requires more technical expertise. It can be more thorough.

Automated tools can be less expensive and gain significant coverage quickly. However, they may not find all potential security issues. Our approach includes a blend of manual and automated testing to ensure the most complete results.

You should conduct cloud penetration testing regularly to ensure the security of your cloud environment. It’s essential to work with a reputable and experienced company, such as Sentrium, that has the knowledge and tools to conduct these tests properly.

Why does your organisation need a cloud pentest?

By conducting regular cloud penetration tests, your organisation can ensure its cloud data and applications are well-protected against the constantly evolving threat posed by cyber criminals. It provides the information necessary to perform a comprehensive risk assessment of your cloud infrastructure to highlight any configuration weaknesses.

It provides detailed technical insight into the configuration of your cloud environment. A cloud pentest can help ensure your organisation remains compliant with various industry regulations. These include GDPR, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials.

All cloud environments differ. There’s no standard assessment for cloud penetration tests. Instead, our skilled and experienced consultants will work with you to understand your cloud infrastructure and services and determine the best testing to use.

Due to the number of services offered in the cloud, a cloud penetration test can take many forms. Depending on your organisation’s utilisation of the cloud, testing may involve evaluating the following:

  • Microsoft 365 environment
  • Internal cloud virtual networks
  • Externally available services such as web applications and APIs
  • Functions as a Service (AWS Lambda / Azure Functions)
  • Cloud-based virtual machines and containers
  • Cloud-based storage
  • User access permissions

Common cloud system vulnerabilities

Our cloud penetration testing services will assess your systems to identify and address a wide range of common cloud vulnerabilities, including:

Microsoft 365 misconfigurations

This assessment is focused on securely configuring your Microsoft 365 platform and ensuring your data and resources are robustly protected and secured. It involves an accurate appraisal of permissions roles, from users to applications. We’ll examine data management and storage policies to ensure that all data remains secure. We’ll also investigate the security configuration of Exchange to ensure it meets security best practices, such as blocking malicious files and phishing attempts.

Insecure configurations of virtual networks

Our consultants will probe for open ports and weak security group rules that may have unintentionally exposed sensitive services and ports. Frequent issues include inadvertently exposed remote administration ports such as SSH or RDP, or where the whitelisting of hosts with access to these ports is too broad.

External/public-facing infrastructure

External-facing cloud infrastructure often contains weaknesses seen in on-premise systems. These include unpatched and outdated software or inadvertently exposed services. Our consultants will scan open ports before probing deeper to pinpoint services and applications running on the hosts and any vulnerabilities they contain. This may involve different assessment types based on the infrastructure involved. For web applications, this may include testing features such as injection attacks or Server-Side Request Forgery. In other cases, this may resemble an external or internal network assessment.

Functions as a Service

Running code in the cloud without maintaining the underlying infrastructure has its advantages. However, the code and its configuration must be secure. Our team will assess functions and review code to check for weaknesses like hardcoded credentials and access keys.

We’ll also examine and analyse permissions granted to functions for any misconfigurations, as they scarcely run in isolation and instead connect to, and impact, several resources.

Virtual machines and containers

Our team will evaluate virtual machines and containers for common vulnerabilities. These include insecure credentials and permissions, networking misconfigurations, lack of encryption, and appropriate backup storage.

Cloud-based storage

Our team will assess your cloud-based storage to identify vulnerabilities like sensitive data exposure and weak encryption. We’ll also look at configuration issues that may be relevant to your organisation’s industry, such as data retention periods.

User access permissions

We’ll review and assess your user access permissions and their scope to determine if they comply with the principle of least privilege. Upon receipt of user permissions, our team will explore how these could be escalated. We’ll also examine if they can be used to grant access to additional or unintended resources.

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Our other pentest services

As well as cloud pentests, our team provides the following penetration testing services:

Our network and infrastructure penetration testing assesses your networks and systems for vulnerabilities. It simulates exploitation safely to show the potential impact. We have extensive knowledge of enterprise environments and a vast range of networking and security technologies.

Provides an in-depth review of your mobile application’s security. We have vast experience assessing applications across iOS, Android and Windows platforms, as well as common mobile development frameworks such as React Native, Flutter and Xamarin.

Assesses your web applications and APIs for security vulnerabilities that may be exploited to compromise your applications. We use comprehensive OWASP testing methodologies and leading tools to provide assurance that your applications are secure.

Our penetration testing services are ideal for businesses who have commercial or regulatory requirements to complete testing, as well as businesses who prioritise cyber security and need independant technical assurance. Find out more about out penetration testing services.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will be tested?

Cloud testing scenarios vary widely depending on how your organisation uses the cloud. An accurate and detailed scope is vital. Our consultants will work with you to lay down the rules of engagement. We’ll be guided by your requirements to determine the scope and methodology that will work best for you.

How long does a cloud pentest take?

Due to the broad nature of cloud assessments, this can vary based on the number of resources present in the environment and its complexity. As a general guide, authenticated tests are granted access to more resources and may take longer but yield more comprehensive results.

Do I need permission from my cloud provider?

All cloud providers differ in terms of what testing is allowed. Some may restrict some forms of testing that could affect other customers. Our experienced consultants can work through this and help advise you.

Will my services be disrupted?

Our skilled testers follow strict guidelines and legal and technical standards to ensure minimal disruption to your business while performing a cloud penetration test. With years of experience testing mission-critical workloads, you can rest easy. Denial of service attacks are generally out of scope when dealing with cloud assessments.

How do I know what type of cloud pentest I need?

The first step of any assessment is to discuss your needs and requirements. Our experienced consultants will work with you to determine your principal security concerns. Once established, we can tailor a testing scenario designed to assess your environment and give you confidence and assurance that your problems are thoroughly evaluated and addressed.

What is CREST?

CREST is an international not-for-profit accreditation and certification body representing and supporting the technical information security market. Companies can become a CREST member and apply for CREST-accredited services. The application requires a rigorous assessment of companies’ processes, data security and service methodologies to ensure they adhere to a best practice standard.

Is Sentrium a CREST-approved provider?

Yes! Sentrium has achieved the standards set by CREST and is a CREST-approved penetration testing service provider. We’re proud to offer services that achieve CREST’s extremely high standards of quality and professionalism, which are recognised internationally.

Why should I use a CREST-approved pentesting company?

Working with a CREST-approved penetration testing provider ensures you’re in safe and experienced hands. You should have the confidence that your penetration test is thorough and comprehensive. Your provider must conduct a technically comprehensive test adhering to CREST’s information security and quality assurance requirements.

What happens after a cloud pentest?

Our team will deliver a comprehensive and detailed report outlining all your environment’s weaknesses. This report is triaged based on the issue severity and the level of risk posed by exploitation. Every weakness holds detailed remediation steps that will allow your teams to quickly and efficiently resolve any issues found during testing.

Can I speak to anyone about the findings?

Absolutely. Following any assessment, our team will be available for debriefing to discuss the issues shown. This is a fantastic opportunity for members of the wider team to pose questions and discuss methods to remediate any problems.

Our Clients

Adam and James have been great to work with. Very clear communication from start to finish making the process very easy to complete whilst taking the time to understand our needs and queries.

Director, Software as a Service (SaaS) Company

Sentrium has been incredibly helpful in reviewing and improving our cyber security efforts! Working with Adam has been a breeze from the start, as he always makes sure to keep in mind our budget and understanding of the subject matter. For us, cyber security went from being an enigma to something we can actually tackle with confidence!

Project Manager, Charity Sector

I've been impressed with the speed and quality of the services provided by Sentrium. Great communication and engagement with the team, and a very professional and flexible approach throughout. I'll certainly be looking to use Sentrium again in the future!

Head of Technology Risk & Security, Financial Services

We engaged Sentrium for our annual penetration testing, and the results were very good. Their team demonstrated strong technical skills and communications from start to finish. I was surprised to find that they discovered some issues that our previous company had missed! I will certainly use them again in future.

Head of IT Security, International E-commerce

Sentrium Security Ltd surpassed our expectations with professional and thorough penetration testing. They identified vulnerabilities and provided recommendations that were really easy to follow. Their commitment to a quality service is apparent, and we gladly recommend them.

Chief Operating Officer, Financial Services

Working with Sentrium Security on our penetration testing was a pleasure. Their services were comprehensive, well organised, and delivered with professionalism. They get a 5/5 from us.

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Telecommunications

Sentrium is a trusted partner we have used for several years. Their services are second-to-none, and the team's communication, specialised knowledge, and flexibility are commendable.

IT Manager, Software Development

Sentrium play a key role in our cyber security programme. Their team have extensive knowledge of information security and penetration testing, and have provided us with valuable insights on many occasions. We are grateful to Sentrium for their exemplary work and dedication to giving a top quality service.

Director, Manufacturing

Get in touch with our experts to discuss your needs

Phone 01242 388 634 or email [email protected]

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