Demystifying Penetration Testing: A Comprehensive Guide

Team Pillar on March 24, 2024

Why Penetration Testing is Mandatory for Every Insurance Network

In the turbulent waters of today’s cybersecurity landscape, insurance companies navigate a precarious course. Guarding vast treasure troves of personal and financial data, they become prime targets for malicious actors seeking a lucrative payday. Ransomware attacks cast crippling shadows, data breaches shatter trust, and every compromised record becomes a weapon aimed at the next victim. In this relentless tide of threats, penetration testing (pentesting) emerges as the anchor, not just a compliance checkbox, but an ongoing investment in network security and customer trust.

While meeting insurance security mandates is crucial, a truly secure network demands a proactive, continuous commitment to pentesting. It’s the lighthouse illuminating vulnerabilities before they’re exploited, enabling you to build a formidable digital fortress.

What is Penetration Testing?

Imagine your network as a bustling insurance office. Sensitive data – customer records, financial information – flows through like stacks of paperwork. Now, picture thieves (aka hackers) prowling for weaknesses, searching for unlocked backdoors, or maybe bribing the night guard (social engineering) to slip in unnoticed. That’s where penetration testing (pentesting) comes in – it’s like hiring ethical security experts to play the role of those thieves, testing your defenses before the real ones arrive.

Think of firewalls as security guards at the front door, scanning everyone for suspicious packages. Pentesting simulates hackers trying to bypass these guards, finding hidden entrances (vulnerabilities), and exploiting them to sneak in and grab valuable data. This “ethical burglary” reveals security cracks before real criminals can exploit them, allowing you to patch them up and beef up your security.

But insurance companies face unique risks, so not all pentests are created equal. Web application testing is crucial, as hackers often target vulnerabilities hidden within online portals and forms. Social engineering tests, mimicking phone scams or phishing emails, assess your employee awareness and preparedness against deceptive tactics. And don’t forget internal network attacks, simulating how insiders or compromised devices could exploit weaknesses within your own secure zone.

Remember, pentesting isn’t about finding fault, it’s about building a fortress. By understanding the basics and its unique value for insurance, you can embrace pentesting as a powerful tool for safeguarding your network and your customers’ trust.

Beyond Compliance: Why Regular Pentesting Matters?

In the high-stakes game of cybersecurity, a single data breach can cost insurance companies more than just a hefty fine. Industry stats tell a grim story: the average cost of a data breach for an insurance company can reach a staggering $10 million, including hefty fines, legal fees, customer payouts, and operational disruptions. But the true price tag reaches far beyond mere dollars and cents.

Imagine the headlines after a breach: “Your personal data exposed in insurance giant hack!” Trust, the bedrock of the insurance industry, crumbles as customer confidence plummets. Reputational damage, once incurred, is like a wildfire – notoriously difficult to control and leaving lasting scars. A single attack can shatter years of careful brand-building, leaving companies scrambling to pick up the pieces.

This is where the proactive shield of regular pentesting comes in. It’s not just a box to tick for compliance; it’s your preemptive strike against cyber threats. Think of it as an ongoing insurance policy for your network, a constant audit by ethical hackers who uncover vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. Every patched hole, every tightened security measure, is a potential disaster averted, a barrier erected against the rising tide of cybercrime.

Regular pentesting offers a tangible ROI that goes beyond avoiding compliance headaches:

  • Reduced financial risk: Proactive vulnerability mitigation significantly lowers the chances of a costly data breach, saving millions in potential damages.
  • Enhanced customer trust: Demonstrating a commitment to data security fosters loyalty and peace of mind, solidifying your reputation as a trustworthy guardian of sensitive information.
  • Streamlined operations: A secure network means fewer disruptions, smoother transactions, and improved operational efficiency.
  • Competitive advantage: In a security-conscious market, showcasing robust defenses attracts new customers and builds trust with business partners.

Regular pentesting isn’t just an expense; it’s an investment in peace of mind, operational resilience, and ultimately, the heart of your business – your customers’ trust. It’s time to move beyond the minimum compliance requirements and embrace proactive security. Make pentesting your armor against cybercrime, and build a network that stands guard against any digital foe.

Our Comprehensive Solution: PenTest + Remediation – Peace of Mind in a Single Click

Forget the juggling act of finding separate vendors for pentesting and remediation. At Pillar Support, we offer a seamless, one-stop solution that takes you from vulnerability discovery to complete network security. No more scrambling after a pentest, wondering who to call for the fix. We’re your trusted partner for both, ensuring a smooth and efficient path to a secure network.

Expertise You Can Trust

Our team of certified penetration testers and experienced network security specialists bring years of expertise to the table. We’re not just about finding vulnerabilities; we understand your network and know how to remediate issues effectively and efficiently. We’ve partnered with Vonahi Security, a leading pentesting provider with SOC 2 Type II certification, to deliver rigorous testing methodologies and comprehensive reports.

From Vulnerability to Vulnerability-Free

Our combined service follows a clear and collaborative process:

  • Penetration Testing: Vonahi Security’s skilled testers simulate real-world attacks, uncovering vulnerabilities and potential security gaps.
  • Detailed Report: You receive a comprehensive report outlining identified vulnerabilities, their severity, and recommendations for remediation.
  • Expert Remediation: Our team works closely with you, prioritizing and patching vulnerabilities based on risk and impact.
  • Ongoing Support: We don’t just fix and forget. We offer ongoing security monitoring and support, ensuring your network remains secure long after the initial pentest.

Why Choose Pillar Support?

  • One-stop solution: Simplify your security journey with a single trusted partner.
  • Expert team: Benefit from our combined expertise in pentesting and remediation, including the trusted testing power of Vonahi Security.
  • Efficient process: Enjoy a seamless workflow from vulnerability discovery to resolution.
  • Peace of mind: Gain confidence knowing your network is secure and compliant.

Secure Your Network, Secure Your Future: Take Action Today!

You’ve navigated the treacherous waters of cyber threats, understood the vital role of pentesting, and discovered how Pillar Support becomes your shield against digital storms. Now, it’s time to take action and build a network that’s not just compliant, but impenetrable.

Ready to:

  • Ace your insurance pen test with flying colors?
  • Patch vulnerabilities before they become gaping holes?
  • Gain peace of mind knowing your data and customers are safe?

Don’t wait for a breach to awaken you to the need for proactive security. Contact Pillar Support today and explore our comprehensive PenTest & Remediation solution!

Here’s how to take the next step:

Call us at 212-255-3970 and ask for Michael or Richard. They’ll happily discuss your specific needs and tailor a custom PenTest solution for your company.

Remember, a secure network isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity. Partner with Pillar Support and make peace of mind your most valuable asset.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Meant by Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing, also known as pentesting, is a simulated cyberattack performed by ethical hackers to identify vulnerabilities in your network or computer systems. It’s like hiring a skilled “thief” to test your security defenses before real criminals try to break in. The pentester uses various techniques and tools to exploit weaknesses, allowing you to fix them before any real harm is done.

What are the Three Main Types of Penetration Testing?

1. External: Simulates attacks originating from outside your network, aiming to access sensitive data or disrupt operations.
2. Internal: Tries to exploit vulnerabilities within your network, mimicking an insider threat or compromised device.
3. Web application: Focuses on identifying security flaws in web applications and portals, where cybercriminals often target user data.

What are the 5 Steps of Penetration Testing?

1. Planning and Scoping: Defining the target systems, attack scope, and rules of engagement.
2. Information Gathering: Collecting information about the target system and its vulnerabilities.
3. Vulnerability Analysis: Identifying and prioritizing weaknesses that could be exploited.
4. Exploitation: Launching simulated attacks to gain access and demonstrate the potential impact.
5. Reporting and Remediation: Providing a detailed report with recommendations for patching vulnerabilities and improving security posture.

Why is Penetration Testing Important?

Identifies vulnerabilities: Pentesting proactively exposes weaknesses before attackers can exploit them, significantly reducing the risk of data breaches and financial losses.
Boosts compliance: Regular pentesting helps businesses meet cyber security regulations and demonstrates their commitment to data protection.
Builds trust: By showing a proactive approach to security, companies reassure customers and stakeholders that their information is safe.
Improves security posture: Regular pentesting provides valuable insights to continuously improve your network defenses and stay ahead of evolving threats.

Human Preservation

Richard Lee on January 4, 2024

As I began to fall in love with ChatGPT in January of 2023, I learned that it was possible to configure a server to run a private GPT environment. This meant I could enjoy all the features ChatGPT offered using my own data, without sharing it with the public ChatGPT and avoiding its tendency to hallucinate.

While exploring this, my overactive brain was drawn to the realm of deep fakes, which use AI to seamlessly combine different aspects of a person into a cohesive whole, creating results otherwise impossible. I wanted to extend my private GPT server to incorporate cloud computing technologies, allowing the creation of real-time deep fakes.

I’m not referring to the deep fakes known for misinformation but rather those used for customer service or as digital twins. Though not widely popular or fully realized yet, the concept intrigued me.

Then, tragedy struck. My best friend and collaborator in intellectual and non-profit endeavors, Dr. Natale Zappia, succumbed to brain cancer. He was a father, husband, friend, teacher, student, brother, and relative to many. Whether you knew him for two days or two decades, his personality was evident. Our projects were just a fraction of his vast experiences. Dr. Zappia, a professor of American and Native American history who authored books and scholarly articles, left a legacy locked within words. Books and articles, for all their extensive research, can feel inaccessible; finding a specific concept can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. As I mourned, I pondered why we don’t keep the memories of our loved ones alive more dynamically. In the Harry Potter universe, photos move and smile. In contrast, future generations often find limited information about their ancestors, despite the seeming abundance of data today. Social media can memorialize someone, but it’s static. What if we could parse this data to train a posthumous AI of that person?

This concept has been in my mind since high school in the eighties, a time when I was already engaged with personal computers and modems, thanks to my tech-savvy father. For a college admission essay, I wrote about using artificial intelligence to scan my grandfather’s computer files to create a digital persona for conversations. That vision now drives my mission at Human Preservation. This service isn’t just for personal memories but also for information created by individuals or organizations.

With the increasing pervasiveness of artificial intelligence in our society, I chose to name my service Human Preservation vs AI Services, emphasizing the human element – you, the hero of your story, and your business.

We are just at the dawn of artificial intelligence, reminiscent of the early days of the web and its burgeoning technologies. Now, as then, AI technologies are accessible and not confined to elite think tanks or universities, offering benefits to both individuals and organizations.

Human Preservation, or HumPre for short (reminiscent of ‘Humphrey’), is a digital agency emerging in today’s landscape of artificial intelligence. Functioning as an integral part of PILLAR, an established IT support company, HumPre represents a fusion of three decades of PILLAR’s experience. Our mission is to steer web development towards ‘bluer waters’—a realm beyond the fiercely competitive ‘red waters’ of the global market. In this innovative ‘blue ocean,’ HumPre is dedicated to collaborating with forward-thinking leaders who are keen to integrate AI into their businesses using their unique, private data. This approach is adaptable for both internal and external initiatives. It encompasses the deep fake technology that I’ve explored and seamlessly incorporated into a private GPT environment, among other advancements. As the possibilities with AI continue to expand and become clearer, HumPre is poised to leverage these innovations to their fullest potential.

The website is www.HumPre.com yet to truly understand what I am doing with AI that can significantly improve businesses that have a lot of data, we will need to talk. Please contact me using the form below or email/call.

Do you, or anyone you know, have questions about how generative AI could elevate their business to the next level? If so, please feel free to refer them to me. I’m here to help explore and unlock the potential of AI for their business needs.

Configuring Your Chat Experience

Richard Lee on January 4, 2024

The Right Click – January 2024 Edition

by Richard Lee

There exists an ongoing conversation about how to hijack ChatGPT to bypass the restrictions and filters programmed into it, which are designed to prevent the generation of harmful text. This harmful content includes:

  • Hate speech
  • Violent content
  • Sexually explicit material
  • Illegal activities
  • Misinformation
  • Personal and sensitive information
  • Self-harm and suicide

For those who believe AI is all doom and gloom, consider that all of the restricted content outlined above is already available on the web and social media today. This availability is arguably a reason why our society faces certain troubles.

However, it’s important to recognize the nuance in this context. All that said, there are good reasons why you’d want your generative AI chatbot to speak to these topics. If you’re a criminal attorney, for example, there are plenty of situations that are not only relevant but critical to your daily practice. Discussing the details of a violent crime, for instance, is essential for legal accuracy and contextual understanding. If you use ChatGPT for creating briefs, the facts of a case may involve harmful content but in the context of the brief and facts, they are indispensable for a comprehensive legal argument.

This underscores the need for a balanced approach to AI’s content restrictions, especially in professional fields where context dramatically alters the nature of such content. This is one of many great reasons to consider private GPT as a solution, as the programmatic restrictions are less and there are humans involved to express the legitimacy of those requests being made. And that’s the work of our latest service: HumPre.

As for hijacking ChatGPT to have it bypass these restrictions, that’s currently not possible. Perhaps the first attempt, let’s say the “Do Anything Now” (DAN) method, worked until it was published. Then, ChatGPT was programmed not to allow any such methods to bypass its restrictions.

Despite the restrictions, there is still so much more assistance that ChatGPT can provide to anyone who would ideally want access to generative harmful content for legitimate purposes. It’s important to understand that the way you word your prompt will also affect your responses. For you wordsmiths, this is your opportunity to re-word the way in which you prompt your ChatGPT.

You can also have ChatGPT assume a persona. In the craft of scriptwriting, it’s been said that you want to get inside the heads of your characters. ChatGPT allows just that. You can describe your character in detail before any conversation with ChatGPT and then ask it to become that character so that you can converse with your character, or the persona you described. The details of your character can be very comprehensive, not just a few lines. So, your prompt or your human creativity will go a long way in empowering ChatGPT to assume this persona.

Personas don’t need to be only for creating movie characters or for general creative writing; they can be used as resident experts. Let’s say you want a personal chef that only provides instructions and doesn’t prepare the food. Since you are both a foodie with food allergies, your ChatGPT personal chef can provide recipes to accommodate your discerning palate. It’s also great at adjusting recipes for more or fewer servings, for example, not having enough eggs. It can even make recommendations on what to substitute for hoisin sauce.

Don’t do what “Steven Schwartz” did. He’s the now-infamous poster boy for ChatGPT hallucinations. Hallucinating is what it’s called when ChatGPT falsifies information in the interest of satisfying your request for content. Mr. Schwartz, an attorney, used ChatGPT to create a legal brief for a judge but failed to proofread what it generated. He would have saved a lot of time and embarrassment. Keeping ChatGPT honest, in case you think it’s hallucinating or fabricating something, is as easy as asking it to provide a source for the information it provided or simply challenging it directly by responding with “I don’t think that’s true.” Also, marking the response by clicking the thumbs down button (found at the bottom of all responses) will indicate to the OpenAI team that it needs attention in that area.

ChatGPT can be used beyond content creation. It’s especially awesome as a teacher. Sure, you can simply ask it to explain the theory of relativity or other tough concepts, or you can ask for those same difficult concepts to be explained using an analogy. That analogy could be something you are already all too familiar with, like a sport or a hobby. Try it out with: “Can you explain the theory of relativity using bread-making as an analogy?”

I used it recently to read through a 15-page agreement I was asked to agree to in order to participate in an AI-based home security program. I asked ChatGPT what points in the document touched on social justice, and it instantly highlighted seven points, one of which was a deal-breaker for me. Think of all the agreements we sign off on as users of apps in the app store, without reading a word of them.

Beyond that, it can also be used for:

  • Programming assistance
  • Language assistance, including legalese and slang
  • Adjusting tone or intention with emails (before sending)
  • Research assistance

ChatGPT is a tool for humanity. The only way to get to know what it can do for you is to simply start using it. Keep the old computer adage in mind: garbage in, garbage out. So, when asking questions, provide details of what you’re looking for.

The Personal Upgrade Class

Richard Lee on January 4, 2024

I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
– Chinese Proverb

This is the essence of the Personal Upgrade Class, an immersive training class developed and delivered by Richard Lee. You’ve spent thousands of dollars upgrading your computers, but when was the last time you upgraded yourself?

Ideally delivered in an in-person setting, this training class is unlike any other. In addition to learning numerous methods of becoming more proficient and efficient with your technology, you’ll also have fun. You’ll be able to ask all your questions and immediately apply what you’re learning using your own tablet or laptop. Coffee, food, prizes, and chocolate are also served.

Post-Covid, work-from-home still exists for many of us. As a result, the in-person training can also be conducted and delivered over Zoom. Of course, you’ll have to provide your own coffee, food, and chocolate, and prizes are not available.

Generative AI Training Class – Date to be Determined
This half-day, in-person course will explore all aspects of generative AI using ChatGPT 4.0 for research, learning, creative inspiration, professional writing, and artistic generation. Conversations will also be held about how ChatGPT is being used by other PILLAR customers to inspire your usage. The dangers of generative AI and practices that can be employed to protect your company, staff, and family will also be discussed. Advanced uses of ChatGPT will be demonstrated and explored. This will be a deep dive into ChatGPT and a mind-expanding journey into how else you can use ChatGPT in your life.

You’ll leave with:
– a comprehensive understanding of generative AI technology
– a go-to list of sites to create generative AI text, images, videos and sound
– confidence in using AI to greatly and extensively improve yourself or save enormous time
– smarter than your friends

Interested?