Ethical hacking and penetration testing are essential cybersecurity practices that uncover security vulnerabilities by simulating attacks on an organisation’s network.
While both aim to identify and mitigate risks, they differ in scope and approach. Ethical hacking provides a broader security assessment, focusing on ongoing threats, whereas penetration testing is a targeted, controlled simulation of specific attack scenarios.
Understanding these distinctions helps organisations choose the most suitable method for improving their cybersecurity posture.
What is ethical hacking?
Ethical hacking is a method of cybersecurity maintenance in which ethical hackers use the same techniques as malicious hackers to try to identify vulnerabilities in an organisation's operating systems.
However, instead of exploiting these vulnerabilities as a malicious hacker might, an ethical hacker will use their skillset to simulate controlled attacks, which in reality do no damage to an organisation's network.
By performing these simulated attacks, ethical hackers, sometimes also referred to as 'white hat hackers', can provide organisations with the information needed to fortify their cybersecurity infrastructure, providing an evaluation of its ability to detect, respond to, and enact remediations in the instance of a real breach.
What is penetration testing?
Penetration testing is largely similar, but adopts more of a co-ordinated and time-restrained approach to testing an organisation's cybersecurity posture.
A penetration test is often carried out by an independent team with the scope and depth of the pentest determined by the business, through requisites.
The penetration test is then conducted within the framework of needs provided by the clients, focusing on requested areas of their network security such as, web application testing, mobile application testing, internal or external infrastructure testing, to name a few.
With traditional vendors, once pentesting has been completed, the pentesting team will provide their client with a report summarising any malicious findings, allowing them to make remediations based on findings. This period of anticipating results can be extensive, and often leave businesses vulnerable in the process.
However, with OnSecurity’s real-time reporting, clients are informed of vulnerabilities as soon as they are identified, meaning they can remediate efficiently and save significantly with hourly billing. Real-time reporting reduces the window of vulnerability while keeping organisations well-informed throughout the pentesting process, offering clarity and communication unparalleled by alternative vendors.
You can find further information surrounding our pentesting and real-time reporting here.
What are the key differences between ethical hacking and penetration testing?
While the fundamental intentions of ethical hacking and pentesting are similar, their methodologies, objectives, and scopes differ. Both are significant in assuring robust cybersecurity, but adopt different approaches to achieve this.
Scoping a pentest
Pentesting seeks to find vulnerabilities within a timeframe determined by the client and their chosen pentest vendor. Due to this, pentesting focuses on helping a client improve security in specific aspects of their IT system.
Ethical hacking, contrastingly, surveys the entire IT environment over long and indeterminate periods.
Pentesting approach
Pentesting follows a structured methodology based on criteria established by the client, making it excellent for evidencing and achieving regulatory compliance standards such as ISO 27001, DORA, NIST, Soc 2 Type 2.
Reporting and remediation
Pentesting identifies vulnerabilities within an organisation's network security, compiling this information into a report which is sent to the client. The client can then use an in-house IT team, or external provider, to patch the security issues outlined in the report.
Ethical hacking does not always guarantee a formal report, and has a less structured approach, however, ethical hackers will sometimes offer direct remediation support for any issues they uncover, saving the need for additional remediation efforts.
Ethical Hacking vs. Penetration Testing: Which is right for your business?
Choosing between ethical hacking and pentesting depends on your organisation's needs.
Pentesting is generally more advisable for fulfilling compliance requirements, making them more suitable for organisations with lots of regulatory expectations such as those in healthcare, tech, or finance.
The structured, targeted approach when identifying cyber threats is great if you have specific criteria in mind.
Alternatively, ethical hacking may be more appropriate if your business is seeking an overall understanding of its cybersecurity strength, and can be more suitable when wanting to test generally, in a less time-structured manner.
What are the benefits of ethical hacking?
Ethical hacking as a means of fortifying your organisation’s cybersecurity has a range of benefits. Ethical hackers can identify security vulnerabilities from a hacker’s perspective, in turn saving organisations from breaches that could impact both their finances and reputation.
Here are some other benefits:
- Ethical hacking has a wide scope of analysis.
- The non-time-constrained approach of ethical hacking allows for more complex and holistic analysis of an organisation's security posture.
- A certified ethical hacker may help build the foundations of an organisation’s cybersecurity system or networks.
- Ethical hacking can be sourced from in-house specialists, assuring a greater understanding of your organisation's protocols and operating procedures.
What are the benefits of penetration testing?
Penetration testing, similar to ethical hacking, offers a wealth of benefits. This method of vulnerability identification is favoured by organisations of all sizes due to its dynamic, client-led approach to testing a network's security.
Here are some key benefits of penetration testing:
- Provides a clear and timely report reviewing your organisation's security systems.
- Regular pentesting is often mandated by many industries to protect sensitive data and helps achieve compliance requirements.
- Pentesting can challenge an organisation's incident response measures, and provide feedback on areas of weakness.
- Mitigates the risk of future cyber attacks through regular testing of existing security operations.
OnSecurity provides cost-effective penetration services, aligned with your organisation's business operations. As a CREST-accredited vendor, we offer a wide range of penetration testing services, with our unique real-time reporting feature providing vulnerability findings alerts in as little as 8 minutes.
You can learn more about the variety of penetration testing services offered here.
How do ethical hackers and penetration testers work together?
In a comprehensive security strategy, penetration testers and ethical hackers work together to cover all bases. Ethical hackers, for example, might focus on broader and ongoing threat detection, whereas pentesters will work to conduct more controlled and in-depth simulations on specific areas of your organisation's system. This combined defence strategy offers continual and thorough coverage of your networks, minimising the risk of exploitation by malicious hackers.
While both penetration testing and ethical hacking aim to enhance cybersecurity, they differ in approach. Penetration testing offers a focused, structured analysis to identify vulnerabilities, whereas ethical hacking takes a broader, adaptive stance against emerging threats. However, they both provide comprehensive insights for a robust cybersecurity strategy.
By understanding the differences between penetration testing and ethical hacking, organisations can make informed choices and strengthen their cybersecurity posture, protecting themselves and their network from malicious hackers.
If you're curious about simplified and effective penetration testing for your organisation, you can find out more about OnSecurity's penetration testing services here.itional remediation efforts.
Ethical Hacking vs. Penetration Testing: Which is right for your business?
Choosing between ethical hacking and pentesting depends on your organisation's needs.
Pentesting is generally more advisable for fulfilling compliance requirements, making them more suitable for organisations with lots of regulatory expectations such as those in healthcare, tech, or finance.
The structured, targeted approach when identifying cyber threats is great if you have specific criteria in mind.
Alternatively, an ethical hacking may be more appropriate if your business is seeking an overall understanding of its cybersecurity strength, and can be more suitable when wanting to test generally, in a less time-structured manner.
What are the benefits of ethical hacking?
Ethical hacking as a means of fortifying your organisation’s cybersecurity has a range of benefits. Ethical hackers can identify security vulnerabilities from a hacker’s perspective, in turn saving organisations from breaches that could impact both their finances and reputation.
Here are some other benefits:
- Ethical hacking is beneficial due to having a wide scope of analysis.
- The non-time-constrained approach of ethical hacking allows for more complex and holistic analysis of an organisation's security posture.
- A certified ethical hacker may help build the foundations of an organisation’s cybersecurity system or networks.
- Ethical hacking can be sourced from in-house specialists, assuring a greater understanding of your organisation's protocols and operating procedures.
What are the benefits of penetration testing?
Penetration testing, similar to ethical hacking, offers a wealth of benefits. This method of vulnerability identification is favoured by organisations of all sizes due to its dynamic, client-led approach to testing a network's security.
Here are some key benefits:
- Provides a clear and timely report reviewing your organisation's security systems.
- Regular pentesting is often mandated by many industries to protect sensitive data and helps achieve compliance requirements.
- Pentesting can challenge an organisation's incident response measures, and provide feedback on areas of weakness.
- Mitigates the risk of future cyber attacks through regular testing of existing security operations.
OnSecurity provides cost-effective penetration services, aligned with your organisation's business operations. As a CREST-accredited vendor, we offer a wide range of penetration testing services, with our unique real-time reporting feature providing vulnerability findings alerts in as little as 8 minutes.
You can learn more about the variety of services offered on our pentest page.
How do ethical hackers and penetration testers work together?
In a comprehensive security strategy, penetration testers and ethical hackers work together to cover all bases. Ethical hackers, for example, might focus on broader and ongoing threat detection, whereas pentesters will work to conduct more controlled and in-depth simulations on specific areas of your organisation's system. This combined defence strategy offers continual and thorough coverage of your networks, minimising the risk of exploitation by malicious hackers.
While both penetration testing and ethical hacking aim to enhance cybersecurity, they differ in approach. Penetration testing offers a focused, structured analysis to identify vulnerabilities, whereas ethical hacking takes a broader, adaptive stance against emerging threats. However, they both provide comprehensive insights for a robust cybersecurity strategy.
By understanding the differences between penetration testing and ethical hacking, organisations can make informed choices and strengthen their cybersecurity posture, protecting themselves and their network from malicious hackers.
If you're curious about simplified and effective penetration testing for your organisation, click here to find out more about OnSecurity's services.
