Reports on Penetration Testing on Operating Systems and Database Research Paper

Reports on Penetration Testing on Operating Systems and Database Security to Ensure Reliabilty and Integrity - Research Paper Example In the context of penetration testing on operating systems, it can be affirmed that the aspect i.e. penetration testing is often viewed as an elementary area of information systems based on security engineering (McDermott, 2001). In precise, the facet of penetration testing is often regarded as ‘pen testing’ or ‘security testing’ method which tends to assess the safety of a computer network or system by testing it from the viewpoint of an attacker i.e. a hacker or a cracker. This significant aspect i.e. penetration testing cannot be duly considered as an alternative to other security measures related to information technology (IT). Rather, it is regarded as the approach which significantly assures the security of a network or system in terms of protecting it from being attacked by an intruder (Brown Computer Science, 2010). Techniques of Penetration Testing on Operating Systems The different techniques of penetration testing on operating systems can be appar ently observed as gathering valuable information, scanning internet protocol (IP) addresses, performing fingerprinting, recognizing vulnerable services, exploiting vulnerability activities and finally fixing major problems. The prime intention of the technique i.e. gathering valuable information is to determine the diverse range of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses possessed by an organization. ... tice concerning the recognition of vulnerable service targets is performed to gain greater access to the operating systems along with ensuring that the operating systems are not harmed internally or externally. The technique linked with exploiting vulnerability activities enables to exploit certain detected vulnerabilities such as buffer and heal overflow, code injection, cross-site scripting and SQL injection among others. The prime intention of the technique related to fixing major problems is to recognize the active ports that run on the operating systems. The identification of these active ports might support to protect the operating systems through developing along with upgrading client/server architecture, conducting thorough or non-destructive tests and constructing vulnerability mapping among others (Brown Computer Science, 2010). Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, it can be affirmed from a broader outlook that the aforesaid techniques would certainly facilitate to p rotect the operating networks or systems by a significant level. Significance of Penetration Testing on Operating Systems In this high-tech era, the importance of penetration testing especially within the periphery of operating systems has gained relevance by a considerable level. The procedure of conducting an effectual penetration test enables to confirm that new along with existing operating systems and networks are not susceptible to security risks that might permit unlawful access to exploit valuable resources. It can be observed over a few preceding years that the business corporations in this present era are adopting and executing modern technological tools such as advanced operating systems for the purpose of delivering quality and effective services to the consumers. The broader