penetration testing

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

an authorised and simulated cyberattack performed by security professionals against a computer system, network, or application to evaluate its security posture by attempting to discover and exploit vulnerabilities before malicious attackers do; also known as ethical hacking or pen testing; penetration testers use the same tools and techniques as criminal hackers but operate under a formal scope of work and rules of engagement, delivering a report of findings and remediation recommendations to the client; methodologies are guided by frameworks such as OWASP, PTES, and NIST