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Feel Good About Your Network IDsec Limited 31-33 College Road Harrow, Middlesex HA1 1EJ United Kingdom (Map) T: 020 8861 2001 F: 020 8861 3433 www.idsec.co.uk Copyright © 2008 IDsec Ltd 5.08         Search         Site Map Printable PDF   Text version		Superwalk Plus builds on our standard service by providing a regular written analysis. This bridges the gap between automated scans and manual penetration testing. The Need In an ideal world it would be possible for system managers to commission regular, traditional penetration tests as well as signing up to an automated external scanning service. After all, both approaches have a lot to offer. Manual testing by experienced practitioners is undeniably more thorough, and takes advantage of the intuition and depth of knowledge that machines just can't provide. On the other hand, automation means that Internet-facing systems can be probed much more frequently, increasing the chance that any flaws will be detected before they are exploited by an intruder. In the real world, with restricted budgets and short timescales, there is a need to bring the two together, focusing on the things that need immediate attention but keeping detailed results for the times when they are needed. All this, of course, without undue expense. Our Service At regular intervals agreed with the client, typically weekly or monthly, our network security consultants examine the latest results generated automatically by the standard Superwalk service and compare them with those used for the previous report. We then produce a written commentary on significant changes. This is, of course, based directly on the results obtained, but also makes use of our accumulated knowledge of the client's gateway, awareness of the latest threats present in the world at large, information on Superwalk internals plus any relevant research needed. As with any analysis of this type, some effort is put into eliminating any false positives that crop up and making sure that there is real evidence for any assertions made. In some cases, it is also possible to distil a number first-level findings into a single real security issue: some apparent holes may be consequential, so that fixing one vulnerability would cause a number of others to disappear. Finally, we make it clear when an apparent change has been caused by a new release of our software rather than anything happening at the client's end: after all, although a hole is a hole, it is important to know whether it has been introduced by a specific action on the part of the administrators or simply was not detectable before. Each report includes details of: hosts that have appeared or disappeared changes in services offered by existing hosts vulnerabilities that are new or have gone away changes in software version revealed by services any differences in networking or system information offered plus our prima facie view of the importance of changes. What You Get The report is provided as a formatted PDF document and is sent by e-mail to a designated client contact: this is normally within two working days of the Superwalk scan on which it is based. Note that we still issue a “peace of mind” report even if nothing has changed since the previous commentary. The Price Superwalk Plus is charged as a supplement to the basic Superwalk service. The price depends on the number of target IP addresses covered by the Superwalk scan on which the commentary is based and the frequency of reporting. For example, IDsec can provide a weekly commentary on scans of up to 64 hosts for £6,750 per year, with a minimum contract of one year. Although we would never suggest that Superwalk is a complete replacement for manual penetration testing, we believe that it may be a better use of a restricted budget. Our Track Record Our basic Superwalk service has been running since 2001, and has been used by a number of blue-chip companies, including a mobile phone company covering more than 1,000 external IP addresses. This additional commentary service was first offered in 2004 and has been now taken up by existing Superwalk customers. Related Services Network Penetration Testing External penetration testing puts us in much the same position as a potential intruder, trying to break into the Internet gateway and systems behind it. Web Application Testing Classic penetration testing at the network level has its place, but many new attacks are aimed at interactive web applications. A thorough external test can minimise these risks.