From Why to How on Black Box Penetration Testing for Organizations

As the title suggests, this type of testing is truly “black!” You could even imagine it in black color. Simply put, it’s like testing in complete darkness—figuring things out while everything is unknown, like shooting arrows in the dark!

Now you might be wondering “What exactly do we test if we don’t know anything? How do we even begin testing?” And most importantly, “Why approach penetration like this?” These questions naturally spark curiosity and set the stage for exploration.

Don’t worry, we’ll answer all your questions and satisfy your curiosity as we explore the reasoning and approach behind this way of testing.

Why It Is Called Black Box 🕋

Well, as said earlier, everything is unknown except the scope. If you are doing penetration on the web, you are given domain names and for cases of network, it can be a domain and range of IPs. In the black box method, you are to find everything else on your own.

Similarly, the term “black box” comes from the idea that testers have no knowledge of the internals of the system being tested. 

It’s like trying to understand what’s inside a completely sealed and opaque box. You rely only on inputs and outputs to uncover business logic and related vulnerabilities.

While most of the organizations provide testing data to avoid social engineering during exploitation, some might go for it and consider the most vulnerable point in the security chain, which is humans!

Importance of Black Box Pentest

Although black box pentesting is hard as you should have imagined, it's important due to the coverage and thoroughness it provides to organizations in order to make them more secure.

Besides, it can be said that its perfect attack simulation is the most important thing to consider while checking the durability of the defenses of an organization. Here are some reasons that show that why an organization needs to have this testing:

1. Almost real hacker-like attack simulations that prove systems can handle real-world, stealthy attacks.
2. Covers app areas that have not gone through security checks unintentionally, basically focusing on security gaps.
3. System security evaluation is unbiased due to no prior knowledge to testers and encourages them to explore every nook and cranny, uncovering hidden risks.
4. Helps in achieving security standards like HIPAA, CGRC, GDPR, etc. which require extensive security checks.

Costs of Black Box Pentests

The average cost of having black box pentesting can range from $10,000 to around $75,000 for network and web applications combined, but these figures can vary widely because of factors such as time, expertise, and scope of testing.

Personally, I believe that achieving a balance between time, expertise, and cost is essential in order to get the most out of pentest without compromising on quality outcomes. To be explained,

1. Reducing the timeline requires a higher level of expertise to get effective results quickly. Conversely, compromising on expertise demands more time to uncover critical security flaws due to the level of experience and skills of testers. In both scenarios, you’re essentially trading off time for expertise or vice versa, keeping the costs relatively similar.
2. On the other hand, if both timeline and expertise are compromised – such as reducing the timeline with low-level expertise – the results are likely to be subpar. Although this might keep your pockets cool, it can weaken security posture in the long-term by leaving unaddressed vulnerabilities with increased risk of breaches.

How It's Carried Out

Black box testing is not about just testing blindly but following stepwise procedures starting from scope gathering to delivering the final report.

It is a rigorous process of hacking unauthorized, but ethically and with permissions. Sounds contradictory right? No worries, we will explore each method in detail for clarification. Let’s begin by understanding the recon stage, which begins right after gathering the testing scope.

And yeah, I prefer to explain via examples so you will find examples at every stage and I hope you will enjoy it while grasping theory!

1. Reconnaissance

Imagine you are testing a medium-sized tech firm with domain example.com. While at it, you discover dev.example.com and test.example.com. Then, you do WHOIS checks, reveal multiple IPs, some for dev, and an Nmap scan gives port 22 and 8080 open. A banner grab on port 8080 reveals an old Tomcat with critical security flaws, offering a prime target.

These discoveries would be used for the next stages of recon, ultimately uncovering a vulnerable login page or a misconfigured admin panel. In short, carrying out this stage with care ensures accuracy for the next pentest phases.

Finally, Scanning & Enumeration verify these findings—an advanced recon step that leaves no stone unturned.

2. Vulnerability Discovery

With gathered intel on systems and applications used in the organization being tested, testers search for exploitable flaws in the identified assets, systematically. They combine automated and manual scanning techniques to make sure that nothing is overlooked.

Then after, it gets confirmed whether flaws are truly exploitable or not by cross-referencing known CVEs and performing targeted tests. This step is essential in order to prevent false alarms mainly.

Let’s connect this with our example in the recon stage; after spotting an outdated Tomcat server on dev.example.com, the next step is confirming its vulnerability, which involves scanning exposed ports and services, while checking for known weaknesses or misconfigurations.

3. Exploitation

Now that vulnerabilities are confirmed, the next step is to promptly exploit them. Let’s understand it by revisiting our vulnerable Tomcat server; during its exploitation, you attempt to login to the Tomcat manager application using default credentials (admin:admin) – and it works! 

After this, you deploy a malicious .war file containing a web shell which allows you to execute arbitrary commands on the server, gaining control over the system. Now, you check for any sensitive data on the server and you find conf files containing database creds which help you extract confidential customer information from the backend server, proving the real-world impact of this vulnerability.

Same way in real-world cases, malicious actors could use similar vulnerabilities to steal data, disrupt services, or even escalate their attacks further into the organization’s network. So one more reason to do black box pentesting!

4. Privilege Escalation

This is basically a stage where you try to escalate your access level, like admin or root, on the target system using a compromised portion of the system to maximize control over the system.

Continuing with our example; after gaining access via the web shell, you notice the server runs with limited privileges. To gain more privilege, you look for misconfigurations or improper permissions.

Here, you find that the server contains a vulnerable version of a common library with a privilege escalation exploit listed in its CVE database. 

By executing the exploit, you elevate your access from a regular user to the root account. Now, you have unrestricted control, allowing you to read sensitive files, modify system configurations, or even disable security measures.

This stage illustrates the potential damage an attacker can cause with unauthorized access, showing the importance of securing permissions level and updating old softwares.

5. Reporting

Reporting is the final phase of the pentesting of any kind where all findings are documented in a clear and actionable format. It ensures the organization understands the vulnerabilities with fix and their impact if not resolved promptly.

A good pentest report must include Executive Summary, Technical Details, Risk Prioritization, and Recommendations. You would be thinking, “Why add Executive Summary? 🤔” it is the portion that makes an impact as its for decision makers.

You can find a good black box pentest report sample here.

Drawbacks of Black Box Pentest

Although black-box penetration testing is important in order to maintain a strong foothold in an organization's security posture, it has a few drawbacks which are discussed further below.

1. Limited Scope and Knowledge

Testers work without internal information which might cause overlooking of vulnerabilities that require an insider perspective to identify them.

Moreover, due to black-boxing the testing, review of source codes and internal systems doesn’t happen, proving that the black-box method, on its own, fails to provide a clear picture of a company's security.

So, to get the best out of this method, we can combine it with other types – white and gray box pentesting.

2. Unpredictable Test Completion Time

You should have already guessed it by now, but let me say it too. All testers do not have the same skills and expertise and hence based on the tester’s experience the timeline of the pentest gets elongated or shortened, ranging from minimal to several months to recon and identify a vulnerability.

To avoid this, it’s best to get your pentest provider who creates realistic strategies and timelines to cover the entire penetration testing plan.

3. Higher Costs

Black box penetration testing generally demands more time due to a lack of internal knowledge, requiring testers to spend additional effort on discovery and analysis. This extended timeline ultimately increases the cost of the overall process.

Additionally, expense gets high because of hiring skilled professionals, which can’t be avoided as their expertise is crucial for uncovering hidden vulnerabilities. 

However, this higher investment always gives fruitful return when you get to hear “Breach was unsuccessful due to earlier identification of critical security gaps! 😢”, and believe me this is the best thing when you are defending against brutal hackers who are willing to go all lengths.

To Summarize

Overall, black box pentesting is a way to strengthen an organization's digital security posture. By simulating real-world attacks and exposing hidden weak points, it helps identify risks that could otherwise go unnoticed and turn into those dreaded “OHH NOOO! 😱” moments.

While it has its challenges, it can provide greater value if complemented with other methods like white and gray boxing techniques to ensure thorough coverage.

Complexities of black box penetration and the unique needs of organizations are understood by professionals like me at Alphabin, and hence we can provide hidden vulnerabilities before attackers while keeping an optimal balance between cost, time, and quality.

I know I have written enough already but I want to give this tip whether you want or not 😄, so “Do black box pentest once in a while – because proactive defense is the key to maximum security!”

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