Mike Pena, Vice President, Cyber Risk Services However, small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) face challenges in adopting these advanced solutions because of their limited resources. As the demand for automation in cybersecurity continues to grow, SMBs need to keep pace and find their footing in the market.
To address this gap, Alacrinet has carved a unique niche in the infosec community by focusing on serving SMBs. Committed to breaking down the complexity and high cost of siloed cybersecurity, it provides SMBs with cutting-edge penetration testing solutions that are both effective and affordable.
By combining deep technical knowledge and certifications with customer-focused consulting, its team brings a comprehensive range of penetration testing services that feature powerful automation, reporting, vulnerability management, and collaboration. With Alacrinet, any organization, big or small, can now better protect their digital assets and safeguard against the ever-growing threat of cyberattacks.
“Each penetration test report provides an accurate security posture of an organization’s systems, with proof, vulnerability details, and remediation advice to improve. This ensures a tailored service that is well-equipped to serve the differing needs of midmarket enterprises. Our attention to detail effectively addresses many blind spots currently leaving SMBs vulnerable to data breaches,” says Mike Pena, VP of cyber risk services at Alacrinet.
Gray Box Testing for Better Results
While black box penetration testing has been an integral part of any organization’s routine security testing activities, it provides only a general understanding of their security posture, and is far from enough to protect them from today’s sophisticated supply chain attacks. With these incidents on the rise, it is vital organizations work with their suppliers to identify supply chain risks and ensure appropriate security measures are in place.
In response to this emerging trend of looking for and exploiting software supply chain weaknesses, Alacrinet’s gray box approach offers the combined benefits of white box and black box penetration testing. By imitating real-world сyberattack scenarios, its gray box approach detects security vulnerabilities in software and IT infrastructure, explores the potential impact of their exploitation, and provides actionable guidance on their remediation. This method goes beyond scripts and automation to deliver better results that help minimize risks. Using the gray box approach, Alacrinet can identify software supply chain weaknesses that might not be identified through traditional black box testing. This allows testers to gain deeper insights into the software’s internal workings, making it easier to identify potential vulnerabilities and attack surfaces.
Alacrinet is focused on delivering penetration testing services proactively, instead of reactively. This is a refreshing change from its competition. An experienced team works hard behind the scenes to meet each client’s specific needs.
Its expertise in identifying vulnerabilities, implementing effective security measures, and ensuring ongoing compliance is second to none. The gray box approach and pen tester competency in adhering to critical compliance standards, including PCI-DSS 3.2, HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2, CMMC, and other best practices, enable it to deliver exceptional results that exceed client expectations.
The trust it builds with customers is its biggest achievement. They come back year after year because they know Alacrinet is on top of the latest trends in offensive security and have their best interests at heart. Prioritizing education, transparency, and trust helps customers take practical measures to safeguard their assets against potential threats.
Going Beyond Traditional Penetration Testing
Every client engagement begins with an introductory call, during which the Alacrinet team gets a comprehensive picture of the client’s IT hardware, software, and infrastructure to fully understand the goal, purpose, and scope of the test that must be performed. A Statement of Work (SOW) is then generated that outlines the timeframe of the engagement and what specifically needs to be performed before starting the project. The purpose of this document is to define everything from the client’s expectations, the scope of work, pricing, payment terms, legal agreements, and the deliverables expected.
Penetration testers then complete the evaluation and generate reports, and conduct a debrief call and follow-up remediation testing, if needed. They provide comprehensive insights with the vulnerability description and classification by severity, as well as actionable remediation guidance. If any issues are identified, the team conducts remediation testing after the client has had an opportunity to fix the findings.
Each penetration test report provides an accurate security posture of an organization’s systems, with proof, vulnerability details, and remediation advice to improve
Taking it further, pen-testers also conduct a red team engagement against each client’s internal network. Unlike a standard penetration test that attempts to find and exploit vulnerabilities in a defined scope, its red team’s engagements carry out a full-scale simulation of a cyberattack. They are designed to identify attack vectors used by threat actors to bypass MFA controls, as well as architectural and design flaws, insecure channels, side-channel attacks, and insufficient attack surface coverage. The goal is to reveal real-world opportunities for malicious insiders to infiltrate all aspects of an organization, and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information that leads to data breaches and full network compromise.
Throughout the penetration testing process, its team constantly communicates with clients through daily updates and provides not only a debriefing call, but a full report describing what was found, what it means for them, and steps they can take to resolve any uncovered issues.
“It is undeniable that finding network security vulnerabilities and helping our clients bring to the surface those weak spots is a critical component of what we do. However, the key to a successful engagement is all about communication. Our expert penetration testers strive to find security flaws and accurately communicate these issues with the client, as well as detail how to remedy them,” says Pena.
Alacrinet’s Services in Action
On December 9, 2021, the severe Apache Log4j zero-day vulnerability was disclosed, along with its known exploits, creating a panic across the cybersecurity community. The next day, Alacrinet’s team was swamped with phone calls from various clients, who immediately turned to its expertise to provide fast and viable solutions for detecting and addressing Log4j vulnerabilities.
Alacrinet, with its team of penetration testers, proactively looked for tell-tale signs that attackers were present, and provided fast, effective, and comprehensive way of detecting vulnerable software components and remediating their threats. Clients benefitted immensely benefitted from the team’s quick response, that enabled them to find all instances of Log4j in their software—before attackers could take advantage of this vulnerability and launch attacks.
According to Hector Monsegur, director of cyber research at Alacrinet, minimizing the risks of Log4j vulnerabilities requires reliable and robust cybersecurity, underpinned by strong research.
Building on that understanding, Alacrinet’s team works extensively with clients, constantly researching to keep up with the latest vulnerabilities and exposures. Even if six months from now, another open-source software component is found to contain a security flaw, security teams can respond quickly to detect and fix that component. It further establishes a sense of trust with each client by building reliable and secure systems, treating people, their privacy, and their data with respect, and providing comprehensible information to help them understand how secure they are.
An Unparalleled Team of Penetration Testers
One of Alacrinet’s strengths is its team of expert penetration testers, also known as the Cyber Risk Services team, that has a strong reputation for building trusted relationships with clients.
“By leveraging our understanding of the tactics attackers use to breach defenses, in-depth knowledge of the latest security tools, and a commitment to innovation, we ensure our clients are armed to continuously prevent, detect, and respond to cyberthreats,” says Pena.
Its team of CISSP, OSCP, OSCE, CEH, GPEN, GWAPT, and GAWN-accredited penetration testers can be trusted to provide comprehensive testing programs that meet each client’s business needs. Combined with their real-world experience and focus on future vulnerabilities, they bring unique insights to each penetration test.
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By leveraging our understanding of the tactics attackers use to breach defenses, in-depth knowledge of the latest security tools, and a commitment to innovation, we ensure our clients are armed to continuously prevent, detect, and respond to cyberthreats
Alacrinet’s team goes the extra mile to educate clients by providing them with an in-depth understanding of their current exposure, a roadmap for enhancing protection, and readiness for potential cyberattacks. With backgrounds in various industries, its team of experts are top-tier penetration testers with decades of combined technical experience, and certifications that reflect their breadth and depth of knowledge. Human ingenuity takes many forms, and it is that richness of diversity that allows Alacrinet to take on a seemingly endless list of security testing tasks.
Its white-glove service is a testament to its commitment to putting clients first and providing the best possible solutions around the clock. This means clients can reach out for assistance and support whenever needed, and expect a prompt response from the Alacrinet team.
As cybersecurity threats continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, businesses of all sizes will need trusted partners like Alacrinet to help them protect their sensitive data and operations. Deploying its vendor-agnostic approach, expertise, and commitment to customer satisfaction, it is well-equipped to meet client needs and continues to be a leader in the cybersecurity and information technology space. While competitors are building programs around their clients’ last breach, Alacrinet is working to anticipate the next one.
