Discover the crucial first consideration for conducting a penetration test on a cloud-migrated web application. Learn about cloud provider agreements, NDAs, and best practices for secure testing.
Table of Contents
Question
A company recently migrated its critical web application to a cloud provider’s environment. As part of the company’s risk management program, the company intends to conduct an external penetration test. According to the scope of work and the rules of engagement, the penetration tester will validate the web application’s security and check for opportunities to expose sensitive company information in the newly migrated cloud environment. Which of the following should be the first consideration prior to engaging in the test?
A. Prepare a redundant server to ensure the critical web application’s availability during the test.
B. Obtain agreement between the company and the cloud provider to conduct penetration testing.
C. Ensure the latest patches and signatures are deployed on the web server.
D. Create an NDA between the external penetration tester and the company.
Answer
B. Obtain agreement between the company and the cloud provider to conduct penetration testing.
Explanation
When conducting a penetration test on a cloud-hosted application, the first and most critical consideration is obtaining explicit agreement from the cloud provider. This step is essential for several reasons:
- Legal compliance: Cloud providers have strict policies regarding security testing on their infrastructure. Conducting a penetration test without prior approval could violate the terms of service and potentially lead to legal issues.
- Shared responsibility model: In cloud environments, the responsibility for security is shared between the customer and the provider. The cloud provider needs to be aware of any testing to ensure it doesn’t interfere with their operations or other customers’ services.
- Avoiding false alarms: Notifying the cloud provider prevents them from misinterpreting the penetration test as an actual attack, which could result in unnecessary incident response measures or service disruptions.
- Scope definition: Agreeing with the cloud provider helps clearly define the boundaries of the test, ensuring that only the company’s own resources are targeted and not shared infrastructure or other customers’ environments.
- Coordination of resources: The cloud provider may need to prepare or allocate specific resources to support the test without impacting normal operations.
Let’s examine why the other options are not the first consideration:
A. Preparing a redundant server is a good practice for ensuring availability, but it’s not the first step in this scenario. It’s a measure that can be taken after obtaining the necessary permissions.
C. Ensuring the latest patches and signatures are deployed is important for overall security, but it’s not specific to penetration testing preparation. In fact, testing against an unpatched system might be part of the assessment scope.
D. Creating an NDA with the external penetration tester is important, but it typically comes after obtaining permission from the cloud provider. The NDA is part of the engagement process with the tester, not the cloud provider.
In conclusion, while all the options mentioned are important considerations in the penetration testing process, obtaining agreement from the cloud provider is the critical first step when planning to test a cloud-hosted application. This ensures compliance, proper coordination, and helps maintain a good relationship with the cloud service provider while conducting necessary security assessments.
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