Piergiorgio Venuti
Penetration Testing and MFA: A Dual Strategy to Maximize Security
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
In a digital world where cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated, multi-factor authentication (MFA) represents a crucial defense against unauthorized access. However, the growing prevalence of phishing attacks aimed at bypassing MFA raises significant questions about post-authentication security and the overall effectiveness of security strategies. In this context, we examine how penetration testing can be used to assess and strengthen the security of web applications, considering both post-authentication security and user awareness of phishing attacks.
What is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)?
MFA is a security methodology that requires more than one proof of identity to verify access to a system. These factors can include something the user knows (like a password), something the user has (like a hardware token or code-generating app), or something inherent to the user (like a fingerprint).
Benefits of MFA
Enhanced Security
With MFA, the difficulty for an attacker to gain unauthorized access increases significantly, protecting against brute force attacks, credential stuffing, and other methods of credential theft.
Compliance and Risk Reduction
Using MFA helps organizations comply with data security and privacy regulations, reducing the risk of breaches and the consequent penalties.
Vulnerabilities Related to MFA
Advanced Phishing Attacks
Despite its advantages, MFA is not infallible. Phishing attacks, especially those that use decoy pages to capture not only basic credentials but also temporary MFA tokens, can still compromise security.
Implementation and Management Issues
The complexity of implementing and managing MFA can also introduce vulnerabilities, especially if not managed properly.
Types of MFA and Security Considerations
Hardware Tokens
Pros: High security, hard to clone.
Cons: Expensive, risk of loss or theft.
Software Authenticators
Pros: Easy to implement, accessible.
Cons: Vulnerable if the hosting device is compromised.
Biometrics
Pros: Hard to replicate, quick for the user.
Cons: Privacy issues, high implementation costs.
The Importance of Penetration Testing with MFA
Testing Post-Authentication Security
Providing the MFA token to the penetration tester allows examining the security of the application once authentication is bypassed. This can reveal vulnerabilities that could be exploited by an attacker after gaining access.
Assessing the Effect of Phishing Attacks
Conducting a separate ethical phishing test can evaluate how effectively MFA protects users and what additional measures might be necessary to prevent compromises through sophisticated phishing attacks.
Optimal Penetration Testing Strategies
Defining Objectives
Determine whether the focus is on testing defenses against unauthorized access, internal robustness post-authentication, or both.
Choosing the Type of Test
Decide between a black box, white box, or grey box approach depending on pre-existing system knowledge and specific objectives.
Using Advanced and Current Tools
Use penetration testing tools that simulate the latest and most advanced attacks, including those targeting MFA.
Documentation and Reflection
Accurately documenting findings, analyzing vulnerabilities, and providing detailed recommendations are essential for improving overall security.
Conclusions
Adopting MFA is a fundamental step towards information security, but it is not a universal solution. Implementing thorough penetration testing, both post-authentication and through ethical phishing, is crucial for identifying and mitigating potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited despite MFA. By doing so, organizations can ensure not only the robustness of their authentication measures but also the awareness and preparedness of their users against sophisticated attacks.
Useful links:
Share
RSS
More Articles…
- From Secure Online Desktop to Cyberfero: rebranding of the leading cybersecurity company
- NIS: what it is and how it protects cybersecurity
- Advanced persistent threats (APTs): what they are and how to defend yourself
- Penetration Testing and MFA: A Dual Strategy to Maximize Security
- Penetration Testing: Where to Strike to Protect Your IT Network
- Ransomware: a plague that brings companies and institutions to their knees. Should you pay the ransom? Here is the answer.
- Why IT audit and log management are important for Cybersecurity
- Red Team, Blue Team and Purple Team: what are the differences?
Categories …
- Backup as a Service (18)
- Acronis Cloud Backup (11)
- Veeam Cloud Connect (4)
- Cloud Conference (3)
- Cloud CRM (1)
- Cloud Server/VPS (22)
- Conferenza Cloud (4)
- Cyberfero (15)
- ICT Monitoring (5)
- Log Management (2)
- News (25)
- ownCloud (4)
- Privacy (7)
- Security (203)
- Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) (8)
- Deception (4)
- Ethical Phishing (11)
- Netwrix Auditor (2)
- Penetration Test (11)
- Posture Guard (3)
- SOCaaS (65)
- Vulnerabilities (84)
- Web Hosting (15)
Tags
darkreading
- Windows Quick Assist Anchors Black Basta Ransomware Gambit May 16, 2024When abused by threat actors with sophisticated social-engineering chops, remote-access tools demand that enterprises remain sharp in both defense strategy and employee-awareness training.
- Patch Now: Another Google Zero-Day Under Exploit in the Wild May 16, 2024Google has rolled an emergency patch for CVE-2024-4947, the third Chrome zero-day it's addressed in the past week.
- Nigeria Halts Cybersecurity Tax After Public Outrage May 16, 2024In the midst of an economy struggling with soaring inflation, the Nigerian government paused plans to place a levy on domestic transactions that was aimed at enhancing cybersecurity.
- Google's AI Watermarks Will Identify Deepfakes May 15, 2024The SynthID line of watermarking techniques can be used to identify images, video, and text generated by artificial intelligence.
- Flaw in Wi-Fi Standard Can Enable SSID Confusion Attacks May 15, 2024Attackers can exploit the issue to trick users into connecting to insecure networks, but it works only under specific conditions.
- Palo Alto Networks and IBM to Jointly Provide AI-Powered Security Offerings May 15, 2024
- Notice of a Data Breach May 15, 2024
- Alkira Raises $100M in Series C Funding to Simplify, Secure and Scale Critical Network Infrastructure May 15, 2024
- Scammers Fake Docusign Templates to Blackmail & Steal From Companies May 15, 2024Cybercriminals are trafficking Docusign assets that allow for easy extortion and business email compromise.
- FBI, DoJ Shut Down BreachForums, Launch Investigation May 15, 2024Instead of online contraband, the website now asks anyone with information that could help with the investigation to contact authorities.
Full Disclosure
- SEC Consult SA-20240513-0 :: Tolerating Self-Signed Certificates in SAP® Cloud Connector May 14, 2024Posted by SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab via Fulldisclosure on May 14SEC Consult Vulnerability Lab Security Advisory < 20240513-0 > ======================================================================= title: Tolerating Self-Signed Certificates product: SAP® Cloud Connector vulnerable version: 2.15.0 - 2.16.1 (Portable and Installer) fixed version: 2.16.2 (Portable and Installer) CVE number: CVE-2024-25642 impact: high homepage:...
- TROJANSPY.WIN64.EMOTET.A / Arbitrary Code Execution May 14, 2024Posted by malvuln on May 14Discovery / credits: Malvuln (John Page aka hyp3rlinx) (c) 2024 Original source: https://malvuln.com/advisory/f917c77f60c3c1ac6dbbadbf366ddd30.txt Contact: malvuln13 () gmail com Media: twitter.com/malvuln Threat: TrojanSpy.Win64.EMOTET.A Vulnerability: Arbitrary Code Execution Description: The malware looks for and executes a x64-bit "CRYPTBASE.dll" PE file in its current directory. Therefore, we can hijack the DLL and execute […]
- BACKDOOR.WIN32.ASYNCRAT / Arbitrary Code Execution May 14, 2024Posted by malvuln on May 14Discovery / credits: Malvuln (John Page aka hyp3rlinx) (c) 2024 Original source: https://malvuln.com/advisory/2337b9a12ecf50b94fc95e6ac34b3ecc.txt Contact: malvuln13 () gmail com Media: twitter.com/malvuln Threat: Backdoor.Win32.AsyncRat Vulnerability: Arbitrary Code Execution Description: The malware looks for and executes a x32-bit "CRYPTSP.dll" PE file in its current directory. Therefore, we can hijack the DLL and execute […]
- Re: Panel.SmokeLoader / Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) May 14, 2024Posted by malvuln on May 14Updated and fixed a payload typo and added additional info regarding the stored persistent XSS see attached. Thanks, Malvuln Discovery / credits: Malvuln (John Page aka hyp3rlinx) (c) 2024 Original source: https://malvuln.com/advisory/4b5fc3a2489985f314b81d35eac3560f_B.txt Contact: malvuln13 () gmail com Media: twitter.com/malvuln Threat: Panel.SmokeLoader Vulnerability: Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) - Persistent XSS […]
- Panel.SmokeLoader / Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) May 14, 2024Posted by malvuln on May 14Discovery / credits: Malvuln (John Page aka hyp3rlinx) (c) 2024 Original source: https://malvuln.com/advisory/4b5fc3a2489985f314b81d35eac3560f_B.txt Contact: malvuln13 () gmail com Media: twitter.com/malvuln Threat: Panel.SmokeLoader Vulnerability: Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) Family: SmokeLoader Type: Web Panel MD5: 4b5fc3a2489985f314b81d35eac3560f (control.php) SHA256: 8d02238577081be74b9ebc1effcfbf3452ffdb51f130398b5ab875b9bfe17743 Vuln...
- Panel.SmokeLoader C2 / Cross Site Scripting (XSS) May 14, 2024Posted by malvuln on May 14Discovery / credits: Malvuln (John Page aka hyp3rlinx) (c) 2024 Original source: https://malvuln.com/advisory/4b5fc3a2489985f314b81d35eac3560f.txt Contact: malvuln13 () gmail com Media: twitter.com/malvuln Threat: Panel.SmokeLoader Vulnerability: Cross Site Scripting (XSS) Family: SmokeLoader Type: Web Panel MD5: 4b5fc3a2489985f314b81d35eac3560f (control.php) SHA256: 8d02238577081be74b9ebc1effcfbf3452ffdb51f130398b5ab875b9bfe17743 Vuln ID:...
- Panel.Amadey.d.c C2 / Cross Site Scripting (XSS) May 14, 2024Posted by malvuln on May 14Discovery / credits: Malvuln (John Page aka hyp3rlinx) (c) 2024 Original source: https://malvuln.com/advisory/50467c891bf7de34d2d65fa93ab8b558.txt Contact: malvuln13 () gmail com Media: twitter.com/malvuln Threat: Panel Amadey.d.c Vulnerability: Cross Site Scripting (XSS) Family: Amadey Type: Web Panel MD5: 50467c891bf7de34d2d65fa93ab8b558 (Login.php) SHA256: 65623eead2bcba66817861246e842386d712c38c5c5558e50eb49cffa2a1035d Vuln ID:...
- Re: RansomLord v3 / Anti-Ransomware Exploit Tool Released May 14, 2024Posted by malvuln on May 14Updated, fixed typo SHA256 : 810229C7E62D5EDDD3DA9FFA19D04A31D71F9C36D05B6A614FEF496E88656FF5
- RansomLord v3 / Anti-Ransomware Exploit Tool Released May 14, 2024Posted by malvuln on May 14Proof-of-concept tool that automates the creation of PE files, used to exploit Ransomware pre-encryption. Updated v3: https://github.com/malvuln/RansomLord/releases/tag/v3 Lang: C SHA256: 83f56d14671b912a9a68da2cd37607cac3e5b31560a6e30380e3c6bd093560f5 Video PoC (old v2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ho0bpeJWqI RansomLord generated PE files are saved to disk in the x32 or x64 directories where the program is run from. Goal is to exploit...
- APPLE-SA-05-13-2024-8 tvOS 17.5 May 14, 2024Posted by Apple Product Security via Fulldisclosure on May 14APPLE-SA-05-13-2024-8 tvOS 17.5 tvOS 17.5 addresses the following issues. Information about the security content is also available at https://support.apple.com/HT214102. Apple maintains a Security Releases page at https://support.apple.com/HT201222 which lists recent software updates with security advisories. AppleAVD Available for: Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K (all […]
Customers
Twitter FEED
Recent activity
-
SecureOnlineDesktop
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes L'impatto crescente delle minacce informatiche, su sistemi operativi privati op… https://t.co/FimxTS4o9G
-
SecureOnlineDesktop
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes The growing impact of cyber threats, on private or corporate operating systems… https://t.co/y6G6RYA9n1
-
SecureOnlineDesktop
Tempo di lettura stimato: 6 minuti Today we are talking about the CTI update of our services. Data security is… https://t.co/YAZkn7iFqa
-
SecureOnlineDesktop
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Il tema della sicurezza delle informazioni è di grande attualità in questo peri… https://t.co/tfve5Kzr09
-
SecureOnlineDesktop
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes The issue of information security is very topical in this historical period ch… https://t.co/TP8gvdRcrF
Newsletter
{subscription_form_1}Products and Solutions
Partners
Cloud Models
News
- From Secure Online Desktop to Cyberfero: rebranding of the leading cybersecurity company May 6, 2024
- NIS: what it is and how it protects cybersecurity April 22, 2024
- Advanced persistent threats (APTs): what they are and how to defend yourself April 17, 2024
- Penetration Testing and MFA: A Dual Strategy to Maximize Security April 15, 2024
- Penetration Testing: Where to Strike to Protect Your IT Network March 25, 2024
Google Reviews
Ottima azienda, servizi molto utili, staff qualificato e competente. Raccomandata!read more
Ottimo supportoread more
E' un piacere poter collaborare con realtà di questo tiporead more
Un ottimo fornitore.
Io personalmente ho parlato con l' Ing. Venuti, valore aggiunto indubbiamente.read more
About
© 2024 Cyberfero s.r.l. All Rights Reserved. Sede Legale: via Statuto 3 - 42121 Reggio Emilia (RE) – PEC [email protected] Cod. fiscale e P.IVA 03058120357 – R.E.A. 356650 Informativa Privacy - Certificazioni ISO