05 Sep IT Health Checks Explained
If you’re new to IT systems, you’re probably wondering what is an IT Health Check (ITHC)? Often known as a Penetration (Pen) Test, is a crucial element of comprehensive security assurance activities and one of the mechanisms organizations use to provide assurance and confidence in the security baseline design.
An ITHC is a set of controlled ethical hacking tests to find and reveal security vulnerabilities in IT solutions. By conducting this check, the project and business teams can determine the potential risk if the system is compromised and devise a plan to protect the system and its data.
IT Health Checks Explained
An IT Health Check (ITHC) is a third-party evaluation of an organization’s cyber security that a specialist does.
An ITHC aims to ensure that external systems can’t be hacked and that vulnerabilities in internal applications and infrastructure are found and fixed.
So, an ITHC includes both external testing of email and web servers, firewalls and antivirus software, VPNs and other remote access solutions, and internal testing of how networks, servers, endpoints, and applications are built and set up.
An external ITHC test entails testing all web and email servers, antivirus and firewalls, VPNs, and many other remote access solutions. An internal ITHC test, on the other hand, involves testing the build and configuration of networks, endpoints, applications, servers, etc.
When Should You Consider Executing an ITHC?
There are three primary conditions when you should conduct an ITHC;
1. Implementation of new IT services
An ITHC during this phase of a project’s life cycle aids in establishing the security baseline before the solution is presented for broader use. It allows you to address identified risks and vulnerabilities in a secure environment and decreases the total impact on others (users and systems).
2. Modifications to the current IT baseline
A new ITHC should review any significant modification to the design of the current IT service to ensure that the change does not raise security vulnerabilities. An ITHC is typically performed before the formal rollout of the changes, facilitating the execution of detection and prevention strategies in a secure environment.
3. Scheduled ITHC for current IT services
As technology evolves, it is vital to understand how it can affect their existing solutions. Therefore, product and service owners should collaborate with the Cyber Assistance Team to examine existing IT solutions and organize the ITHC. This collaboration contributes to re-evaluating the security baseline, solving identified risks and issues, and protecting systems and their relevant data.
Advantages of IT Health Checks
1. It exposes your system’s vulnerabilities
A penetration test is one of the most effective methods for identifying possible vulnerabilities in your system. This might be a cloud database, an in-house service, or any other technology system you use. Identifying potential vulnerabilities is critical to ensuring your system is as safe as possible.
Infiltration is possible if you haven’t verified that your system architecture has no weak points. As a result, the first significant benefit of an IT health check is that it makes your system less vulnerable to hackers.
2. It indicates your system’s strengths
Besides revealing your system’s vulnerabilities, an IT health check may also reveal its strengths. This allows you to devote more time and effort to areas that aren’t working correctly. It also displays the strategies you’ve used that have paid off.
3. It is a realistic simulation of a potential attack
A penetration test is intended to mimic what a real hacker might do to gain unauthorized access to a system. As a result, the test is designed to be as realistic as possible. It imitates the actual attack because the parameters will be the same as what a real hacker would use to try to get into your system.
4. It improves your compliance
IT health checks can also help your organization with regulation and compliance. This check can be executed to confirm that the design of your system complies with the existing rules. The testers will identify these issues and include them in their report if it does not. Consequently, you can address them to ensure your organization remains compliant in all required areas.
Clifford Robinson writes for Linux Rock Star, a blog dedicated to Linux and UNIX security. He specializes in creating high-quality content focused on system auditing, hardening, and compliance, aiming to make these topics accessible and actionable for system administrators, auditors, and developers. Clifford is passionate about providing valuable insights into Linux security, ensuring that the content is both informative and freely available to help readers secure their systems effectively.
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