What Is Penetration Testing?

A penetration test is an authorized simulated attack performed on a computer system to assess its security. It is usually a combination of manual and automated testing carried out by ethical hackers who use various tools to compromise a tested system with proper approval and scope of the test. Ethical hackers use the same techniques as malicious attackers that don't cause damage to the tested system and organization. The main goal of pen-testing is to find potential weaknesses and help the organization maintain and comply with a standard that protects the client's privacy.

Which Tool Is Best For Penetration Testing?

All the tools mentioned in this guide are the best penetration testing tools that ethical hackers must consider. However, it also depends upon their needs and the purpose for using the software. Different pen-testing tools evaluate various aspects of organizational security. For instance, you must try using Hashcat, Hydra, and John the Ripper software to analyze vulnerable passwords. Whereas, if you're going to test the web apps, consider using Burp Suite Professionals, Nessus, OWASP-ZAP, and Netsparker. Similarly, you can also use the Wireshark tool to inspect and analyze the entire network, ports, and protocols.

Are Penetration Testers Hackers?

Pen-testers are ethical hackers that organizations use as a technique to detect, test, highlight, and fix vulnerabilities within their security posture.

Is Wireshark A Penetration Tool?

Wireshark is a leading open-source penetration testing tool used for network protocol analyzers. It uses packet sniffing and API to capture the data packets. It also captures the VoIP data packets or calls made across the network, thus allowing the user access to the data. Besides this, it provides offline analysis of the live capture of the data packets, ensuring that Wireshark delivers the most authentic test results. This cross-platform tool works on various operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Solaris, and macOS; you can download it for free.

20 Best Penetration Testing Tools For Security Professionals

Farwa Sajjad Last updated: September 18, 2023 Reading time: 21 minutes

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Quick list for the best Penetration testing tools

If you’re in a hurry, then have a look at the list of 20 best penetration testing tools that are worth considering:

Nmap – It uses IP packets to analyze what hosts are available on the network, which operating systems they use, and the services they offer.
Metasploit – Ethical hackers use custom codes to uncover network vulnerabilities and gain deep visibility of the network.
Burp Suite Professional – It provides a detailed report for the pen-testers to understand the network’s vulnerabilities clearly.
Hydra – It prevents password theft and brute force attacks and works efficiently well on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris operating systems.
Wireshark – It efficiently debugs the common TCP/IP connection problems and analyzes hundreds of protocols, including the real-time analysis and decryption of various protocols.
OWASP-ZAP – It is a flexible and easy-to-use tool that can be used as a daemon process or as a stand-alone application on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
John the Ripper – It is a password-cracking tool whose primary purpose is to detect weak passwords on a given system and expose them.
Cain and Abel – It allows easy recovery of different types of passwords through brute force, dictionary, and cryptanalysis attacks.
CANVAS by Immunity – It includes hundreds of exploits for different use case categories and exploits library extendability to penetration testers and security professionals globally.
Kali Linux – It saves time manually setting up tools by adding an automated configuration system that optimizes the tool according to your case.
SQLmap – Penetration testers utilize the tool to hack the databases and understand the depth of network vulnerabilities.
Hashcat – It is an open-source, MIT-licensed, and advanced password recovery tool capable of cracking over 100 algorithms like DXX, SHA1, and UNIX.
Netsparker – It can identify everything from cross-site scripting to SQL injections, find websites and web services, tell which are now outdated, and track their updated status.
BeEF – It is an advanced tool that explores weaknesses beyond the client system and network perimeter.
Aircrack – This tool works on various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS, with full support for WEP dictionary attacks.
Ettercap – It features sniffing of live connections, content filtering on the fly, and other interesting tricks that enhance the user experience.
Nessus – It can perform credential and non-credentialed scans, providing more visibility and depth into the vulnerabilities.
W3af – It is an open-source tool and is free to download on various popular devices and operating systems.
Acuntenix – The micro recording technology scan complex multi-level forms and password-protected areas of the site to identify the flaws and mitigate them
Wapiti – It scans the web pages and injects the testing data to check for any lapse in security.

To get more detailed insight into each product, read their reviews below and decide on one for your company.

Cyber attacks are growing in severity and frequency, and businesses of all sizes are at risk. Statistics reveal global cybercrime damage will likely hit $10.5 trillion by 2025. Identifying, assessing, and remediating these risks is a significant aspect of optimizing cybersecurity, and it can be done by penetration testing.

A penetration test or ethical hacking is an effective cybersecurity technique organizations use to detect, test, and highlight the vulnerabilities within their security posture. Ethical hackers carry out cyberattacks against a system to uncover exploitable security vulnerabilities. Security professionals use penetration testing techniques with specialized tools to discover problems before attackers exploit them.

Penetration testing tools help ethical hackers evaluate the organization’s security infrastructure and defend against unknown or zero-day threats. Due to the high number of penetration testing tools available, it has become difficult for security professionals to pick up the best testing tool. This article provides a detailed insight into the 20 best penetration testing tools businesses can deploy within their network.

20 Best Penetration Testing Tools For Security Professionals

Why should businesses perform Penetration testing?