Which testing method focuses on simulating real-world attacks to assess security?

Penetration testing is a method specifically designed to simulate real-world attacks in order to evaluate the security of a system, application, or network. This approach involves ethical hackers attempting to exploit vulnerabilities and weaknesses that could potentially be leveraged by malicious actors. The objective is to identify security issues before they can be exploited in an actual attack, providing organizations with insights into how well their defenses hold up against realistic threats.

By mimicking the tactics, techniques, and procedures of actual cybercriminals, penetration testing helps organizations understand their security posture. It also allows for the assessment of whether security controls are functioning as intended and whether they effectively safeguard against potential security breaches. The results from a penetration test typically come in the form of detailed reports that outline identified vulnerabilities, the potential impact of those vulnerabilities, and recommendations for remediation.

In contrast, other methods such as static code analysis focus on examining code without execution to find vulnerabilities, compliance testing evaluates adherence to standards or regulatory requirements, and patching evaluation assesses whether patches are correctly applied without necessarily simulating attacks. Each of these methods has its own purpose, but none specifically aim to replicate attack scenarios like penetration testing does.