Nearly half of 70 Illinois tech directors we surveyed reported that they do not do any network pentesting. This is a scary statistic as pentests can offer valuable information to school districts and serve multiple purposes to improve cybersecurity posture.

 

Proactive Vulnerability Discovery:

Identify and expose vulnerabilities before malicious actors can. Pentests simulate real-world attack scenarios, allowing you to uncover weaknesses in your network infrastructure, configurations, and security controls. This proactive approach helps you patch vulnerabilities and strengthen your defenses before they can be exploited.

 

Improved Security Posture:

Pentests provide a comprehensive assessment of your overall security posture. You gain insights into the effectiveness of your existing security measures and can identify areas where you need to invest more resources. This helps you prioritize your security spending and make informed decisions about your security strategy.

 

Reduced Risk of Data Breaches and Financial Losses:

By proactively addressing vulnerabilities, you significantly reduce the risk of successful cyberattacks. This translates to protecting your critical data and valuable assets from potential breaches and the associated financial losses.

 

Compliance and Regulatory Requirements:

Many regulations and industry standards require organizations to conduct regular penetration testing. By fulfilling these compliance requirements, you can avoid regulatory fines and penalties, while demonstrating your commitment to data security.

 

Improved incident response:

Pentests can help you test and refine your incident response plan, ensuring you can react quickly and effectively to a real attack all while identifying where attackers went undetected.