what is automated penetration test?

A penetration test, occasionally pentest, is a method of evaluating the computer security of a computer system or network by simulating an attack from external threats and internal threats.

Automation typically is based on what is done manually. It just speeds things up and maybe keeps things more standardized. Might be more cost effective if efficient and cheaper than human labor.

It was Bill Gates who pointed out that Automation can make a process much better, however, if the manual process is crap then you have just created awhole lot more crap (that is paraphrased BTW).

I always said (and I have developed and implemented dozens of automated systems), Automation is Great when it does what you want it to. The unstated remainder to that statement is... But, it is a B***h when it doesn't. Good automation ALWAYS accounts for the inevitable exceptions and provides some kind of handling of them. Which brings us back to why manual might be preferred in some cases. That is, when automation is unable to handle the exceptions, a human is better able to do this.

You want specific tools? Use a search engine, and you will get plenty. I have included some hits in the source.

Good Luck!

The purpose of the test is to identify security vulnerabilities and then attempt to successfully exploit them in order to gain some form of access to the network or computer system.

Should a successful compromise take place, the flaw/vulnerability is classified into a threat level for the organisation; typically low, medium or high. Most penetration tests are concluded with a detailed report on the security findings along with remedies for the threats.

Two of the more common types of penetration tests are black box and white box penetration testing. In a black box test, no prior knowledge of the corporate system is given to the third party tester. This is often the most preferred test as it is an accurate simulation of how an outsider/hacker would see the network and attempt to break into it. A white box test on the other hand is when the third party organisation is given full IP information, network diagrams and source code files to the software, networks and systems, in a bid to find weaknesses from any of the available information.

At first you should know the actual work of a penetration test, Penetration test is an attack on a computer system that allow user to gain unauthorized access to your computer or network. It is considered as the best test to find the vulnerabilities. Automated testing tools provide several key benefits like increases the speed of detection when new vulnerabilities arise.

A penetration test, occasionally pentest, is a method of evaluating the computer security of a computer system or network by simulating an attack from external threats and internal threats.The process involves an active analysis of the system for any potential vulnerabilities that could result from poor or improper system configuration, both known and unknown hardware or software flaws, or operational weaknesses in process or technical countermeasures. This analysis is carried out from the position of a potential attacker and can involve active exploitation of security vulnerabilities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetration_test

There is no such thing as a "Automated Penetration Test" Here is a site that proves it.

http://www.pcicomplianceguide.org/merchants-automa...

-Elian

White Hat hackers are hackers who carry out hacking for valid motives; e.g. IT protection technicians finding out their systems and researchers finding out the bounds of systems. on the different hand, Black Hat hackers are people who carry out clandestine hacking for malicious motives; such persons is additionally pronounced as 'crackers'. gray Hat Hackers are people who seems to fall between the two camps and crimson Hat Linux® is a real subject to categorise!