Carlow's local authority gets company to hack its IT systems to 'identify weaknesses'
An authorised and controlled form of hacking
Carlow's local authority got a company to hack its IT systems to "identify weaknesses", Carlow Live can reveal.
In February of this year, the Council's IT department engaged with an external supplier to carry out a pen-test (penetration testing).
A pen-test is essentially an authorised and controlled form of hacking in which the "attackers" operate to identify weaknesses in the Council's systems that criminals would be likely to exploit.
Experienced pen-testers can mimic the techniques used by criminals without causing damage.
At the end of the process, the pen-test results are returned to the local authority as a working document.
This document identifies the potential impact to the organisation and suggests countermeasures to reduce risk.