Strengthening your organisation through comprehensive cyber testing

Strengthening your organisation through comprehensive cyber testing

As cyberattacks become more frequent and sophisticated, organisations must proactively identify and address weaknesses before they are exploited. Cyber testing can provide a structured way to evaluate the effectiveness of security controls, the awareness of employees, and the robustness of operational processes. No one test is able to cover every single vulnerability, instead a tailored approach is required, drawing on a range of technical, human, and operational testing methods.

Cyber testing is essential for identifying and addressing weaknesses before attackers can exploit them. It allows organisations to assess how well their systems, people, and processes can detect, respond to, and recover from threats. There is however, no single test that reveals all the risks, so it’s vital to use the right type of testing for each area of resilience. Technical testing (e.g., penetration testing) uncovers system vulnerabilities, human testing (e.g., phishing simulations) gauges staff awareness and behaviour, and operational testing (e.g., incident response exercises) evaluates processes and decision-making. A well-rounded testing approach will encompass all these types of tests and helps strengthen your organisation’s overall cyber resilience.

Some key types of testing and their purposes are:

Penetration testing simulates real-world cyberattacks to identify vulnerabilities in systems, applications, or networks, helping organisations understand how an attacker might gain unauthorised access and the data and systems that are at risk. It can be used both after significant changes to infrastructure, and on a regular basis to validate security controls.

Red/Blue/Purple Teaming with Red teams simulating attackers, blue teams defending, and purple teams coordinating both. These exercises test effectiveness of detection, response, and collaboration under realistic attack scenarios. They’re valuable for mature organisations looking to enhance their threat readiness and assess how well their teams and tools handle active cyber threats.

Scenario-based testing involves running simulated cyber incidents to test how people, processes, and technologies respond. It focuses on roles, decision-making, escalation paths, and communication under pressure. This is ideal for testing incident response plans, identifying gaps, and improving coordination across teams without impacting live systems.

Business continuity testing ensures that essential operations can continue during a disruption, such as a cyberattack or natural disaster. It verifies how well alternative processes, remote working, and manual procedures function. It’s critical for understanding operational resilience and should form part of the wider organisational risk management.

Disaster recovery testing evaluates the speed and effectiveness an organisation can restore IT systems and data after a disruption. The tests validates backup procedures and system restoration processes and are vital for reducing downtime and data loss following a cyberattack, outage, or system failure.

Social engineering testing assesses how susceptible employees are to manipulation techniques such as phishing, revealing human vulnerabilities that have the potential to be exploited by attackers. They raise awareness, reinforce training, and improve behavioural defences.

Effective cyber testing is not a one-time activity but an ongoing exercise to ensure security and resilience. By leveraging a variety of testing methods that target different aspects of an organisation’s defences, businesses can uncover hidden risks vulnerabilities, strengthen their response capabilities, and ensure continuity in the face of disruptions.

If you would like to speak to Lucia Digioia regarding this cyber insight, send your enquiry to contact@masonadvisory.com If you want to find out more about our services, click here.