What does "penetration testing" mean in programming?
penetration testing is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.
Definition
An authorized simulated attack on a system to find security vulnerabilities before malicious actors do. A penetration test (pen test) is conducted by security experts who attempt to breach the system using the same techniques as real attackers. The output is a report of vulnerabilities with severity ratings and remediation guidance.
Example
"We ran a penetration test before the enterprise launch. The testers found an IDOR vulnerability in the admin API that let any authenticated user access other users' data."
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