Why False Positives Are Holding Your Security Back, and How Automated Penetration Testing Can Help

With the vast number of vulnerabilities that arise on a daily basis, it can be overwhelming to distinguish which ones pose legitimate threats. False positives can further complicate matters, diverting security teams from focusing on genuine threats.

In this blog post, we will explore false positives in-depth, and how implementing automated penetration testing can help solve this problem.

False Positives, False Negatives, True Positives, and True Negatives: What Are They, and What Do They Mean?

• False Positive: An alert or finding that is reported as a potential security issue, but is actually not a security issue. False positives can lead to wasted time and resources and can obscure real threats that require attention.
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• False Negative: An actual security issue that is not identified or reported as such. False negatives can leave the organization exposed to potential attacks and vulnerabilities, as they are not addressed by the security team.
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• True Positive: An alert or finding that is reported as a potential security issue and is actually a security issue. True positives are important to identify and address, as they represent real security incidents that require attention.
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• True Negative: A finding or event that is correctly identified as not being a security issue. True negatives are important for maintaining the credibility of the security team and preventing false alarms from causing unnecessary concern.

For an enterprise, false positives and false negatives can be a significant issue, as they can prevent the security team from accurately identifying and addressing real security issues. False positives and false negatives can also lead to wasted time and resources from security teams that are already understaffed and underfunded.

True positives and true negatives are important to identify, as they represent accurate assessments of security incidents and potential threats. True positives require immediate attention and remediation to prevent further damage to the business, while true negatives help maintain the credibility of the security team and prevent unnecessary concern or disruptions to business operations.

The Impact of False Positives

False positives are a common frustration for security teams, and can undermine the credibility of security measures if not effectively managed. When security teams are flooded with alerts, it can be difficult to sift out the true threats from the false alarms. 

False alarms make up 40% of the total alerts that security teams receive on a daily basis. Here's how they can impact your team if not addressed: 



• Alert Fatigue: False positives can generate large volumes of alerts, overwhelming the security team and leading to alert fatigue. When security teams are constantly exposed to alerts, it can lead to a 'noise' phenomenon in which they begin to ignore the alerts that they consider insignificant. This makes it more difficult to identify real threats, as analysts may begin to ignore or overlook alerts.
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• Crying Wolf: When security teams spend time and resources investigating non-existent vulnerabilities, they may become desensitized to alerts and miss obscure real threats that require immediate attention. 
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• Resource Drain: False positives require time and resources to investigate, which can divert attention away from other critical security tasks. This can lead to delays in addressing actual vulnerabilities and increase the risk of real threats being missed. This erodes the credibility of alerts and make it more difficult to identify genuine security incidents. As a result, real threats can be overlooked, leaving the organization exposed to potential attacks.
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• Reduced Efficiency: False positives can reduce the efficiency of security operations, as analysts spend time investigating and responding to issues that turn out to be non-threatening. This can slow down incident response times and increase the overall workload of the security team.
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• Decreased Confidence: False positives can erode the confidence of the security team and other stakeholders in the organization's security posture. This can lead to skepticism and mistrust, making it more difficult to gain support for future security initiatives.
  

Limitations of Vulnerability Scanners and Management Tools

While vulnerability scanners and management tools can be useful in identifying potential security issues, they have limitations that make them inadequate for comprehensive security assessments. For instance, vulnerability scanners rely on known signature-based vulnerabilities, which means that they cannot identify novel attacks or new types of malware that have not yet been identified. Additionally, vulnerability scanners may not detect security issues that are not easily identifiable, such as misconfigured systems or unpatched software that is not included in the scanner's database. Finally, vulnerability management tools require significant manual intervention, making them time-consuming and potentially error-prone.

False positives can occur for a variety of reasons when using vulnerability scanners. One of the main reasons is that scanners rely on a signature-based approach to identify vulnerabilities. This approach involves comparing known signatures of vulnerabilities against the scanned system or application to identify any matches. If the scanner finds a match, it may generate an alert for that vulnerability. Some other reasons include:

• Outdated Software Versions: A scanner may generate a false positive if it is not aware of the latest software versions or if the version numbers have not been updated in the scanner's database. For example, if the scanner is not aware of a software patch that was recently released to fix a vulnerability, it may flag that vulnerability as present when it is not actually exploitable.
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• Configuration Issues: A scanner may generate false positives if the configuration of the system being scanned is different from what the scanner is expecting. For example, if the scanner is expecting to find a certain port open on a server, but the port is closed due to security measures, the scanner may flag that port as open and generate a false positive.
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• Inaccurate Identification: A scanner may generate false positives if it identifies the wrong type of vulnerability. For example, if a scanner identifies a certain file as a potential security threat when it is actually a harmless file, it may generate a false positive.
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• Overly Aggressive Settings: A scanner may generate false positives if it is configured to be overly aggressive in its scanning settings. For example, if the scanner is set to test for all possible attack vectors, it may flag a vulnerability as present when it is not actually exploitable.
  

The Benefits of Automated Penetration Testing

Automated Penetration Testing (APT) is a more comprehensive alternative to vulnerability assessments for enterprises seeking a more sophisticated approach to security testing. APT, unlike vulnerability scanning, provides testing that simulates the tactics, techniques, and procedures used by actual hackers. This advanced testing allows security teams to uncover previously unidentified attack vectors and other security vulnerabilities. By using automated penetration testing, enterprises can gain a deeper understanding of their security posture and identify ways to improve their defenses. 

Automated pen testing goes beyond just identifying vulnerabilities - it tests for actual exploitability and prioritizes findings based on real-world risk. By simulating real-world attacks, automated pen testing can identify vulnerabilities that are often missed by vulnerability scanners, while also reducing the number of false positives generated.

Unlike vulnerability scanners, which can generate false positives due to various reasons such as incorrect assumptions, false assumptions, or misconfigurations, automated pen testing follows a more rigorous and reliable methodology that is based on actual exploitability. This means that the findings generated by automated pen testing are more accurate and actionable, allowing security teams to focus on the vulnerabilities that pose the greatest risk to their organization.

Furthermore, automated pen testing can also help organizations to identify and prioritize vulnerabilities based on business risk. By testing every corner of an organization's IT infrastructure, automated pen testing can identify vulnerabilities that are critical to an organization's operations, helping security teams to prioritize their efforts and resources accordingly.

Here are the key benefits of automated penetration testing:

• Simulates Real-World Attacks: Automated penetration testing simulates real-world attacks, testing an organization's defenses from multiple angles and identifying vulnerabilities that may be missed by traditional scanning tools.
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• Comprehensive Coverage: Automated penetration testing provides a more complete picture of an organization's security posture by testing all possible attack vectors, including social engineering and physical security.
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• Accurate Results: Automated penetration testing provides accurate results, reducing the number of false positives and false negatives and enabling organizations to prioritize and address the most critical vulnerabilities.
  

Conclusion

Conventional vulnerability scanning tools often generate inaccurate results due to incorrect assumptions or misconfigurations. However, automated penetration testing offers a more reliable and comprehensive approach to security testing by simulating real-world attacks and providing accurate results. By identifying vulnerabilities that may be missed by traditional scanning tools and prioritizing findings based on real-world risks, organizations can improve their security posture and better protect their assets.



If you're tired of dealing with false positives and want to take your organization's security to the next level, consider trying out EvolvePT - our automated penetration testing solution. With its advanced testing capabilities, customizable testing scenarios, and prioritization based on real-world risk, you can be sure that you're identifying vulnerabilities that pose a real threat to your organization. Visit our website to learn more and schedule a demo today.