Risk Response Strategies

As a pentester, it would be a mistake to assume that all vulnerabilities will be fixed on the client's side. From a purely economic point of view, a fix is not worthwhile if it causes higher costs than a criminal exploitation. Our finding could also be a business requirement for the target system or application, which management has explicitly decided on. For example, social network operators often choose not to automatically terminate a user session after the user has been inactive for a long period of time, even though this issue is listed as a vulnerability in penetration testing standards such as the OWASP Testing Guide. In terms of the usability of social networks, such a decision is also understandable, since the average usage time would presumably be reduced if users have to authenticate themselves again each time. However, from an IT security perspective, a missing session timeout is associated with risks. One threat scenario, among others, would be that third parties could perform actions on behalf of an absent application user. Basically, the following strategies are available to our client to respond to risks:

• Risk mitigation: Countermeasures are taken for the risk.
• Risk transfer: The risk is shifted, e.g., by software outsourcing or taking out insurance.
• Risk acceptance: The risk is consciously accepted by the management.
• Risk avoidance: Functions are omitted that could have a negative impact on a company's operations.

Since we cannot be sure that all vulnerabilities will be addressed on the client's side, it is even more important that we clearly communicate the potential for damage. Regardless of our view, the client should carry out its own risk assessment, as we do not know all the background information from the company.