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GCP Penetration Testing Services

Cloud penetration testing differs from traditional penetration testing because cloud infrastructures, like Google Cloud Platform (GCP), operate very differently from on-premise architectures. Cloud providers such as GCP operate under a shared responsibility model. This means that while GCP is responsible for securing the cloud infrastructure (such as hardware and backend systems), you, as the user, are responsible for securing everything in the cloud. This includes configuring servers, managing privileges, and securing your environment from potential threats.

Why GCP Penetration Testing?

Cloud environments can be vulnerable in numerous ways, often due to misconfigurations that leave them exposed to external attacks. Internal threats, including employees, also pose risks, whether through malicious intent, accidental errors, or compromise by external attackers.

A GCP penetration test enables you to evaluate the security of your cloud infrastructure and applications at a level that traditional pentests might not cover. This test closely simulates how an attacker with access might exploit the environment, utilizing both vulnerabilities and intended features to their advantage.

By assessing your security posture in this way, we help ensure that your defenses are robust in the event that an attacker gains unauthorized access.

How Do Attackers Breach GCP?

Although this blog focuses on attacks against AWS, the same tactics apply to GCP and other cloud platforms. Some common ways attackers gain access include:

Third Parties

Malicious or compromised third parties could be unknowingly acting against your interests.

Git Repositories

Misconfigured repositories or accidental exposure of sensitive data through commits.

Application/Server Vulnerabilities

Attackers could steal credentials through techniques such as Local File Inclusion (LFI) or Remote Code Execution (RCE), or exploit metadata servers via Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF).

Password Reuse

Stolen credentials from compromised databases are often reused across accounts, opening up vulnerabilities.

Social Engineering

Phishing emails or calls are common vectors for gaining unauthorized access.

Internal Employee Errors

Employees can either be compromised or accidentally create security holes.

Even with strong security measures like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and strict access controls, attackers can bypass these defenses. The real question is: if an attacker is inside your environment, have you prepared to detect, respond, and contain them effectively? Testing helps ensure that your environment operates under the principle of least privilege and minimizes unauthorized access.

Common GCP Attack Techniques

In our GCP penetration testing assessments, we go beyond automated scans, focusing on a comprehensive evaluation of your environment. Some of the attacks we simulate include:

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  • Privilege Escalation: Evaluating if all IAM members (users, service accounts) have appropriate permissions and how attackers could exploit excessive privileges.

  • Kubernetes Exploits: Analyzing and exploiting misconfigurations within the Kubernetes Engine.

  • Security Control Testing: Checking if your systems detect data exfiltration from VMs, Google Storage, databases, etc., and whether we can evade your monitoring and alerting tools.

  • Best Practices Evaluation: Reviewing logging, encryption, and other security tools like Cloud Security Scanner to ensure compliance with best practices.

  • Perimeter Testing: Verifying what resources are publicly accessible that shouldn’t be, from an insider's perspective.

  • Cross-Environment Exploitation: Pivoting across cloud/on-premise environments, utilizing features like VPC peering and shared VPCs to explore trust relationships.

  • Cloud Functions Security: Reviewing and exploiting Cloud Functions via their triggers and configurations.

  • Persistence: Identifying backdoor methods that could allow attackers to maintain access even after being detected.

Reporting

At the conclusion of the GCP pentest, Black Hat Defense provides a comprehensive report detailing all identified vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, along with any complex attack scenarios that were executed during the assessment. Each finding is assigned a risk rating, offering context and guidance for effective remediation.

Our reports aim to not only identify weaknesses but to help you understand the risks they pose and provide actionable steps for addressing them. If we find a critical issue, such as a severe vulnerability or evidence of a prior breach, we will notify you immediately and assist with remediation.

Do I Need Google’s Permission?

No, Google does not require prior notification for GCP penetration tests. However, we must adhere to Google’s Acceptable Use Policy, which includes not targeting resources that do not belong to you. Additionally, to comply with both Google’s policies and ensure uninterrupted business operations, we do not perform denial-of-service (DoS) testing.

Clients will be informed ahead of any potentially disruptive testing activities to ensure minimal impact on operations.

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