CT-STE: Certified Tester Security Test Engineer

Reconciliation testing compares data held in separate systems to confirm that corresponding records agree and to identify discrepancies. Verifying that HR-system access rights match the identity-management database is a reconciliation control.

Firewall testing verifies that network access rules allow only the required ports and services while blocking all other unauthorized inbound or outbound connections. A network port scan can confirm that only necessary ports are open and the remaining ports are blocked.

Applications that store sensitive financial customer data require validation that encryption protects that data. Less-sensitive public news applications can generally use a more basic security-control scope. NIST’s cryptographic-module validation program specifically addresses cryptographic protection for sensitive information.

Using rainbow tables to recover user passwords tests the strength of the authentication mechanism, including password-storage and credential-security controls.

Micro-segmentation creates granular, isolated network or workload boundaries that restrict connectivity and limit an attacker’s lateral movement. The described controls provide least-privilege access, multifactor authentication, and endpoint security monitoring, but do not describe any segmentation of network access or resources. Microsoft’s Zero Trust networking guidance identifies micro-segmentation as a way to partition infrastructure into isolated segments and reduce lateral movement.