Upping An Offensive Security Game Plan with Pen Testing as a Service

November 22, 2024 3 Minute Read by Ed Williams

While most security professionals recognize the value of penetration testing, they too often conduct pen tests only sporadically - maybe quarterly at best. Pen Testing as a Service (PTaaS) is a way to change that equation, enabling companies to conduct pen tests more regularly, or whenever a particular need arises.

That's important because of the crucial role pen testing plays in providing offensive security -finding problems before bad actors do. Pen test providers help companies find vulnerabilities, simulate real-world attacks, validate security controls, increase security awareness among employees, and more.

In general, PTaaS provides at least three significant benefits compared to traditional or in-house penetration testing.

No Need for Pen Test Expertise and Tooling

First, the penetration testing vendor acts as an extension of your in-house security team. It's as if you hired your own pen testing team and put them on the payroll. But there are a couple of reasons why going the PTaaS route is far more attractive.

For one, you'd have a hard time finding experienced pen test professionals. It's well known that the industry is facing a shortage of security professionals; pen testing is no exception.

Even if you could find the people, you'd also have to buy all the tools needed to do the job effectively. That is another heavy lift, considering you'll need tools for vulnerability scanning, network discovery, security auditing, password cracking, web application testing, wireless network testing, social engineering, and more. Add to that various testing guides, virtual machines, and perhaps cloud services to support it all. That's a significant investment not just in budget but also in time and resources to acquire and support all the tools.

Finally, by utilizing a pen test vendor, you have access to a group of experts with a broad cross-section of specialisms - something that can be difficult to maintain internally given the budget constraints faced by most organizations.

Highly Flexible to Meet Varying Needs

With PTaaS, you're also free to run pen tests as often as you like, including on short notice. Companies typically conduct pen tests less often because they require advanced planning and preparation. Assuming you use an external provider, you have to source the provider, prepare a statement of work, define the test parameters, and so on.

PTaaS simplifies the process. With a contract in place, you're free to run pen tests whenever you want. Often, that's on a regular schedule, perhaps monthly tests to address different aspects of your environment in rotation. Or maybe it's a one-off test to target a particular area, say a server farm supporting a new enterprise application.

Testing regularly and in response to significant changes in your environment will put your company on a far firmer security footing versus conducting pen tests once or twice a year to satisfy auditors.

Keeping Up with Technology, Including Automation

Finally, assuming you choose your pen test provider wisely, PTaaS will keep you updated on cybersecurity technology. As you can imagine, that technology is changing rapidly.

Bad actors are proving adept at using artificial intelligence technology to up their game. Examples include using ChatGPT to craft more effective phishing messages and employing tools such as WormGPT and FraudGPT, which enable even inexperienced hackers to generate malicious code.

However, security professionals are essentially fighting fire with fire by using AI to help deter attacks and identify threats. With a PTaaS contract, you'll be sure to remain at the forefront of this rapidly emerging field.

Trustwave Pen Testing as a Service Offering

Trustwave was one of the first to offer pen testing as a service, making our deep security expertise and resources available for companies to employ at will. That includes our Spider Labs team's original threat research, which helps inform everything we do, including pen tests.

Clients can choose from various packages and test combinations to address their network and application penetration testing needs. This testing level ranges from basic to advanced, as well as retesting options, depending on the job at hand. If the task calls for mostly automated test tools, the basic tier may suffice. Those seeking help defending against highly targeted, sophisticated attacks may benefit from the advanced tier, with tests run by highly experienced professionals. In any case, you can run tests at will, drawing down from your pre-established pool of funds.

Key benefits of our service include:

• Self-service: Manage your testing schedules with autonomy, scheduling periodic or ad hoc tests based on your needs.
• Budget management: Conduct tests based on your account balance, with balance top-up as needed.
• Testing visibility: Get visibility into your testing activities and results through the Trustwave Fusion platform.

In short, Trustwave PTaaS gives you greater control over your testing programs and budget, enabling you to make pen testing a regular part of your offensive security strategy. To learn more, visit our Penetration Testing page.

About the Author

Ed Williams is VP, SpiderLabs at Trustwave, with over 10 years of experience directly focused on penetration testing and consultancy for Government and private sector organizations. Follow Ed on LinkedIn.

ABOUT TRUSTWAVE

Trustwave is a globally recognized cybersecurity leader that reduces cyber risk and fortifies organizations against disruptive and damaging cyber threats. Our comprehensive offensive and defensive cybersecurity portfolio detects what others cannot, responds with greater speed and effectiveness, optimizes client investment, and improves security resilience. Learn more about us.

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