Today, we work in the cloud, connect through countless devices, and rely on ever-evolving software. While offering immense opportunities, this interconnected technology landscape exposes us to a relentless barrage of cyber threats. Malicious actors constantly seek new ways to breach our defences, exploiting vulnerabilities in systems we often take for granted.
Traditional, annual penetration testing is no longer enough. It’s like checking your locks once a year – it might catch some issues, but it leaves you vulnerable the rest of the time. That’s where Continuous Penetration Testing (Pen Testing) comes in. It’s a proactive approach, like having a vigilant security team constantly monitoring and reinforcing your defences. You stay one step ahead of the attackers by consistently identifying and fixing vulnerabilities.
This article will explore continuous penetration testing, its benefits, how it compares to regular penetration testing, and how to implement it effectively.
What is Continuous Penetration Testing?
Continuous penetration testing, often called continuous pen testing, is a proactive approach to maintaining an organisation’s security posture. Unlike traditional pentesting, which is typically conducted annually, continuous security testing is performed continuously.
This iterative approach helps identify vulnerabilities in an organisation’s systems, networks, and applications as they emerge, providing year-round protection against potential threats. Organisations can quickly remediate vulnerabilities by continuously monitoring and testing, ensuring their digital infrastructure remains secure against emerging threats.
Annual Penetration Tests
In the day, annual penetration tests started with a regular theme – before the cloud and the COVID era because the business case for a yearly pen test was either compliance or an organisation looking to fulfil BAU requirements. Procuring one-time annual penetration testing services is still a popular concept as it adds value to organisations’ security strategies. For modern businesses with agile development cycles they are not the right fit for measuring continuously changing attack surfaces. That’s where continuous pen testing services are needed to identify, assess and remediate risks on the ongoing basis.
Benefits of Continuous Pen Testing
Continuous security testing offers several significant benefits over traditional annual penetration tests:
- Proactive Defense: Instead of merely reacting to attacks, it identifies and mitigates vulnerabilities before they’re exploited.
- Rapid Response: Issues are discovered and addressed immediately, significantly reducing the window of opportunity for cybercriminals.
- Continuous Improvement: Regular testing informs risk remediation, prompting the IT and security teams to remediate and retest controls.
- Timely Threat Detection: Continuous checks improve detection cycles and minimise false alarms, allowing security teams to focus on genuine risks.
- Compliance Assurance: Continuous testing helps you meet rigorous security standards and regulations.
Continuous Penetration Testing Vs. Regular Penetration Testing
Frequency and Scope
Continuous Penetration Testing: Conducted on an ongoing basis, continuously monitoring and testing the security of an organisation’s internal systems.
Regular Penetration Testing: Typically performed once or twice a year, providing a snapshot of the organisation’s security posture at a specific time.
Response Time
Continuous Penetration Testing: Immediate identification and remediation of vulnerabilities.
Regular Penetration Testing: Vulnerabilities are identified periodically, which may leave a longer window for potential exploitation.
Automation
Continuous Security Testing: Utilises fully automated penetration test tools, including a vulnerability scanner, to identify real-time vulnerabilities.
Regular Penetration Testing: Often relies on manual testing by penetration testers, which can be more time-consuming.
A few things are common to both approaches, these are:
- Removal of false positives that are sometimes the result of the use of vulnerability scanners. Penetration testers look into this step manually once vulnerability analysis is complete.
- The organization’s systems and services are assessed based on the scope agreed upon before the assignment; the entire estate may not be the coverage target for every exercise. This is shaped by customer’s intent based on their risk appetite, budget, and other requirement factors.
- Both techniques are common in serving compliance requirements, maintaining a proactive security posture, and ensuring a secure development process.
- None of these testing methods relate to the automatic scan and report approach, that is, vulnerability scanning, which is a fraction of the price compared to penetration testing.
How is Continuous Penetration Testing Performed?
Continuous penetration testing involves a combination of automated tools and manual testing techniques. Here’s a general process of how it is performed:
Automated Scanning
Automated tools and vulnerability scanning are the first phases, which involve continuously scanning the organisation’s systems, networks, and mobile applications for vulnerabilities.
Manual Testing
Security professionals conduct manual tests to identify complex vulnerabilities that automated tools may miss.
Vulnerability Analysis
Identified vulnerabilities are analysed to assess their severity and impact on the organisation’s security.
Remediation
Security teams work to fix vulnerabilities, ensuring that security misconfigurations and other weaknesses are addressed promptly.
Reporting
Regular penetration testing reports are generated to provide insights into the organisation’s security posture, detailing identified vulnerabilities and remediation actions taken.
How to Implement Continuous Penetration Testing?
Implementing continuous penetration testing requires a strategic approach:
Select the Right Tools
Choose continuous penetration testing tools and testing services that align with your organisation’s unique needs and infrastructure.
Integrate with Development
Integrating security testing directly into the software development cycle informs your development teams on the go, catching vulnerabilities early and preventing them from reaching production.
Automate Where Possible
Automate repetitive tasks, allowing your team to focus on in-depth analysis and strategic decision-making.
Engage Security Professionals
Partner with seasoned security professionals to conduct manual testing, leverage their expertise, reduce risk and stay ahead of emerging threats.
Establish a Remediation Process
Create a transparent, efficient process for addressing critical vulnerabilities, ensuring fixes are implemented quickly and effectively.
Cyphere’s 2 Cents on Continuous Penetration Testing
At Cyphere, we serve growing businesses across the UK and Europe in online retail, fintech, and other areas where continuous development and validation of controls directly add value to the software chain. By adopting an iterative approach to security testing, organisations can stay ahead of emerging threats, identify areas of weakness, and ensure their digital infrastructure remains secure.
For growing businesses, this vigilance is paramount. As you expand, so does your digital footprint, creating more potential entry points for attackers. Continuous pentesting is a safety net, ensuring growth isn’t derailed by a devastating cyber ‘incident. It’s a proactive approach that empowers you to confidently navigate the digital landscape, knowing your defences constantly evolve alongside the threats you face.
Continuously monitor your security posture
Continuous penetration testing is a critical component of a modern security strategy, offering significant benefits over traditional pen testing methods. By implementing continuous penetration testing services now, organisations can ensure ongoing protection, immediate remediation of vulnerabilities, and a strong security posture to guard against potential threats.
