How to Capitalize on 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Pentesting
Why would you test an ever-changing attack surface only once a year? Organizations intent on keeping themselves safe know that point-in-time testing no longer provides the security they need. For too long, organizations would test the level of their security posture by conducting once-a-year penetration tests. But that static approach no longer makes sense, as point-in-time testing provides little support to dynamic and ever-changing modern organizations.
As a pentester for many years helping businesses secure their infrastructure by identifying vulnerabilities and guiding their remediation, I became frustrated with the limitations of point-in-time pentesting cycles. Organizations need continuous security testing, not just annual assessments, and pentesters should provide ongoing security support rather than one-off testing services.
Fortunately, many organizations today are realizing that, too, and are moving away from legacy testing to continuous security testing. Here are five trends you should pay attention to and capitalize on if you want your security testing to match your dynamically evolving organization.
1. Dynamic and Proactive Testing Environments Will Need Dynamic Security
New technologies in a remote world mean increased interconnectivity across a variety of environments, from the office to the coffee shop to smart devices in the home. But every connected device — from servers to smartphones to smart toasters — becomes a potential target in a growing attack surface, and 60% of security practitioners say IoT and OT security is one of the least secured aspects of their infrastructure. It no longer makes sense to have static cybersecurity in a changing tech landscape.
Adapting means adopting a dynamic approach to cybersecurity and developing the capability of continuous testing and response. Instead of hiring an outside analyst to come in once a year, conduct a pentest and deliver a report that may be outdated in a week, organizations can utilize continuous testing to dynamically identify and test assets as they appear and change within their network, ensuring that no component, however minor, is overlooked.
2. AI and ML Will Increase Cybersecurity Capabilities
We’re at the point where every industry is experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to see how the technology can streamline workloads, enhance data insights, or create new efficiencies. These evolving technologies can be applied to cybersecurity as well to extend human capabilities and knowledge. 43% of CISOs believe that generative AI offers an advantage to cyber defenders — an increase from 17% just a year ago.
AI and machine learning won’t just be tools but core components of penetration testing. These technologies will not only identify vulnerabilities but will also predict and simulate potential attack paths before they can be exploited. This continuous loop of testing and learning will significantly accelerate the pace at which vulnerabilities are discovered and mitigated, making pentesting much more efficient and far-reaching.
3. There Will Be a Shift from Periodic Assessment to Continuous Competency
Once, there weren’t enough practitioners doing any proactive security testing at all — they just didn’t know they needed to do it and as a result would be blindsided by breaches and attacks. But over time, security teams developed a greater understanding of the cybersecurity risks, so they started to conduct more testing. Then the testers were in extreme demand because everyone needed this type of testing. But employing a point-in-time, static approach to testing is no longer sufficient.
New approaches to cybersecurity need to go beyond the traditional, periodic assessments that often leave gaps between tests. As such, organizations need to focus on making continuous pentesting a core competency. This means regular updates, real-time risk assessments and immediate remediation capabilities that ensure their defenses are as agile as the threats they face.
4. Testing Will Require Enhanced Communication and Integration
Turning away from static, point-in-time testing will be a benefit to organizations, but so will continuous integration and communication around that testing. Every second counts when it comes to security, and continuous testing can bring the real-time insights that a security team needs to effectively respond to and remediate vulnerabilities.
In this future, how we communicate and integrate the results of pentests will be as important as the tests themselves. This will include platforms where results are instantly accessible, where teams can receive real-time alerts, and where historical data is leveraged to predict future vulnerabilities. This integration will not only enhance the way teams interact with the testing results but also improve the decision-making process regarding cybersecurity investments and strategies overall.
5. There Will Be an Increase in Economically Viable Security Solutions
Every company has data and assets they want to keep safe, yet not every company can afford robust and reliable cybersecurity that truly protects their environment. When it comes to building cybersecurity capabilities, not every company has the ability or the budget to build in-house, either. They need affordable yet robust service providers to turn to.
Ideally, we’ll see a future where cybersecurity support is economically viable for every business. With predictable, scalable pricing models, organizations will be able to budget for their security needs without surprises. This approach will democratize access to high-quality pentesting, ensuring that businesses of all sizes can protect themselves effectively and continuously.
The Future is Continuous Security
Organizations intent on keeping themselves safe know that point-in-time testing no longer provides the security they need. Instead, continuous testing enhanced by AI, with robust reporting that’s integrated into current systems is the best way to protect dynamic and evolving organizations. Continuous testing is a major contributor to cybersecurity that’s so advanced, integrated and proactive that it doesn’t just prevent an attack but wards off attackers altogether.