How to Choose the Best Penetration Testing Service Provider for Your Business

As Penetration Testing becomes one of the pinnacles of Offensive Security, enterprises are turning to pentesting more than ever to provide the data needed to align both security and business objectives. Just in the past few years, we’ve seen penetration testing become a driving force for enterprises who want to implement more proactive security measures.

We understand that today’s security professionals and DevOps teams have increased responsibilities, and must do more with less, all while keeping their attack surface secure. So, choosing a pentesting partner is an important decision for all stakeholders.

a penetration testing partner for your enterprise.

Factors to Consider

We have had the privilege of serving and talking to thousands of security professionals and CISOs to better understand their needs and what they are seeking in a pentesting partner. Four fundamental pitfalls of traditional pentesting were identified: accuracy, agility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. This was because security tools were all about point-in-time. Meaning testing for vulnerabilities within systems was a one-shot deal, conducted periodically because compliance regulations needed to be met. The thought of continuous security was unconceived at the time.

BreachLock decided to rectify these pain points with the goal to create the world’s first, full-stack Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) solution before it was popular or as widely understood as it is today. PTaaS was developed to solve the need for Offensive Security and a more continuous approach to protect an attack surface that continues to grow and change every day.

In addition, we have also seen an increased demand for an integrated platform for their pentesting solutions and the need for more flexibility and versatility in their choice of pentesting. Meaning both manual human-driven pentesting and an on-demand continuous pentesting solution to schedule pentesting how and when they want.

Below, we will look at a few of these considerations to help you in your selection of a pentesting provider and partner for your business.

1. Accuracy & Precision
   Many providers will promote the fact that their solutions provide the most accurate pentesting. But accuracy and precision are only as good as the technology that has been developed. Frameworks and the correct use of AI/ML must serve as a safeguard for precision and quality.This includes offering deeper and more enriched contextual insights to your customers across their entire attack surface. The provider’s technology must be able analyze vast amounts of data in real-time to identify complex patterns and anomalies within the most exploitable points of interest by an attacker to accelerate the accuracy and effectiveness of your pentesting outcomes.This should include evidence-backed results that include rich context and proof of concepts (POCs) that are automatically made available within the platform for security professionals to analyze for quick prioritization and remediation. And, a standardized framework that enables consistent and regular benchmarks of attack tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), security controls, and processes to enhance accuracy and to properly measure improvements in your security posture.
2. Agility & Speed
   Increased agility and speed are useless without the proper technology and data sets. No one wants to sacrifice speed only to sift through mountains of false positives. To accelerate speed and effectiveness, providers must not only multiply scale, but the speed of vulnerability identification and prioritization.This also ties back to the technology and the interpretation of threat intelligence, including large data sets, historical data and thousands of evidence-based tests that the provider has conducted, aggregated, and analyzed to uncover patters impossible to detect solely with manual methods. It is this data that will assist in identifying vulnerabilities faster for both manual and automated methods.Retests should be available on-demand enabling security teams to quickly perform retests to confirm the effectiveness of remediation efforts and that no new vulnerabilities were introduced. This should be automated and available to enterprises to run when and how they want.
3. Scalability
   A pentesting partner should be able to handle large-scale data analyses and pentesting assessments for large enterprises. As a large computing environment changes, pentesting providers must be able to offer the flexibility and versatility to accommodate these changing requirements and expand its testing capabilities to match the organization’s infrastructure, applications, and overall user base, whether internal or third parties and the supply chain.Offering thousands of POC samples from testing, true or false positives should be quickly categorized in real-time to enable greater scalability to reduce your attack surface. The ability to offer CREST-certified expert-driven pentesting alongside continuous pentesting to support these demands should not sacrifice the speed or effectiveness of the testing. This may include a hybrid approach, automating workflows, and providing continuous support to meet the organization’s security testing demands.
4. Flexibility & Versatility
   Pentesting solutions should align precisely with your business and security requirements, giving you the flexibility and versatility to choose the solution and methodology that works best for you.Pentesting providers should offer a dedicated project manager from the onset who will help guide your team to determine the appropriate scope. This expert support should include an open discussion regarding your testing options to meet your security and compliance needs. Not a sales approach but an honest discussion to ensure your success.The ability to offer a hybrid pentesting approach with subsequent continuous pentesting to safeguard your systems should be offered with an on-demand capability to schedule pentesting for the assets you select, and to add as many assets as you want without financial repercussions, and to schedule testing when and how you want to meet your unique needs.

List of the Top 10 Penetration Testing Companies in 2024

1. BreachLock: BreachLock created the world’s first, full-stack Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) solution with over 1,000 customers, including some of the largest blue-chip global enterprises. Their continuous quest for innovation and a robust product roadmap has led to modern flexible and versatile solutions that are easy to implement with results available in one seamless and integrated platform, including a built-in framework and NLP-supervised AI models that ensure accuracy and precision of all your pentesting results. Offering CREST-certified manual pentesting and/or on-demand pentesting right within the platform, BreachLock’s manual and continuous pentesting are aligned with OWASP, CREST, OSSTM NIST, and other technical standards to help meet compliance regulations. BreachLock’s on-demand pentesting includes retesting and the ability to add as many assets as the want without additional fees. Pentesting was built with the customer in mind for rapid deployment without sacrificing speed and accuracy to expedite time to remediation. This includes evidence-backed results and proof of concepts (POCs) with every vulnerability along with a built-in ticketing system to collaborate with BreachLock experts in real-time. Lastly, their unique, one-of-a-kind Attack Path Validation feature allows users to visualize the attack path on their host, viewing vulnerabilities through node graphs connecting domain, subdomains, IP addresses, and vulnerabilities.
2. Astra Security: Astra is a pentest platform that can find and fix security loopholes with their hacker-style pentesting. The provide broad vulnerability coverage for both DevOps and DevSecOps teams and is used by 650+ modern engineering teams. Astra offers a hacker style offensive pentesting that meets OWASP, SANS, and CREST standards along with continuous scanning, vulnerability management and an AI assisted engine with a bot assistant.
3. Bugcrowd: Bugcrowd offers a modern platform with highly configurable Pentesting as a Service (PTaaS) delivering fast, high-velocity, high-impact results for both compliance and risk reduction. Pentests can be launch in days with a pentest team to meet security requirements. The platform provides results in real-time and automated workflows embedded into DevSecOps processes for fast remediation and scalability.
4. Cobalt: Cobalt provides PTaaS, providing a scalable and efficient platform that integrates seamlessly across the SDLC. They provide the standard vetted security experts for their pentesting services. Their pentesting model ensure a broad range of cybersecurity skills available on-demand. The Cobalt platform is design for rapid deployment allowing businesses to initiate and view pentest results in real time, shortening the time to remediation.
5. Hacker One: Their PTaaS model delivers instant results and direct access to expert pentesters. Certified pentesting is aligned with OWASP standards to improve vulnerability findings and accuracy along with the ability to communicate with the pentesters directly via Slack only. It is not through ticketing system built directly into the platform. They satisfy the various compliance standards such as SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and more to help organizations meet their regulatory requirements and measure risk reduction.
6. NetSpi: Recognized for its technical manual testing and an unknown proprietary technology promoted to enhance the pentesting process. NetSpi offers continuous penetration testing services integrated into the customer’s development lifecycle, ensuring ongoing compliance and security. NetSpi’s approach is highly customizable, and their programmatic pentesting is offered through the combination of automated tools and in-house security experts with proven domain knowledge.
7. Optiv: Incorporating both network and application pentesting, Optiv also offers red and purple team exercises that simulate real-world attacks to evaluate both the physical and digital aspects of security. A significant component of their services is retesting and remediation guidance, ensuring vulnerabilities are quickly identify and fixed. Optiv provides continuous pentesting options and technical implementation and integration services that are promoted to accelerate business outcomes. Organizations can partner with consultants and support services are similar to most providers with 24/7/365 support.
8. Pentera: Pentera’s Automated Security Validation Platform reveals and prioritizes security risks with research-driven automated security validation to guide remediation and reduce cyber exposure. Pentera tests all cybersecurity layers keeping up with the latest threats and pointing out true risks. They focus on continuous security validation to keep organizations safe and fix security gaps before they are exploited. Pentera Lab is a team of in-house researchers that tape into insights from red teamers, ethical hackers and cyber experts.
9. Rapid 7: Offering pentesting services across networks, applications, and devices using the Metasploit framework to identify vulnerabilities. Their tests aim to uncover how attackers could exploit systems, providing organizations insights into their security weaknesses and remediation strategies. Their services cover various assets such as web, mobile, applications, IoT, and network infrastructures, and solution includes Red Teaming. Testers provider direct contributions to their Metasploit Project and consultants spend up to 20% of bench time focused on attacker research and skill development.
10. Synack: Synack is also a leading pentesting provider and finds exploitable vulnerabilities faster than traditional pentesting with a community of ethical security researchers paired with smart technology. Synack offers an on-demand security testing platform, enabling continuous pentesting on web and mobile applications, network, APIs, and cloud assets. Synack also offers PTaaS and FedRAMP services and works with various integration partners.

Pentesting FAQs

What is a Penetration Testing Tool?

A penetration testing tool is essential for any security program, providing a virtual map of vulnerabilities and helping prioritize resources. These tools allow organizations to test for security weaknesses by simulating real-world attacks, ensuring systems are up-to-date and secure.
What are the goals of Penetration Testing?
The primary goal of penetration testing is to simulate real-world attacks to identify network vulnerabilities. A secondary goal is to achieve compliance with regulations like PCI and HIPAA. Using automated tools, organizations can efficiently simulate attacks, saving time and gaining insight into potential security gaps.

How often should you perform a penetration test?

The frequency of penetration tests depends on factors like company size, revenue, and assets. Larger companies with more online assets typically need more frequent testing. Industry regulations also influence testing frequency to ensure data security. Regular testing is essential due to the constantly evolving digital landscape and the need to address vulnerabilities in new software updates.

What are the advantages of penetration testing?

Penetration testing allows organizations to discover and address security flaws before they can be exploited, thereby enhancing system security and resilience. This preemptive strategy not only safeguards systems but also builds customer confidence by showcasing a dedication to security. Moreover, conducting penetration tests regularly supports ongoing enhancement, helping organizations stay ahead of new threats and adjust their security practices accordingly.

What types of penetration tests should organizations consider?

To ensure a robust and flexible security posture, organizations should undertake various forms of penetration tests. White-box testing, where testers have full knowledge of the system, enables comprehensive and effective assessments. Black-box testing simulates an external attacker’s perspective, offering insights into potential exploits without prior knowledge of the system. Gray-box testing strikes a balance by providing testers with partial system knowledge, allowing them to evaluate both internal and external threats more efficiently.

What are some key questions to ask your penetration testing provider?

When selecting a penetration testing provider, it’s crucial to ask questions that reveal their expertise, processes, and compatibility with your organization’s security requirements. Consider asking:

– How do you keep up with the latest vulnerabilities and exploits?
– What is your approach to testing and reporting vulnerabilities?
– How do you ensure data security and privacy during tests?
– What kind of support do you offer for remediation and post-test consulting?
– What types of integrations do you provide to enhance development and security workflows?

How to get ready for a penetration test?

Getting ready for a penetration test involves several key steps: defining the test’s scope and objectives, updating all security policies and procedures, backing up essential data, and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory standards. Additionally, it’s important to prepare your environment and notify relevant teams about the upcoming tests to avoid any disruptions. This preparation may include creating backups and potentially setting up a mirrored testing environment to prevent impacts on live systems.