Penetration testing (aka pentesting or ethical hacking) might sound intense—and honestly, it is—but think of it as your digital stress test. Ethical hackers mimic real cyberattacks on your systems to find weak spots before the bad guys do. The coolest part? Pen tests come in different flavors, each targeting specific risks. So, how do you know when it’s time for a pentest? How often should you schedule them? And which one is right for your business?

As companies continue to integrate their operational technology (OT) and IT environments, they’re coming to grips with the fact that this move opens them up to new avenues for cyber threats. The solution is multi-faceted, but one aspect is clear: combining OT and IT requires extending offensive security measures, such as penetration testing, to the OT environment.

Chances are, your business is already operating in the cloud. The rewards of moving into the cloud are undeniable - organizations can build and launch new services and add computing capacity more easily than on premises in a more cost-effective manner. The cloud is indispensable for growing at the speed of the market.

A pentest is the process of evaluating the cyber security posture of an organization by finding all possible vulnerabilities in its infrastructure and exploiting them. A pentest uncovers security vulnerabilities across web apps, networks, apps, and humans via social engineering attack simulation.

enabling businesses to proactively uncover vulnerabilities that could otherwise be exploited by threat actors. In this article, we set out what threat-led pen testing is, how it relates to the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and the testing requirements included as part of the new EU regulation.

Every day, we hear about security threats and attacks on organisations. These threats can range from ransomware and data breaches to leakage of sensitive data. There is no denying that cyber threats have been on the rise, and many organisations have fallen victim to these attacks, leading to financial and reputational losses. Hence, it is crucial to implement policies and processes that can help respond to these attacks.

Web application penetration testing involves performing a simulated attack on a web app to determine weaknesses that hackers can exploit. The testing process uses emulations of real-world attacks to identify hidden attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), or cross-site request forgery (CSRF). What is the worst that could happen if you don’t continuously test your web application for vulnerabilities?

Penetration testing, also referred to as pen testing, is a simulation of a cyber attack that organizations conduct to identify security vulnerabilities within their systems. By finding weaknesses through a simulated cyber attack, organizations can pinpoint areas that need improvement before a cybercriminal can exploit them. Penetration testing helps organizations address issues in their systems to prevent unauthorized access, meet compliance requirements and minimize the risk of phishing attacks.

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.