You can attempt to perform your own penetration tests, or you can outsource that job to someone else.
Conducting a penetration test may look easy on paper, but the task requires high-level cybersecurity expertise. Hiring a professional isn’t cheap, especially when you have a limited budget.
Did you know that you can obtain frequent penetration tests without breaking the bank? It’s possible with penetration testing as a service (PTaaS), which provides access to top-notch cybersecurity services on a budget. Check out how PTaaS works and how you can maximize it to your benefit.
What Is Penetration Testing as a Service?
Penetration testing as a service (PTaaS) is a subscription-based model that offers hacking simulation services to identify and fix vulnerabilities within your system.
The frequency of the pentest matters in early threat detection and prevention, but conducting tests regularly is quite expensive. PTaaS makes penetration testing affordable and accessible. You work with certified ethical hackers who oversee your system if you have an active subscription.
How Does Penetration Testing as a Service Work?
Penetration testing as a service uses the SaaS Model, a cloud-based system where vendors offer software application services that solve operational issues for clients on a subscription. As a member of the PTaaS provider, you have on-demand access to quality testing and maintenance services.
Experts perform traditional penetration manually. It’s usually time-consuming as they have to check every detail themselves. PTaaS deploys automated penetration testing along with human input. The software scans your connected device regularly for vulnerabilities and then cybersecurity experts from the service provider perform an evaluation. They expand on the data the software generates and look deeper for little details the scan may have missed.
As a network owner or administrator, a typical penetration test doesn’t allow you to participate in the process. Experts do their job and provide feedback on their findings, but PTaaS is more inclusive. You have access to the reporting data the application generates on your dashboard, so you aren’t in the dark about your system’s security landscape. The data empowers you to take more control of your cybersecurity.
What Are the Benefits of Penetration Testing as a Service?
A specialized and agile cybersecurity platform, penetration testing as a service offers the following benefits.
Expert Testing Capacity
Penetration testing is most effective when the tester is as thorough as a brutal hacker. Not discovering vulnerabilities in the test isn’t a good sign. If anything, it indicates that the ethical hacker wasn’t in-depth enough.
PTaaS avails you of ethical hackers with many years of experience in the job. Their expertise is as good as that of seasoned cyberattackers, if not better. A threat is less likely to go unnoticed under their radar. Having them examine your system regularly leaves little or no room for vulnerabilities to thrive.
Action-Driven Reporting Data
Cyber threats escalate due to a lack of visibility. If you had eyes on all areas of your network to detect and fix emerging threats, they wouldn’t pose a problem. Your typical traditional penetration test may come after intruders have exploited vulnerabilities and caused damage.
PTaaS has automated sensors to pick and report threat vectors. The application dashboard shows the threats’ activities within your system. This data prompts you to take make well-informed decisions and take the necessary actions. But for this information, you may be waiting for your next routine test while cybercriminals have a field day compromising your system.
Feedback on Updates’ Vulnerabilities
You can prevent several vulnerabilities in your system by examining the safety of your design or coding updates before launching them. New updates you make may enhance the user experience but create a loophole for intruders.
PTaaS is compatible with software development security. It examines updates to connected devices against the cybersecurity backdrop and highlights inputs that fail the validation check. You can change them early enough and prevent future attacks.
Flexible Payment Plans
PTaaS providers cater to various users with different network capacities. They offer flexible payment options to create a balance among their clients. If you are an individual looking to secure your network, you can opt for a more affordable subscription plan because your needs are less than those of organizations with larger networks.
The payment flexibility helps you to secure your system even when you have a tight budget. This isn’t the case with typical penetration testing. You must sort all the expenses before the testers perform it.
What Are the Downsides of Penetration as a Service?
There are some challenges of penetration testing as a service you need to take note of to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Data Privacy Concerns
Subscribing to PTaaS exposes your system and the data to the wide cloud infrastructure. Connecting your system to the service grants the vendor access to your data. The very nature of this approach means cloud-based solutions raise concerns about data privacy.
PTaaS vendors usually secure client data with encryption. While this is effective in preventing intruders from accessing the data, there are nuances that could pose a threat, especially when the handlers are negligent.
Inadequate Custom Solution
Like most SaaS models, PTaas takes a generic service approach to its connected devices. They may be little room for customization, but that’s not enough, especially when you operate in a complex and unpopular terrain.
PTaas is a relatively new technology, so it’s yet to master some areas. If the technology for detecting threat vectors isn’t conversant with threat behaviors in your system, it may generate inaccurate analytics that leads to ineffective implementations.
Third-Party Policies
Although most PTaas offer tests regularly, some don’t. They do it periodically in line with their policies. Even when you have vulnerabilities that require urgent attention, you can’t address them until you schedule a test. This is the case with Amazon Web Services (AWS). You must seek a permit and be ready to wait for a maximum of 12 weeks before using their services.
Facilitate Frequent Security Checks With Penetration Testing as a Service
Cybercriminals don’t go on breaks or holidays. They are always looking for the next vulnerable system to exploit. Not conducting a pentest or having long intervals between tests gives attackers room to compromise your network.
Performing regular pentest is a necessity to prevent cyberattacks. Penetration testing as a service makes it easier. You have access to advanced threat monitoring applications and cybersecurity experts troubleshooting your system for vulnerabilities.
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