I’ve found that kind of testing is increasingly difficult to find. Some penetration testers will also include an evaluation of physical security controls. A penetration test is a perfect supplement and capstone to your compliance and certification journey. It’s one thing to say that a process is implemented, but entirely another to have a live-fire test of them. HITRUST, SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR and the like don’t mandate a penetration test, but they do mandate processes designed to safeguard data. Other standards and regulations are helped with a penetration test and provide the perfect excuse to do one. Evaluating the efficacy of payment processing systems and the controls around them is key for certification. PCI-DSS compliance is also helped with penetration testing. Without some kind of external testing, it’s impossible to know if those controls are effective. HIPAA, the regulation I have the most familiarity with, requires the implementation of appropriate access controls, network safeguards, incident response, and log monitoring to name a few. Regular penetration tests are the single most effective kind of security testing to validate that your security tools and controls are effective. While a penetration test isn’t typically called out for regulatory compliance, regulations outline that sensitive data must be safeguarded against data breaches. Regulations addressing industry security, like healthcare and finance, practically demand regular penetration tests. #2: Pentesting Helps Meet Compliance Requirements Your initial results will be humbling, but you’ll be able to make a good case for tangible and material security controls improvement and additional investment to mitigate cyber threats. Suffice it to say, if you have one pen test conducted, then you’ll want more pen testing. Some organizations do it annually, while others use perpetual testing. There aren’t any real industry standards around penetration testing. The more you do it and the more you use them to take meaningful action or represent the quality of your security program, the greater your competitive advantage. Running penetration tests more often than annually may be necessary just to stay competitive. That being said, vulnerabilities are discovered at a breakneck pace and your clients will be concerned for their data integrity. What counts as recent? At least once in the past year. Ultimately, your clients will like to see: 1) that you’ve had a recent pen test and 2) you’ve taken action on that. Those are detailed reports that go beyond most security assessments and tell you not only where your security holes are, but the security measures that would most effectively close those holes. The great thing: penetration tests result in the production of penetration testing reports. They identify potential vulnerabilities that vulnerability scanners can miss, issues with key security systems, and security processes that fall short. Pen testers are security consultants that leverage real-world attack vectors in simulated attacks against a company’s systems. External penetration tests are incredibly effective for identifying those gaps.Ĭlients also want to know that your IT infrastructure reduces the likelihood of critical data or service compromise should threat actors reach your internal network. They gauge not only how attractive of a target you are, but the likelihood a threat actor can gain access through perimeter penetration. Some TPRM services will evaluate your perimeter network for network security posture and security risks. If you don’t do well, your contracts may be compromised. Those programs are entirely concerned with evaluating and judging an organization’s security posture. With increasing rates of serious service provider and other cyber attacks in the news, every company is spinning up some kind of Third Party Risk Management (TPRM) arm. If you’re a B2B sales organization, penetration testing is a must. Penetration tests signal to prospective clients that you take security seriously and have security controls in place to protect against potential data breaches. Penetration testing can make your business a more appealing option compared to your competitors. #1: Prospective Clients Will Ask (& Keep Asking) to See One
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