Network penetration testing plays a critical role in detecting vulnerabilities that can be exploited. The current method of performing pen tests is expensive, leading many companies to adopt them only when necessary, usually once a year for their compliance requirements. This manual approach often misses the opportunity to identify and resolve security issues early, leaving companies vulnerable to costly cyberattacks and potential breaches. However, new technologies using automation and artificial intelligence have revolutionized the process, making regular network pentesting simple and affordable. We are now in the golden age of pentesting, where every company can evaluate the security of their networks without spending a fortune.
Pen testing automation is a game changer
Automation in cybersecurity is becoming a big problem and will only get bigger. Nowadays, we need automation to address the fact that there aren’t enough cybersecurity professionals available. Businesses can’t meet all their security needs by simply using people, even if they get help from outside services or contractors. According to the US National Institute of Standards in Technology (NIST), by 2025, a lack of available cybersecurity personnel combined with simple negligence will cause more than half of major cybersecurity problems.
Entering the world of security automation and artificial intelligence is a game-changer for companies looking to strengthen their cyber defenses without having to hire a bunch of extra people. Especially when money is tight, automating security is a smart move because it’s cheaper, faster, and just as effective as the old way of doing things manually. Automated pentesting offers unprecedented security benefits at a fraction of the price of manual pentesting. Companies can now opt for regular, timely and wallet-friendly automated pen testing, allowing them to identify weaknesses and mitigate risks proactively.
8 Benefits of Automated Network Pentesting
Network penetration testing is important to keep a company’s network security resilient and ready for anything hackers might throw at it. Here’s a quick rundown of eight benefits an organization gains by regularly evaluating its networks with pentesting.
- Find and fix weak points: Regular pen tests help IT professionals spot problems in networks and devices before bad actors do. This means you can fix things or work around them, making it harder for hackers to sneak in or steal data.
- Identify what other tools are missing: Pen tests mimic real hacker attacks, finding security holes that vulnerability scans might miss. This includes checking for all factors that could lead to an intrusion, such as making sure user permissions are strong and that security policies work in real life.
- Identify where operations can improve: It’s not just a question of technology. Pen testing can also show IT professionals where a company’s security processes, staff awareness, or response times may be lacking. Fixing these areas makes an organization’s overall security stronger and more resilient.
- Avoid downtime and money loss: Identifying vulnerabilities early helps organizations avoid malicious cyberattacks and dodge breaches that could cost a company a fortune in money and offline time. Think about avoiding legal headaches, fines and costs of cleaning up a mess, not to mention maintaining your good reputation and customer trust. According to a survey conducted by Kaseya in 2023, more than half of IT professionals surveyed said their company lost more than $50,000 due to cybersecurity incidents.
- Staying on the right side of regulators: Data protection regulations have multiplied at regional and national levels. Additionally, insurers may require regular security audits to issue and maintain cyber insurance policies. Such rules often include pen tests.
- Entering the mind of a hacker: Pen tests give you insights into how attackers think and what tricks they use, giving IT professionals the edge they need to strengthen their company’s defenses and convince everyone on the team to have a security-conscious mindset.
- Testing your intervention plan: You can use pen tests to see if your plan for dealing with attacks is working when push comes to shove. The important thing is to be prepared to identify, manage and resolve security issues. Having a tested incident response plan can save 35% of the cost of an incident.
- Make your customers feel safe: Demonstrating that you take security seriously by performing regular pen tests can make your customers trust you more. People like to know that their data is in safe hands.
Don’t fall into the trap of only resorting to pentesting for compliance
Nowadays simply running the network pen test once a year to check a box isn’t enough. Today, cyber threats move and evolve quickly. A reactive approach leaves many holes in a company’s defense through which bad actors could escape. Waiting too long between pen tests means a company may not spot easily fixable problems until hackers have already taken advantage of them, which can lead to a costly cybersecurity nightmare.
Simply doing the bare minimum to meet compliance standards isn’t enough to resist the sophisticated new cyberattacks that cybercriminals are launching at a record pace. The advent of widely available artificial intelligence has not only revolutionized cybersecurity. It has also revolutionized cybercrime. Businesses must be ready for the deluge of new cyber threats heading their way. Pen tests help IT professionals find cracks where bad actors might slip through before problems arise.
Why should I perform pen testing regularly?
Now is the perfect time for companies to take regular network pen testing seriously, thanks to automation. Here’s why every business should start using automated network pentesting immediately:
- Save money – Automated network pen testing is much cheaper than the old school manual method. A company needed to hire specialized and expensive staff or outsource the task, a scenario that was slow and expensive. Not anymore. With automation, IT professionals can perform pen tests frequently and, more importantly, in the blink of an eye.
- You can scan more often – The digital world changes rapidly and new weaknesses continually emerge. Automation allows you to run pen tests much more often, maintaining constant monitoring for any problems. Automated tools like Vonahi Security’s vPenTest can evaluate your systems and networks much faster than a person can without any burden on your IT team.
- Better quality and consistency – Automated pen tests hit the mark every time, performing the same checks consistently without human error. These tools are highly accurate, pinpoint problems precisely and provide IT professionals with all the information on how to resolve them. This not only increases the quality of a company’s security controls, but also helps the IT team track how things are improving over time.
Automate network pentesting with vPenTest
For any company looking to up their cybersecurity game, using automated solutions like Vonahi Security’s vPenTest is a no-brainer. vPenTest is a comprehensive, on-demand network penetration testing solution designed for IT teams. With the power of automation and the latest methodologies, vPenTest improves your security by making pen testing faster, more accurate and more economical. vPenTest helps you get more from your investment. With vPenTest, your network assessments cover broader ground, allowing you to discover and fix your exploitable vulnerabilities before they become a real problem. Say goodbye to manual processes and welcome the golden age of automation with vPenTest. Learn more about vPenTest today!
Vonahi safety information
Vonahi Security, a Kaseya company, is pioneering the future of offensive cybersecurity consulting services through automation. Vonahi’s vPenTest is a SaaS platform that fully replicates manual internal and external network penetration testing, making it simple and cost-effective for organizations to continuously assess cybersecurity risks in real time. vPenTest is used by managed service providers, managed security service providers and internal IT teams. Vonahi Security is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.