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GigaOm Radar Report for PTaaS: How to Make a Smarter Investment in Pentesting
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GigaOm Radar Report for PTaaS: How to Make a Smarter Investment in Pentesting

What is pentesting?

Penetration testing, commonly known as pentesting, is a manual security assessment, analysis and progression of simulated attacks on business assets including applications, networks, APIs, and more with the end goal to harden and improve security. The process is typically conducted with the same mindset, tools, and tactics that a malicious actor would take to exploit the asset.

Pentesting is required by many compliance frameworks including PCI, SOC 2, HIPAA, etc. and should also be a strategic part of any security program. 

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PENTESTING DEFINED

Why should companies pentest?

Pentesting helps evaluate the security of systems by safely trying to exploit vulnerabilities. By simulating real-world attacks, organizations can identify security weaknesses, understand the potential impact of breaches, and craft strategies to fortify their defenses and mitigate risks. By leveraging Pentesting as part of an offensive security approach, companies can evaluate existing security controls to ensure they are effective against potential threats.

MODERN PENTEST SERVICES

Pentest as a Service vs. Traditional Pentests

Pentesting as a Service (PtaaS) offers a transformative approach to security testing compared to traditional pentesting methods.

  • Start a test in days instead of weeks, significantly accelerating the testing process. 
  • PtaaS platforms foster direct engagement with pentesters, enabling real-time communication to clarify findings and understand their implications.
  • Flexible reporting tailored to meet specific compliance requirements.
  • Findings can be integrated into existing ticketing systems, streamlining the remediation process.
  • PtaaS offers on-demand retesting of vulnerabilities as fixes are made, ensuring that security improvements are validated. 
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BENEFITS

Pentest as a Service model is changing the way security and development teams conduct pentesting.

Trusted talent & integrations

Engage an expert pentester who best matches your needs and easily manage or aggregate all your pentest data with integrations to your tools such as Jira or GitHub.

Transparency & flexibility

Discover vulnerabilities faster with real-time communication with pentesters. Start a new test in days while enhancing your ability to stay compliant and accelerate secure build-to-release cycles.

A modern testing platform

With over a thousand customers trusting Cobalt to help improve their offensive security needs, you’ll be in good company when conducting a Cobalt Penetration Test. 

Exploring pentest types: Tailoring the right approach for your security

Comprehensive
Agile
Time-Based
Goal-Based
Comprehensive

A Comprehensive Pentest has a scope encompassing all vulnerability categories across an entire asset, and requires a report for external stakeholders.

See More PtaaS Benefits
 
3.1.1 Tab 3 Agile v Comprehensive
Agile

When significant new features such as a new role are added to an existing application that has already had a baseline comprehensive pentest, an agile test then ensures the security of the application overall with a limited scope assessment.

See agile pentest services
3.1.1 Tab 3 Agile v Comprehensive
Time-Based

Also known as “time-boxed” this type of test sets a time limit to the engagement to prioritize efficiency of getting results.

Explore Coverage Checklist
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Goal-Based

The goal-based penetration test is tailored to specific goals or scenarios, such as an identified attack vector, zero-day, or known system weakness, in order to maximize the relevance of the results.

See goal-based pentest services
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Pentest as a Service Lifecycle

The Cobalt Platform brings together the data, technology, and talent to resolve security challenges in modern web applications, mobile applications, networks, AI/LLM apps, and APIs. With a single platform, you have the power to increase workflow efficiencies and better understand your risk profile.

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Discover: Prepare for the engagement

This is where you map your attack surface and create accounts on the Cobalt platform. Our team will identify a Cobalt Core Lead for your account, as well as domain experts with skills that match your technology stack. We’ll also set up a Slack channel for real-time communication.

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Plan: Scope and schedule your pentest

After you’ve used the Scoping Wizard to create your brief, we’ll have a 30-minute phone call to make introductions, align on the timeline, and finalize the testing scope. This will also involve identifying the target environment and setting up credentials.

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Test: Start expert analysis

Your expert testers will analyze the target for vulnerabilities and security flaws that could be exploited if not mitigated. While tests are conducted, your Cobalt Core Lead will ensure depth of coverage and communicate with your security team as needed.

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Remediate: Accelerate addressing issues

During this interactive phase, individual findings will be posted to the platform as they are discovered. Integrations send them directly to developer issue trackers and teams can start patching immediately. The test report will be updated as changes are made by your team.

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Retest: Fixes verified and final documentation

Once you mark a finding as ready for retest, your tester will verify the fix and update the final report. Every pentest includes full retesting of findings. 

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Report & Analyze: Tailored reports for each stakeholder

Get a full report with findings details, a customer letter, and an attestation to fit the needs of your executives, auditors, and customers. Use testing reports to inform and prioritize remediation actions. Compare your profile against others globally and identify common vulnerabilities to educate development teams and mature your security program. 

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