Security Testing

The Top 8 Pen Testing as a Service (PTaaS) Solutions

Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) solutions offering comprehensive security assessments, vulnerability scanning, and remediation recommendations to proactively identify and address cybersecurity risks.

Last updated on Oct 7, 2024
Mirren McDade
Laura Iannini
Written by Mirren McDade Technical Review by Laura Iannini
The Top 8 Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) Solutions include:
  1. 1.
    BreachLock
  2. 2.
    CrowdStrike
  3. 3.
    HackerOne
  4. 4.
    Horizon3
  5. 5.
    NetSPI

PTaaS solutions are delivered by cybersecurity companies that specialize in ethical hacking. These tools deliver regular, scheduled penetration tests to assess the resilience of an organization’s network, systems, and applications. If any vulnerabilities can be exploited, the service provider will provide recommendations for remediation, ensuring the hole is patched to prevent any real threats coming to fruition. 

Effectively leveraging PTaaS means that organizations can benefit from the expertise of seasoned cybersecurity professionals to defend against real-world attacks. Once the pen test is complete, businesses can work towards consolidating their defenses, creating a stronger and more secure line of defense. This not only saves unnecessary expense when dealing with breach, but it also helps maintain the integrity and trust of your end-users and customers. 

The PTaaS market is full of excellent vendors who offer varying degrees of penetration testing depth and specialisms. Some also offer wide-ranging cybersecurity services, including vulnerability assessment and management, cybersecurity consulting, security awareness and training, and advanced threat intelligence. This guide will list the top PTaaS solutions, highlighting the strongest options on the market, based on their unique features, technical expertise, and customer feedback.

BreachLock is a cutting-edge player in the Continuous Attack Surface Discovery and Penetration Testing market. The solution delivers a comprehensive perspective on potential threats by effectively gauging the enterprise’s response to an attack.

One of BreachLock’s key features is the Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) model. This model leverages a unique blend of human expertise, Artificial Intelligence, and automation to improve the prioritization and remediation process, which not only optimizes pen testing results, but also contributes to more efficient outcomes. BreachLock brings a modernized approach to PTaaS by providing detailed insights across your attack surface. Harnessing its in-built AI and machine learning technologies, BreachLock can process and analyze extensive data rapidly, enabling the identification of intricate patterns and irregularities within the most susceptible areas to enhance the efficiency of your penetration testing measures.

BreachLock offers a comprehensive and adaptable solution to penetration testing across diverse IT environments. Its robust blend of human skill and AI technology makes it a highly reliable tool to secure your digital assets and data.

1.

BreachLock

BreachLock Logo

CrowdStrike offers solutions for safeguarding corporate vulnerabilities— endpoints and cloud tasks, identities, and crucial data. CrowdStrike’s Penetration Testing Services replicates real-time attacks to evaluate the defensive capabilities of your IT establishment, enabling you to diagnose and address potential vulnerabilities.

Key features of CrowdStrike’s services include continuously testing the components in your IT environment to understanding advanced tactics used by potential adversaries, whilst focusing on exploiting weaknesses to assess the extent of possible network and system penetration. This assessment ensures a robust understanding of any structural weakness, allowing organizations to prepare preventative measures. CrowdStrike’s Penetration Testing Services extend to internal systems, web/mobile applications, insider threats, and wireless network. CrowdStrike’s testing evaluates systems for exploitable vulnerabilities and potential exposure to unauthorized access or data loss. A three-phase approach to web/mobile application evaluation helps to identify and investigate vulnerabilities to prevent unauthorized access to data, while insider threat penetration testing identifies risks to your internal resources.

CrowdStrike offers an effective tool for diagnosing and addressing IT vulnerabilities. By simulating real-world attacks and rigorous testing, CrowdStrike bolsters your defenses against sophisticated cyber threats. Its services enable a comprehensive understanding of potential accesses or data exposure, providing a solid framework to enhance your cybersecurity posture.

2.

CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike Logo

HackerOne is a cybersecurity firm that focuses on attack resistance management. It combines the skills of ethical hackers with asset discovery, continuous assessment, and process enhancement to identify and mitigate digital attacks. Its core offering is Pentest as a Service (PTaaS), which brings together globally certified pentesters and lightweight tech to rapidly identify and rectify flaws.

HackerOne provides real-time vulnerability detection and direct communication with pentesters. The PTaaS system is designed to provide instant results while conforming to OWASP standards to find vulnerabilities that may be overlooked by automated scanners or traditional pentesting approaches. HackerOne offers added advantages in terms of procedural integrity and satisfying compliance requirements, as the PTaaS streamlines engagement progress tracking and delivers an audit-ready detailed final report. In terms of compliance, HackerOne adheres to numerous international standards like SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HITRUST, FISMA, SOX, and GDPR, thereby ensuring risk reduction beyond basic check-box measures.

HackerOne is an innovative tool that prioritizes preventative security through PTaaS. It facilitates faster identification and remediation of security issues amid enhanced engagement monitoring. It also provides valuable compliance assurances for businesses with stringent security and auditing needs.

3.

HackerOne

HackerOne Logo

Horizon3.ai provides a robust PCI DSS v4.0 penetration testing service carried out by certified Offensive Security Professionals (OSCPs). These services are designed to assist businesses in achieving PCI DSS compliance through meticulous penetration testing, streamlined remediation recommendations, and active exploit alerts.

One of Horizon3.ai’s prominent features is detailed reporting. Alongside a comprehensive penetration test report, Horizon3.ai provides a prioritized Fix Action report that lays the groundwork for efficient remediation processes aligned with PCI DSS requirement 11.4.4. This enables organizations to address systemic weaknesses in their cardholder data environments, both internally and externally. Horizon3.ai also grants clients access to the NodeZero platform for a more in-depth insights of their penetration testing results. This lends further support for vulnerability remediation, with the ability for organizations to verify and document their fixes through NodeZero’s convenient one-click verify feature. Additionally, Horizon3.ai rapidly alerts clients of emerging zero-day and N-day vulnerabilities, ensuring that they can respond quickly to evolving threats.

Horizon3.ai strikes a balance between in-depth penetration testing and efficient remediation planning. Through detailed reporting and the use of the NodeZero platform, organizations gain the necessary insights and tools to strengthen their security, evidence remediation, and achieve PCI DSS compliance.

4.

Horizon3

Horizon3 Logo

NetSPI is a proactive cybersecurity solution that prioritizes high-stake security vulnerabilities. The solution combines advanced technology, intelligent procedures, and a team of dedicated security experts to accelerate and scale cybersecurity approaches.

NetSPI Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) simplifies the penetration testing process through integration with its proprietary Resolve platform. This results in live, easy-to-understand vulnerability reports which help accelerate the remediation process by pointing out the path to resolution. The platform offers a single-pane overview of all vulnerabilities, presenting the ability to perform trend analysis over multiple years. NetSPI’s innovative features include Scan Monster technology, a proprietary continuous scanning system that finds vulnerabilities quickly and verifies them, making results more accurate. It also reduces the time spent on administrative tasks, ensuring penetration tests start and finish without delay. Their PTaaS suite also integrates risk scoring capabilities, allowing for intelligent remediation prioritization and risk reduction measurement over time.

NetSPI provides a clear, streamlined, and efficient approach to cybersecurity. The solution not only detects vulnerabilities at a rapid pace, but also aids in quick remediation, ultimately leading to effective vulnerability management.

5.

NetSPI

NetSPI Logo

Pentera is a leading tool in the Automated Security Validation field, developed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of cybersecurity for organizations. It offers real-time, on-demand evaluations of all cybersecurity layers, revealing genuine threats at any given moment, on any scale.

By providing the capability to run on-demand penetration tests, Pentera greatly increases the frequency and scope of your security measure assessments, when compared to an occasional or annual security assessments. It also extends its checks to the entire IT environment, whether they are on-premise or cloud infrastructures. Versatility in testing formats is one of the platform’s key strengths, offering options such as Black Box and Gray Box testing to emulate external threats and assess potential vulnerabilities. Pentera also executes targeted testing, concentrating on crucial risk like misconfigurations in Active Directory, to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the organization’s IT security. It also identifies and assesses potential identity and password-related exposure and, on completion of the testing, provide users with detailed reports highlighting any discovered exploitable vulnerabilities, their rectification priority, and remediation steps.

Pentera is a robust and versatile tool that offers real-time, comprehensive, on-demand security testing and validation. It identifies vulnerabilities and exposures, helping organizations tighten their security, reduce risk, and respond effectively to potential threats.

6.

Pentera

Pentera Logo

Rapid7 is a cybersecurity software provider that specializes in helping organizations to enhance their security through simulated real-world attacks on their infrastructure. This service, known as penetration testing, allows organizations to identify vulnerabilities and potential threats within their network, applications, devices, and personnel.

Rapid7’s penetration testing services include advanced cybersecurity research, open-source tool development, and Metasploit module writing. The testing team dedicates 25% of their time purely to research, with their findings routinely published. Rapid7’s services also impart a prioritized issues list, ranked by exploitability and impact, using an industry-standard process. To provide thorough insight, Rapid7 presents a comprehensive overview of the discovered issues along with a proof of concept, an actionable remediation plan, and a projection of the scale of the resolution efforts required. The platform also features an attack storyboard that sheds light on chained attacks, comparison scorecards against industry best practices, and a highlight of effective security controls currently in place.

Rapid7’s penetration testing services offer a multilayered approach to enhance cybersecurity through real-world attack simulations, meticulous research, effective prioritization, and guidance on remediations. This results in enhanced security, heightened awareness of vulnerabilities, and accessibility to strategic guidance, strengthening an organization’s overall defense mechanisms.

7.

Rapid7

Rapid7 Logo

Secureworks is a global cybersecurity leader that offers advanced cybersecurity protection with a broad range of penetration testing services. The goal is to help businesses identify gaps and weaknesses within their environment prior to any cyber-attacks, enhancing their security posture and preparedness.

Secureworks offers comprehensive external and internal penetration testing, wireless and physical testing, and custom work. External penetration testing involves manual testing that mimics current threats, utilizing proprietary tooling and experienced adversarial experts to determine the robustness of your perimeter defenses. Internal penetration testing assesses layered defenses and internal security controls to identify insider threat risks and improve security intelligence. Wireless penetration testing focuses on the security of wireless networks, exposing vulnerabilities that could allow attackers access to internal networks. Physical testing takes a comprehensive approach to risk assessment, assessing resilience against social engineering and physical attacks. Secureworks also offers specialized testing for unique requirements such as IoT, firmware, medical devices, and custom networking protocols.

Secureworks provides these rigorous cybersecurity services to outpace and outmaneuver potential threats, adapting to market needs and ensuring businesses’ safety. With Secureworks, companies can improve their cybersecurity posture, identify potential threats earlier, and respond more effectively to security incidents.

8.

Secureworks

Secureworks Logo
The Top 8 Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) Solutions

Everything You Need to Know About Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) Solutions (FAQs)

What Is Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS)?

Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) is an important security measure that businesses can employ to discover vulnerabilities in their systems before malicious actors have the opportunity to take advantage. This is achieved by recreating potential attacks on the company’s network, simulating the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of real-world attackers.

Implementing a PTaaS solution can provide greater security control, improve risk assessment, and support more efficient vulnerability management. These solutions simulate cyber-attacks, aiming to discover and exploit weaknesses in the security system. By identifying vulnerabilities, PTaaS solutions help to strengthen security structures, protect against data breaches, and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.

How Do Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) Solutions Work?

Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) solutions work by providing organizations with regular and scheduled penetration tests, which are conducted by third-party cybersecurity experts or firms. With a PTaaS solution organizations can put their system through continuous testing and scanning. This includes a combination of automated vulnerability assessment tools and manual testing by experts. By making this process ongoing, potential security weaknesses are more likely to be uncovered.

Penetration Testing as a Service solutions support the identification and remediation of security weaknesses for an organization, helping to strengthen their defense mechanisms and significantly reduce the likelihood of an attempted cyber-attack being successful, thereby enhancing their overall cybersecurity posture.

What Are The Benefits Of Using A Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) Solution?

Some notable benefits of implementing a PTaaS solution include:

  1. On-Demand Hacker Testing – These solutions allow users to initiate penetration tests on demand, allowing organizations to learn how their current security posture would be perceived by threat actors and how their existing security measures would handle it.
  2. Early Feedback on Code Changes – The PTaaS model is designed to seamlessly integrate into the software development lifecycle, providing development teams with insight into possible vulnerable points before they push code into live environments. This helps development teams to stay ahead of threat actors.
  3. Speedy Support for Remediation – PTaaS platforms provide users with detailed remediation support, including screenshots and videos, to help the organization locate and address vulnerabilities. This support is valuable as it saves time by reducing the time spent determining what the issues are and why they have occurred.
  4. Access to Security Engineers – PTaaS vendors can connect clients’ organizations to security engineers who have the knowledge and expertise to help with the fixing of security gaps. Access to this expert knowledge is helpful for ensuring these vulnerabilities are dealt with without draining the resources of in-house teams.

What Features Should You Look for When Choosing Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) Solutions?

When selecting a PTaaS Solution, you should consider the following functionalities:

  1. Comprehensive Testing – Make sure that any PTaaS solution that you choose provides a wide range of testing methodologies. The ability to perform penetration testing on all aspects of your system including networks, servers, web applications, as well as social engineering tests, is important to ensure your organization’s security posture is robust and your defenses are well rounded.
  2. Automated and Manual Testing – It is important that your PTaaS solutions can facilitate both automated scans and on demand testing services to address specific security concerns, changes to the environment, or new emerging threats. Both automated and manual testing is important for a comprehensive security assessment as one provides efficiency and the other expertise.
  3. Regular Updates – In a PTaaS solution, regular updates are crucial for maintaining the effectiveness and relevance of security assessments over time. Keeping on top of the latest security threats and test methodologies helps organizations to be proactive in their approach to security testing. This makes defending against evolving threats easier.
  4. Reporting – Detailed and user-friendly reports that highlight vulnerabilities and provide guidance for remediation are important as they provide organizations with easy to digest insights into their security posture, vulnerabilities, and potential risky areas. Reporting also gives organizations a way to demonstrate compliance with regularity requirements and industry standards.
  5. Expert Support – Penetration testing as a service solutions typically provides expert support from skilled security professionals to assist organizations throughout the testing process. Expert support is valuable as it provides organizations with well-informed guidance which can help them to maximize the value of their penetration testing, improve their security defense, and better protect against cyber threats.
  6. Integration – This is necessary for enabling seamless coordination and collaboration between the testing provider and the existing security infrastructure, tools, and processes in use at the organization. Integration in PTaaS solutions helps organizations maximize the value of security testing and enhance their ability to detect and respond to cyber threats.
Written By

Mirren McDade is a senior writer and journalist at Expert Insights, spending each day researching, writing, editing and publishing content, covering a variety of topics and solutions, and interviewing industry experts. She is an experienced copywriter with a background in a range of industries, including cloud business technologies, cloud security, information security and cyber security, and has conducted interviews with several industry experts. Mirren holds a First Class Honors degree in English from Edinburgh Napier University.

Technical Review
Laura Iannini
Laura Iannini Cybersecurity Analyst

Laura Iannini is an Information Security Engineer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida. Laura has experience with a variety of cybersecurity platforms and leads technical reviews of leading solutions. She conducts thorough product tests to ensure that Expert Insights’ reviews are definitive and insightful.