Penetration Testing: What are the benefits of the find-fix-verify loop?

In today's fast-paced business landscape, cybersecurity isn't just a buzzword – it's more important than ever before.

Ask yourself, ‘What business doesn’t rely on technology and the internet for communication, data storage and daily functions?’ Let’s just say, there wouldn’t be many!

The issue is that this makes the threat of cyber attacks larger than ever before. These vulnerabilities can expose businesses to the potential of sensitive information leaks, financial losses, disrupted operations, and more.

Businesses commonly invest in cybersecurity measures like firewalls, antivirus software, and security awareness training to mitigate the risk of threats. However, as new threats and vulnerabilities emerge, it’s important for businesses to continuously assess their cyber security posture.

This is where penetration testing comes in.

What is penetration testing and why does your business need it?

Penetration testing or pen testing is essentially an always-on security health check for your business’ applications, networks and cloud enviroments. At OneDot61, our experts are trained to mimic real cyber attacks to uncover vulnerabilities before hackers exploit them, giving your business all of the tools to to protect itself.

Market trends highlight the increasing importance of penetration testing. By 2024, the global market is expected to hit AUD 2.5 billion in 2024, with further growth projected to AUD 5.8 billion by 2029.

So what is the value of continuous pen testing or the find, fix and verify loop?

Wondering about the significance of continuous pen testing for your organisation's network security? Continuous pen testing is vital for businesses to uphold strong security. Our experts proactively find network vulnerabilities, priotisise fixes, and ensure your fixes are effective immediately.

Here are 4 other reasons why the find, fix, verify loop is so important for keeping your organisation’s network safe.

Reveals hidden vulnerabilities early on

With continuous pen testing, businesses can have their networks and systems monitored to detect potential security flaws in real-time, allowing for immediate responses to minimise the risk of cyber attacks or data breaches.

Strengthens incident response capabilities

Continuous pen testing also plays a key role in strengthening incident response and preventive measures within businesses. By identifying threats before they cause damage, pen testing allows proactive action, reduced incident response time and minimises the impact on operations and reputation.

Addresses vulnerabilities before they result in costly cybersecurity breaches

Notably, according to the 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report, over the past five years, the average cost of a data breach in Australia has increased by 32%, now currently at AUD $4.03 million. This covers the costs of finding and dealing with the breach, downtime, lost income, and the lasting harm to a company's reputation and brand.

This hefty price tag highlights the importance of proactive actions to find and fix vulnerabilities before they lead to costly cybersecurity breaches.

By simulating real-world attack scenarios, continuous pen testing helps organisations identify critical vulnerabilities and flaws that may not be apparent through traditional security assessments, enabling informed decision-making and proactive risk management.

Regulatory compliance and meeting industry standards

Another reason why continous pen testing is important for organisations is its ability to help meet regulatory requirements and industry standards. If you work in a sector with strict regulations on data protection and privacy, such a healthcare, finance, government and education, you know that compliance is essential for building and maintaining trust with customers, partners and stakeholders.

By regularly conducting pen tests, organisations can proactively find and fix compliance gaps, showing they adhere to regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and others.

Continuous pen test with OneDot61

Now that you understand the advantages of continuous pen testing, what's the next move for your business?

At OneDot61, we offer continuous pen testing as a service to strengthen your network posture. Our hybrid solution blends automation with human expertise, complemented by advanced vulnerability management and analytics.

Our team of ethical hackers with years of collective experience combined with industry leading testing tools systematically assesses your applications, network and infrastructure, providing detailed reports on detected vulnerabilities and tailored recommendations for improvement.

We're dedicated to empowering organisations with proactive defence against cyber threats, enhancing the protection of their IT infrastructure.

Ready to strengthen your cyber defenses? Contact us today to get started.

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