Reduce Your Cyber Risk: How Autonomous Penetration Testing Can Help

Today, businesses face an increasing volume and sophistication of cyber attacks. To protect sensitive data and systems, organizations often rely on penetration testing to identify system weaknesses and vulnerabilities before bad actors exploit them. However, many organizations still conduct manual penetration tests, a method that, while effective, presents several challenges.

The State of Manual Penetration Testing

Traditional pen testing involves cybersecurity professionals simulating an attack to identify weak points in an organization’s network. These tests, often conducted quarterly or annually as part of an overarching vulnerability management plan, provide a snapshot of a company’s system weaknesses and identify vulnerabilities at a specific moment. However, as cyber threats evolve rapidly and become more sophisticated, these infrequent tests can leave businesses exposed between test cycles. Additionally, manual pen testing requires significant company resources, both in terms of time and expertise.

Challenges with Manual Penetration Testing:

• Infrequent Testing: Cyber threats are constantly evolving, and manual tests are often conducted too infrequently to keep up. This leaves gaps where newly discovered weak points and vulnerabilities could go undetected until the next scheduled test.
• Time-Consuming: A traditional pentest can take days or even weeks to complete, depending on the size and complexity of the system. This delay can slow down the remediation process, leaving businesses vulnerable for longer.
• Resource Intensive: Skilled cybersecurity experts are essential for effective manual penetration testing, and the process often diverts internal resources. These professionals must be well-versed in the latest attack vectors and testing methodologies, which can make the tests costly and difficult to scale.
• Human Error: Despite their expertise, penetration testers are still human and can make mistakes or overlook system weaknesses, especially when dealing with large, complex systems and the myriad of security tools companies already utilize

Thrive’s Autonomous Penetration Testing: A Smarter Solution

Thrive’s autonomous penetration testing service offers a modern, scalable alternative to traditional manual tests. Using advanced algorithms and automation, Thrive’s black box solution continuously simulates attacks on your network, identifying weaknesses and vulnerabilities in real-time, while ensuring that no gaps go unchecked between testing cycles.

How Autonomous Penetration Testing Works:

Autonomous penetration testing (pen testing) is designed to provide organizations an affordable, unbiased, and thorough view of their system. Highlights include:
Regular Testing: Unlike manual tests that happen periodically, autonomous penetration testing operations can be run more frequently, providing up-to-date insights into your security posture. As new weaknesses emerge or your system changes, they’re identified immediately, allowing for a proactive approach to risk management.

• Faster Results: Automation significantly reduces the time it takes to conduct a penetration test. What could take a manual tester days or weeks to uncover, Thrive’s pen testing can detect in hours. This speed translates into faster remediation, minimizing the window of opportunity for attackers.
• Cost-Effective: By leveraging automation, Thrive’s service is more scalable and cost-effective than manual penetration testing. Organizations can run more frequent tests without needing to allocate additional internal resources or hire expensive external experts.
• Reduced Human Error: Thrive’s pen testing eliminates the risk of human error. With sophisticated machine learning algorithms and a comprehensive approach to testing, every potential vulnerability is thoroughly examined and flagged for remediation.

Actionable Remediation Insights

The true value of penetration testing isn’t just in identifying system weaknesses but also in providing a clear path to remediation. Thrive’s autonomous penetration testing service delivers detailed remediation guidance that outlines the vulnerabilities found, along with actionable recommendations to address each issue.

The test results dashboard gives you a digestible way to review prioritized vulnerabilities based on the level of risk they pose to your business, ensuring that the most critical issues are addressed first. It also shows the attack path in which a real-world cyber criminal can take to get into your system, giving you a high-level view of how seemingly small weak points can lead to catastrophic breaches. With clear guidance, businesses can take the necessary steps to patch vulnerabilities and weak points of entry, improve security configurations, and reduce their overall risk.

Boost Your Security Posture with Thrive

The cyber threat landscape is constantly changing, and businesses need a solution that evolves just as quickly. Thrive’s autonomous penetration testing service offers a proactive, cost-effective way to uncover weaknesses in your system and provide clear, actionable steps to mitigate risk. By adopting this automated approach, businesses can strengthen their security posture, stay ahead of emerging threats, and ultimately reduce the likelihood of a successful cyberattack. Download our definitive guide to autonomous penetration testing today!

Don’t wait for the next manual penetration test to uncover hidden vulnerabilities. Contact Thrive today to learn more about how our autonomous penetration testing service can help your business stay secure and stay ahead of threats.