PlexTrac ConceptsAutomated Pentesting

Automated penetration testing, or pentesting, is a proactive security measure where cyber attack simulations are run against systems, applications, and networks to identify potential vulnerabilities and attempt to exploit them.

Pentesters use ethical hacking tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) — similar to those used by malicious actors — to expose security gaps and weaknesses, including outdated systems, misconfigured tools, and lack of multi-factor authentication (MFA), and exploit these vulnerabilities. Automated pentesting solutions simulate these activities so they can be run more frequently with less manual effort.

Using automated penetration testing tools, security teams can augment manual penetration testing by automating routine assessments to help continuously monitor their environment and mitigate critical risks to prevent breaches.

Automated penetration testing differs from manual penetration testing in its approach. While automated pentesting is performed via tool or service, manual pentesting involves a pentester evaluating the attack surface. Each has advantages depending on your needs.

Automated pentesting tools help teams continuously assess their attack surface and provide quick, consistent, and timely reports — ideal for reducing manual labor while increasing the frequency of testing.

Manual pentesting employs the skill of a pentester, which provides more flexibility, creativity, deeper analysis, and potential to identify vulnerabilities that automated tools may miss.

Ideally, combining automated pentesting with manual pentesting will provide the most comprehensive proactive approach based on human expertise, stimulated attacks, and overall analysis.

The primary purpose of penetration testing is to keep your business securely running. Although manual pentesting is important, it is labor-intensive and expensive. Automated pentesting solutions help security teams adopt a continuous pentesting paradigm because they can run frequent assessments with less manual effort.

Automated pentesting can help provide a proactive defense for organizations against vulnerabilities and potential attacks.

Maximize efficiency and reap the optimal benefits by following these best practices for automated pentesting:

1. Define your goals for pentesting such as identifying vulnerabilities and compliance testing.
2. Select a trusted automated penetration testing tool (like Pentera or NodeZero by Horizon3) and ensure it is routinely updated based on the latest CVEs and threats.
3. Run an initial scan to understand your current security posture and establish a baseline.
4. Leverage a mix of automated and manual pentesting to ensure both breadth and depth of results.
5. Continuously monitor and test your attack surface for new threats and assets.

To soothe any pain points associated with pentesting, hack the 10 steps of the pentesting routine and follow our blueprint for pentest reporting success to make the most of your manual and automated pentesting results.

Determining how often to conduct automated pentesting depends on the needs of your organization or your client. However, it’s probably more often than you think. Many security experts suggest pentests should be run at least once a week on a portion of your system or the entire IT environment.

Discover your optimal pentesting frequency by answering these 5 questions:

1. What is the scope of the pentest?
2. What scale of tests do you want to run?
3. What is the budget?
4. What resources do you want to use?
5. How often are the assets modified?

Get more details in our pentesting frequency blog to discover your ideal schedule and learn more about the gold standard of continuous pentesting.

Aggregate both manual and automated pentest data in PlexTrac to streamline reporting, prioritize risk, and expedite remediation. PlexTrac integrates with popular automated pentesting tools and services like Pentera, Cobalt, and NodeZero by Horizon3.

PlexTrac is the #1 platform for automating security reporting with AI, aggregating pentest and vulnerability data from various tools and scanners, and effectively prioritizing risk.

Request your demo today to learn more.

What is Penetration Testing? An Introduction to Pen Testing
Hack the 10 Steps of the Pentesting Routine
Penetration Testing Report Example: A Blueprint for Success
Pentesting Frequency
7 Common Pitfalls of Penetration Testing Reports
Maximizing Pentest Reporting Efficiency
Make a Winning Business Value Case for Pentest Reporting Automation at Your MSSP
The Gold Standard of Continuous Pentesting
Vulnerability Assessment vs Penetration Testing: Understanding the Key Differences
Speed vs. Quality in Pentest Reporting
Top 10 Things to Look for When Picking a Pentest Management and Reporting Automation Tool
The Primary Purpose of Penetration Testing