What is stand-alone pentesting?
Pentests, or penetration tests, are an approach designed to assess the securitylevel of a system, application or network. It is a controlled simulation ofa cyber attack.
ANSAM Cyber carries out these targeted pentestson demand to monitor vulnerabilities in your company'sIT systems, according to the scope and frequency you define. This flexible service can be integrated into your annual security operations.
What is the objective of autonomous pentesting?
The aim of the autonomous pentest is to reproduce the behavior of a cyber attacker seeking to exploit security flaws (misconfigured services, open ports, compromised credentials, etc.).
This analysis enables you to detect your attack paths before cybercriminals exploit them.
Regular penetration testing enables you to assess the effectiveness of your company's overall security measures, and to reinforce them through concrete action.
Who carries out the pentest: in-house or outsourced?
Specialized expertise required
A pentest is not a simple automated scan: it requires experienced security analysts ("ethical hackers") capable of thinking like real cyber-attackers, identifying creative exploitation scenarios and navigating complex environments without disrupting systems.
With the development of new technologies, it can be difficult for in-house teams to acquire or maintain this level of competence, especially in SMEs where resources are limited. Stand-alone pentesting is the ideal solution, offering access to experts without high fixed costs.
Advantages of stand-alone pentesting over ad hoc pentesting
- Scalability: adapt to your evolving portfolio of IT assets (applications, APIs, cloud).
- Time flexibility: on-demand or continuous testing, without waiting for long project cycles.
- Controlled cost: model often based on targeted requests, avoiding high one-off expenses.
- Integration with DevSecOps: testing integrated into development and deployment workflows, accelerating vulnerability remediation.
How does an effective pentest work?
There are several key steps toa successful pentest :
- Defining the scope: First and foremost, you need to define a clear framework for what is to be tested: external networks, web applications, APIs, cloud services, etc. This step aligns expectations and avoids unforeseen interruptions.
- Manual and automated testing: A combination of automated tools and manual scenarios by experts is essential to simulate real attacks and discover vulnerabilities that tools alone would not find.
- Analysis and exploitation: Testers explore possible attack vectors to see how far an attacker can penetrate the system, acting as "ethical hackers" to reveal areas for remediation.
What to do with the results of a pentest?
Once the pentest is over, the real impact of the exercise comes from thepost-pentestactions :
- Clear, prioritized report: The report lists the actual attack paths used by the pentest and includes concrete, prioritized remediation recommendations based on the actual impact of the attacks .
- Rapid remediation plan: The platform proposes pragmatic and effective solutions for correcting identified vulnerabilities, starting with the most critical, while documenting progress.
- Post-correction checks: An often overlooked but crucial step: The platform enables specific vulnerabilities to be tested to validate that corrections have been applied correctly.
- Integration into a continuous cycle: Ideally, pentesting becomes an integral part of the overall security cycle: regular testing, policy adjustment, training of technical teams.
A proactive approach is essential
Stand-alonepentesting is no longer an option reserved for large corporations: it's an essential practice for any organization concerned about its IT security, large or small. Thanks to a flexible, scalable and expert-driven service, it is possible to :
- identify vulnerabilities before an attacker does
- prioritize and correct risks effectively
- continuously improve security posture
Find out more about our professional pentesting solution for your company.