Why Pen Testing Alone Isn’t Enough—and What to Do Instead
Many organizations conduct penetration tests with the belief that it checks the box for cybersecurity readiness. But in practice, pen testing is often misused or misunderstood—resulting in limited value, repeated vulnerabilities, and missed opportunities to truly improve resilience.
Here’s how to rethink your approach and turn assessments into real security improvements:
1. Pen Testing Is Often Misused—Maximize Its Value
Penetration testing should be a strategic exercise, not just a compliance task. When done without clear objectives or integration into your broader security program, it becomes little more than a routine scan with a PDF at the end. To gain real value, pen tests must simulate credible threats, be contextualized to your environment, and lead to action.
2. Vulnerability Scanning ≠ Threat Emulation
Vulnerability scans are automated tools that detect known flaws. Threat emulation, on the other hand, replicates how an attacker would move within your environment. While both are useful, they serve different purposes—and only the latter shows how well your defenses respond under realistic pressure.
3. Common Internal Findings: Flat Networks, Poor Logging, ADCS Weaknesses
In internal assessments, we consistently uncover three issues:
- A lack of centralized logging and monitoring
- Misconfigured or insecure Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS)
- Flat networks with few or no segmentation controls
These findings often go unnoticed until an adversary is already deep in the environment.
4. Purple Teaming Enables Real-Time Learning
Unlike red vs. blue team exercises, purple teaming fosters collaboration. The offensive and defensive teams work together in real time, testing controls and improving them on the spot. This approach accelerates learning and enables faster mitigation—turning assessments into action, not just reports.
5. Post-Assessment Planning Is Often Missing
Even after a thorough pen test, many organizations fail to plan for remediation. Ownership isn’t defined, timelines are vague, and findings sit unresolved. A successful engagement must include clear next steps, internal accountability, and project management support to drive outcomes.
6. Rushed Cloud Migrations = Security Gaps
Cloud adoption moves fast—but too often, it outpaces security. Misconfigured permissions, unprotected data, and a lack of visibility are common results of hasty migrations. Assessments should evaluate cloud posture separately, ensuring your environment aligns with shared responsibility models and platform-specific best practices.
7. Build Practical IR Muscle: Tabletop Exercises Matter
Tabletop exercises aren’t just for auditors—they’re essential for training and readiness. By walking through realistic incident scenarios with your executive and technical teams, you expose communication gaps, clarify roles, and build confidence in your response process.
8. Cybersecurity Isn’t About Building Fortresses
No organization is impenetrable. The goal isn’t to prevent all breaches—it’s to detect them quickly, limit their impact, and slow the adversary down. Focus on resilience, not perfection.
Final Thought
A mature security program goes beyond testing—it learns from it, adapts, and improves continuously. Whether you’re preparing for a pen test or reviewing results, ask yourself: are we doing this to check a box, or to get better?
If you’re unsure, we can help.
