AI Pen Testing: Is Automated Penetration Testing Right for You?

In today’s business age, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the topic of the AI Revolution. What effect does AI have on security mainstays? In this blog, we’ll define what automated penetration testing is – and what it isn’t. We’ll lay out key differences to keep in mind when assessing manual versus automated penetration testing tools and providers.

As cybercrime continues to rise exponentially – now costing upwards of $250,000 per second, according to a report by Cybersecurity Ventures – the need for cybersecurity solutions is more apparent than ever.

Many companies turn to penetration testing as one option for helping to mitigate attacks, and now, thanks to AI, companies can also use automated penetration testing tools to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

In this blog post, we’ll explore what automated penetration testing is, how it differs from traditional manual testing, and how to determine whether it’s the right choice for your organization.

What Is Automated Penetration Testing?

Automated penetration testing, or AI penetration testing, uses AI tools to mimic a hacker’s attempts to break into an organization’s systems, networks or applications to discover vulnerabilities and ways to fix them.

AI can even sometimes identify difficult-to-find vulnerabilities using traditional methods, so even pen testers often use penetration testing automation to aid in their work. Plus, they can help identify known software flaws, such as common passwords, unintended exposure to a public cloud, or outdated operating systems.

Here are just a few things AI pen testing can help with:

• Vulnerability Scans: Vulnerability scans look for known holes or problems within your system and generate a report to help your organization determine how to mitigate the risk created by those holes.
• Attack Simulation: Given that some cybercriminals already use AI to exploit your IT systems, it only makes sense to use AI to mimic their attacks to identify those areas before they can attack.
• Reporting: AI penetration testing can also help create comprehensive, actionable reports adapted to your organization’s specific needs.

Automated penetration testing tools can help identify several different types of vulnerabilities within your system. However, it cannot entirely replace a human tester.

Manual vs. Automated Penetration Testing

As with several tasks today, the question comes down to the pros and cons of manual and automated systems. Below, we explore the pros and cons of each.

Manual Pen Testing

Manual penetration testing relies on the expertise and creativity of human testers to identify and exploit vulnerabilities.

Thanks to their adaptability, agility and capacity for critical thinking, these ethical hackers meticulously comb through systems to find weak points automated tools might miss. And since they know how other humans think, they’re more likely to understand the context of a system that they’re exploring.

Using the manual method, human pen testers can also talk to your company’s IT team members to discover where the system might need special attention or how to approach a complex part of your network. Lastly, they can validate their results, eliminating potential errors.

However, humans are not without our flaws. Human errors happen – 74 percent of chief information security officers even spout it as their biggest vulnerability – and within pen testing, people can misinterpret data, miss a requirement, or time constraints can limit a tester’s work. That’s where automated penetration testing can help.

Automated Pen Testing

AI-powered tools can analyze vast amounts of data and identify patterns and anomalies that human testers might miss, even with their own creativity to back them up. Here are a few of the benefits of using AI for penetration testing:

1. Speed. Because penetration testing automation relies on pre-programmed algorithms to perform its tests and scans, it can scan large systems and networks while identifying common vulnerabilities swiftly. This speed means it can complete your pen test much quicker than if a human were to perform the same tasks.
2. Efficiency. Since the tests are automated, human pen testers or your security team can focus on complex tasks. Plus, you’re likely to get insights very quickly – maybe even immediately – so your company can decide which vulnerabilities to resolve sooner rather than later.
3. Accuracy. Automated penetration testing tools can discover potential weaknesses that humans might overlook. For example, such tools can analyze massive amounts of data and see a pattern that can indicate a vulnerability that manual methods could not identify.
4. Continuous testing. Continuous automated penetration and attack testing is possible with AI. It can provide real-time insights into an organization’s security posture, allowing for proactive risk management. Due to the nature of manual pen tests, testing can only be associated with a fixed point in time, so continuous testing is not possible unless done with automation.
5. Cost. Because AI can complete the tests quickly, automated penetration testing is much more affordable.

However, the scope of your pen test is limited to the tool’s programming, its adaptability, and the prompts you use. It may bypass certain vulnerabilities that a human mind would spot right away. So, while automated testing can be faster and more cost-effective, manual testing may be better suited for complex systems or unique attack scenarios.

That doesn’t mean that AI is completely down for the count. As AI continues to advance, the landscape of penetration testing is evolving, presenting both opportunities and challenges for organizations. With that in mind, is penetration testing automation right for your organization? The answer depends on several factors.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Automated Penetration Testing

There are several factors you should consider when deciding whether your organization needs automated penetration testing or should stick to a more manual process.

Here are four:

1. System Complexity. Automated testing tools cannot understand context, adapt to dynamic infrastructures, or recognize the necessary connections between applications. If the system is considered too complex, you likely need a human tester who can easily understand your organization’s setup and see where vulnerabilities exist.
2. Compliance requirements. If your organization must comply with security regulations like HIPAA and PCI/DSS, then you know how much time it takes to not only become compliant but also stay compliant by, for example, conducting regular audits. Automated pen testing helps your organization continuously track your systems for potential vulnerabilities, reducing the time it takes to maintain compliance.
3. Budget and resources. If you have limited resources – whether related to budget or fewer team members – then automated testing could be a huge help to your team. It’s also easier to scale as your organization grows, so you can expand the testing across bigger networks without significantly increasing your resources.
4. Types of attacks or analyses needed. Automated penetration tests may have come a long way in the last four years, but they’re still not ready to completely replace humans. Nowhere is that more obvious than in the types of tests they struggle to enact. Testing that needs social engineering, multi-step attacks, goes beyond known vulnerabilities, or can mimic a real-life cyber-attack is still beyond automation’s capabilities. If you need any of these simulated attacks for your organization, then you’ll need a human.

Weighing these factors carefully can help you determine whether automated pen testing fits your organization’s unique needs and goals.

Penetration Testing in the Age of AI

Automated penetration testing can help you protect your organization in the face of today’s cyberattacks, which are becoming more frequent and stronger each day. As a cost-effective solution to ensuring your company can quickly address vulnerabilities, this type of pen testing can be a game changer for your company.

However, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. The choice between manual and automated testing – or even the combination of the two – will strongly depend on your organization’s unique needs. By understanding the strengths and limitations of each, you can make an informed decision about how best to protect your organization in the age of AI.

You know you need to protect your brand and financial stability by prioritizing cybersecurity. But do you know where to start? Our Cybersecurity team is ready to help you focus on everything from strategy development to penetration testing.

Let’s talk