Business Enterprise

Security matters: when should you consider a penetration test for your business?

Zen Mar 8 2022

In this world of constantly evolving cyber threats, the value of penetration testing is obvious to most businesses.

Pen testing can help to secure your business from attack by helping you to evaluate and improve your security posture. But one question that still perplexes many is when exactly should pen testing be carried out.

Although its benefits are obvious, when and how often to do it can be a little more nuanced.

Here are five situations when you might want to carry out a penetration test.

1) You’ve made a significant infrastructure change

As your IT environment changes, the security measures you have in place need to evolve too.

The move to cloud, remote or hybrid working, or new network topologies and infrastructures – to name but a few – can all introduce new vulnerabilities and leave you exposed.

So, whenever you make a significant change to your IT infrastructure, it makes sense to carry out penetration testing. This is something you should also do as a matter of course when you install new security technologies.

And beyond physical changes, you should also remember to carry out a penetration test whenever major security patches are applied.

2) You’re undergoing a merger or acquisition

If you’re adding huge amounts of data and digital assets to your business, it makes sense to carry out testing at this point.

Penetration testing should be conducted before and after any merger or acquisition, to help protect the critical data of both organisations.

3) You’ve launched a new product, service or application

When you’re ready to launch a new product or service to market, after months of development, in your impatience it can be easy to overlook the crucial step of taking the necessary security precautions.

It is important to make web application testing a standard part of the process – helping to ensure that vulnerabilities are exposed and mitigated prior to launch.

All the same principles that apply to new products or services should also be followed prior to major updates too.

4) You’ve updated your end user policies

When you’re changing guidelines and access permissions, it also makes sense to carry out penetration testing at the same time. Are your security policies and procedures applicable to your new user policies? There’s one way to find out.

5) You’re working towards regulatory compliance

This isn’t just about the security of your infrastructure and data, it can also have serious implications in terms of regulatory sanctions.

Penetration testing can help to satisfy you – and the regulator – that your organisation is compliant with all the necessary security requirements.

Furthermore, you will probably find that – in order to remain compliant – regular security assessments are a requirement in themselves.

How can Zen help?

As the UK’s leading independent cloud and connectivity provider, we have many years’ experience and expertise in assessing and assistance with the security state of businesses.

Our close ties with leading industry names including Kroll, AWS, Microsoft, Cisco and more make us ideally placed to provide the advice and guidance you need to identify and address security vulnerabilities on an ongoing basis.