From Pentesting to Pentesting as a Service (PaaS)

Málaga, Spain, Decemeber 2022. From Pentesting to Pentesting as a Service (PaaS)

Pentesting (also known as penetration testing or security assessment) is a technique used to assess the security of a computer system or network by using techniques and tools similar to those used by cybercriminals to attack such systems.

Pentesting has evolved over the years, from its beginnings in the 1960s to the present day. Some of the main stages in the evolution of pentesting are as follows:

1960-1970: The first penetration tests are conducted on military and government computer systems. These tests are carried out mainly by technical personnel and computer security experts, and focus on identifying vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the systems.

1980-1990: With the rise of computing and computer networking, pentesting expands to private companies and government organizations. Automated tools begin to be used to conduct penetration testing more efficiently and quickly.

1990-2000: Pentesting becomes a more formalized discipline and the processes and methodologies used are standardized. Companies specialized in offering pentesting services to their clients begin to appear.

Between 2000 and 2010, pentesting became a more formalized discipline and the processes and methodologies used were standardized. Some of the main developments in pentesting in this decade are as follows:

Increased demand: with the proliferation of the Internet and the increasing dependence of companies on technology, pentesting became even more important. Many companies began hiring teams of in-house pentesters or relying on outside companies to conduct penetration testing.

Increased emphasis on documentation: As pentesting became more important, documenting the processes and results of penetration testing also became more important. This led to the creation of standards and guidelines for documentation of penetration test results.

Increased emphasis on application security: With the rise of web and mobile applications, it became increasingly important to perform penetration testing in these environments.

From 2010 to the present, pentesting has continued to evolve and adapt to new trends and market needs. Some of the major trends and developments in pentesting in recent years are as follows:

• Pentesting as a Service (PaaS): with the increase in demand for pentesting services, the concept of “Pentesting as a Service” (PaaS) emerged, which consists of offering pentesting services on an ongoing basis and at a monthly or annual price. This allows companies to contract pentesting services in a more flexible and affordable way.

• Automation and tools: Pentesting has become increasingly automated, with the emergence of tools and platforms that make it easier to perform penetration testing more efficiently. This has reduced the time and effort required to conduct penetration testing and has increased the efficiency and accuracy of the results.

• Rise of the cloud: As enterprises have increasingly embraced the cloud and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), it has become increasingly important to perform penetration testing in cloud environments. This has led to the creation of new tools and techniques specialized in cloud pentesting.