Penetration Testing Cost

Security Consultation is an essential element of any business. There are multiple ways a system can become compromised. Hackers can exploit known vulnerabilities or develop innovative methods to commit unauthorized entry into the targeted systems and steal assets or data. That is why a company needs to ensure that high-quality modern technologies are applied, such as SSL certificates, firewalls, physical machinery protection, and many others. To keep your company safe from potential security attacks you need to undertake constant performance and security monitoring.

Penetration testing has proven itself to be the best method of discovering any potential security breaches and in this article, we will share important details on the potential advantages and disadvantages of penetration testing and how much does penetration testing cost. We will also provide practical recommendations and case studies showing the benefits companies can get by implementing appropriate security protection. In the modern threatful digital environment, pen testing price is one of the most reasonable investments a company can make to protect its customers. 

What is a Penetration Test 

Penetration testing is a process of discovering possible vulnerabilities within a system, application, website, etc.

The penetration testing performed by Hacken experts aims to protect the system from unauthorized access, identify possible weaknesses within the network infrastructure, and improve the configuration of an application. When a company fails to implement appropriate security measures, it leaves a coding vulnerability that can lead to sensitive data being accidentally damaged or exposed to the public. Around 69% of organizations in the U.S. do not believe their anti-virus protection or firewalls can effectively protect them from attacks. The penetration testing cost is a small price a company needs to pay to safeguard its data and systems compared to potential damage experienced due to data breaches. In most cases, the cost of a single data breach is much higher than the sum of penetration testing costs a company needs to pay when applying for this security testing method on a regular basis. 

Apart from direct financial damage, a weak security system can result in reputational losses for a company. Ponemon has conducted research covering over 400 companies and the results have shown that, globally, the average cost of stolen records has decreased, however, the scope of modern attacks and the associated financial damage have become much greater. According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach for companies equals $4.24 mln. 

Hacken security specialists responsible for performing a penetration test are more likely to spot system vulnerabilities than any specialized software since they conduct an investigation based on previous experience. Hacken cooperates only with the most skilled security engineers with an excellent reputation who have not been engaged in any malicious activities or unethical behaviour. We strictly check the quality of penetration testing services provided to our clients to ensure that no points have been missed. We are strictly focused on ensuring that the penetration testing cost set up by Hacken corresponds to the quality of services provided by our specialists. It’s our philosophy. 

Why should you apply for Pen Tests?

Any security breach occurring within a company can affect its income and reputation as well as destroy customer trust. A poorly-performed penetration testing can cost you everything you worked hard to create. Some security vendors may artificially set up very low penetration testing pricing structures to attract new clients. However, there is a very serious risk that the scope of security services provided by such vendors will not be sufficient to detect all weak points in clients’ systems that could be exploited by malicious actors.

Penetration testing by Hacken is performed in the manner that corresponds to the ways followed by hackers when attacking companies in a real environment. However, the penetration testing specialists test systems’ security without causing any damage to its functioning or making users experience any inconvenience. Penetration testing allows you to detect both minor and major security weaknesses and estimate the scope of their potential exploitation by malicious actors. As a result, upon getting penetration testing results, companies clearly realize what issues need to be fixed immediately. That is why penetration testing costs may be referred to as reasonable investments that generate high ROI by helping companies prevent future losses due to the compromise of users’ data or assets.  

The Factors Determining the Pen Testing Cost?

We have already mentioned that there are many options for penetration testing performed by Hacken security specialists. Every company that provides the service adjusts the penetration testing pricing depending on a few factors:

• The complexity of your system. A penetration test is an essential component of the development of secure processes for small startups as well as big corporations. The size of the application or network will have a direct impact on the amount of required work. As a result, the greater the size of the system under test, the higher the pentesting price. Top pentest companies provide testing consultations, which help clients distinguish the volume of work required as well as pen testing costs. The number of systems, access level, the number of roles, and the type of testing determine the penetration testing cost and methods.

• The tools used to perform penetration testing are an essential part of the penetration testing pricing structure. The penetration testing cost can go up if any additional or specific tools are required. And, while some of the tools might be free, the specialists using them may be required to obtain special certification. Some of the tools might be quite expensive (for example, Burp Suite paid version costs $349 per user).

The tools applied by Hacken security engineers to perform penetration testing can be divided into several categories:

• Static tools that are applied to exploit the known vulnerabilities’ patterns in the source code.
• Dynamic tools that are used to perform the crash tests of the system. This is done by using the patterns of known attacks.
• The interactive analysis runs an agent on a server or a built-in code library. It creates an instrumented version of the software for easier detection of weaknesses.

The tools might create a lot of data to be processed by the Hacken security specialist; thus, should be customized to fit the requirements provided by a certain company.

• Generally, certifications don’t have a serious impact on the pen testing cost. The price for certification may vary from about $349 (CompTIA) up to around $6,210 (SANS). 
• Another thing determining the pen testing price are the hurdles in training a good tester. To carry out penetration testing for our clients, a Hacken security specialist needs to be aware of any potential attacks or loops in systems as well as specifics of various methods. At the same time, the Hacken pen tester also should have enough knowledge and expertise to advise a client on how to eliminate those threats in the most efficient way.

What is the Penetration Testing Cost?

Generally, the pen testing price varies from $4,000 to $100,000. When performed correctly, it’s worth every penny. Clients need to realize that the pen testing price set up by Hacken encompasses pre-testing activities and post-testing support. Upon applying for penetration testing by Hacken you are getting a specialist or a team of specialists who will work on finding any possible way your system can be attacked and compromised by real malicious actors. Prior to performing penetration testing, our security specialists instruct clients on the process that will be applied and further steps. When performing penetration testing, our specialists strictly follow the rules and ethical standards developed by Hacken. Our clients should realize that the penetration testing price set up by Hacken also encompasses the quality assurance process. 

Upon ending the penetration testing of your systems, Hacken security specialists will send you the report containing information about the discovered vulnerabilities and, when necessary, will provide you with continuous system support. 

Another factor that has a significant impact on penetration testing cost is the frequency with which you perform it. Like many other assessments, pen tests should be performed on a regular basis to ensure that you comply with all standards and that no new issues have appeared. Depending on the complexity of your system and the frequency of updates, the recommended testing regularity is once or twice per year. The penetration testing cost for companies that perform this security testing process on a regular basis are likely to be lower than the cost of pen testing for companies that do not test their products or do it very rarely.

The price of penetration testing, as well as other types of security testing services provided by Hacken, corresponds to the average price level existing in the market. Please note that the final price is determined for each client individually and may depend on several factors. Even the price of security testing services provided to the same client but in different periods may vary. For more info about the HackenProof bug bounty pricing scheme please refer to this page. 

Who Typically Performs a Penetration Test

A pen test is performed by a certified Hacken security specialist with deep expertise in the respective field. This is extremely important as it can influence not only the results of a test but also the scope of potential breaches of the system in the future. A highly skilled developer performing penetration testing will help you identify the weaknesses as well as will instruct you on how to fix them and prevent their occurrence in the future. However, clients need to realize that there is always the risk that some damage may be caused to the system during the test. However, Hacken security experts are skilled enough to avoid causing damage and inconvenience to our clients. That is why our clients do not face any operational issues when applying for penetration testing performed by our specialists.

Summing up

Overall, there are a number of variables determining the penetration testing cost. The company Hacken does not use a fixed penetration testing pricing structure since the scope of our services provided to clients varies depending on the characteristics of the systems under test. Most companies that have a fixed pen testing price will not help you to improve your security due to the limitations of the testing tools used. That is why Hacken applies a flexible pen testing cost structure. 

The decision on what pen testing price a customer has to pay depends strictly on the contractor. Yet, this is the case when a few thousand can save your company millions and the hassle of reinstating your reputation. Discussing the terms and the scope of work in advance will also give you more clarity.

How can Hacken help?

At Hacken, we take security extremely seriously, and all security checks are performed according to the highest standards. Our experts are here to instruct you on what type of security testing corresponds to your security needs and what scope of security testing should be performed to ensure that malicious actors will have no room for manoeuvre when trying to compromise your systems. If you have any questions about penetration testing methodology and penetration testing pricing (web application penetration testing cost, external penetration testing cost, network penetration testing cost, etc.) or need a consultation, feel free to contact our Team! And we strongly advise you to consider pen testing price as an investment in the future rather than current expenditures.