Pen Testing for Compliance Only? It’s Time to Change Your Approach

Imagine this: Your organisation completed its annual penetration test in January, earning high marks for security compliance. The security team celebrated the achievement—after all, they had ticked all the boxes mandated by industry standards. But then, in February, your development team rolled out a routine software update. It was a normal part of the workflow, nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, by April, attackers had already exploited a vulnerability introduced in that very update, gaining unauthorised access to sensitive customer data weeks before the breach was even detected.

This scenario isn’t hypothetical—it’s a stark reality playing out repeatedly across industries. The reason? A reliance on point-in-time penetration testing focused solely on compliance. This traditional approach is no longer sufficient to secure today’s dynamic, rapidly evolving IT environments.

The Limits of Compliance-Only Pen Testing

Penetration testing, or “pen testing,” is a critical security exercise where ethical hackers simulate attacks on a system to uncover vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. Compliance frameworks such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 often mandate annual or periodic pen tests as part of their requirements.

But here’s the catch: compliance does not equal security.

Point-in-time assessments: Pen tests are typically scheduled events. They provide a snapshot of your security posture at a specific moment, usually tied to audit deadlines.
Static testing scope: Tests often focus on known assets and existing vulnerabilities, potentially overlooking new components, updates, or emerging threats introduced afterwards.
Compliance-driven mindset: The goal is often to “pass the test” rather than to improve ongoing security resilience.

The result? Organisations may earn compliance certification but remain vulnerable to exploits that arise between tests—exactly like the example above.

Rising Exploitation of Vulnerabilities: A Growing Threat

According to Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigation Report, exploitation of vulnerabilities has surged by 34% year-over-year. This increase correlates with faster software development cycles, cloud migrations, and increasingly sophisticated threat actors.

Organisations are deploying updates, patches, and new features more frequently than ever, making it impossible for an annual pen test to keep pace with the constantly changing attack surface.

Why Continuous Security Testing is the Future

To bridge the gap between compliance and actual security, companies must shift from a compliance-only mindset to a continuous security validation approach. Here’s why:

1. Continuous Vulnerability Discovery

Security teams need tools and processes that provide real-time visibility into newly introduced vulnerabilities immediately after software changes. Continuous automated scanning and penetration testing platforms enable rapid detection and prioritisation of risks as code is deployed.

2. Integration with DevOps — DevSecOps

Security must be embedded into the development lifecycle, commonly known as DevSecOps. By integrating automated testing into CI/CD pipelines, organizations can detect security flaws before production deployment—shifting left to reduce risk early.

3. Adaptive Testing Against Evolving Threats

Threat intelligence integration helps testing frameworks adapt to the latest attack techniques and zero-day vulnerabilities, ensuring tests remain relevant in the face of evolving adversaries.

4. Prioritizing Risk-Based Security

Instead of chasing compliance checkboxes, organizations should adopt a risk-based approach—focusing efforts on vulnerabilities that present the highest threat to critical assets and customer data.

Practical Steps to Evolve Your Pen Testing Strategy

Implement Continuous Penetration Testing Tools: Invest in platforms that offer scheduled and on-demand automated testing combined with human expertise.
Embed Security in DevOps: Train developers in secure coding practices and integrate security checks into build and deployment pipelines.
Leverage Threat Intelligence: Regularly update testing methodologies with emerging threat patterns and exploit techniques.
Conduct Regular Risk Assessments: Use risk management frameworks to prioritize vulnerabilities based on business impact.
Collaborate Across Teams: Break down silos between development, security, and operations for holistic defense.

Compliance is a Starting Point, Not the Finish Line

While compliance frameworks provide essential security guidelines, they are not a silver bullet. Solely relying on annual pen testing to meet compliance mandates leaves organisations exposed to new vulnerabilities that emerge after the test window closes.

As software delivery accelerates and threats grow more sophisticated, security must be continuous, adaptive, and integrated into every stage of the technology lifecycle.

The future belongs to organisations that move beyond compliance checklists to embrace ongoing, proactive security validation—because protecting customer data and maintaining trust require nothing less.

Why Compliance-Only Pen Testing Isn’t Enough

Penetration testing, traditionally conducted to satisfy regulatory or compliance requirements, focuses on identifying vulnerabilities at a specific moment in time. Organisations often approach it as a checkbox exercise: pass the test, get certified, move on. But software environments are dynamic. New features, patches, or third-party integrations can introduce vulnerabilities anytime—long after the last compliance test was completed.

According to the Verizon 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, exploitation of vulnerabilities surged by 34% year-over-year. Attackers continuously evolve, exploiting any gap that appears between testing cycles.

Moving Beyond Compliance: Embracing Continuous Penetration Testing

To truly safeguard your digital assets, organisations must transition from periodic pen testing to continuous penetration testing (continuous pen testing). This proactive approach integrates security testing into the entire software lifecycle rather than treating it as an isolated event.

What Is Continuous Penetration Testing?

Continuous pen testing involves regular, automated, and manual security assessments aligned with ongoing software development and deployment. Instead of testing only once or twice a year, organisations conduct frequent tests that adapt to code changes, new deployments, and infrastructure modifications.

Benefits of Continuous Pen Testing

Early Vulnerability Detection: Identifies weaknesses as soon as they are introduced, reducing the window of exposure.
Improved Risk Management: Continuous insights allow security teams to prioritise remediation based on evolving threats.
Faster Incident Response: Regular testing helps build resilience and speeds up response in case of breaches.
Better Security Culture: Security becomes a shared responsibility across development, operations, and security teams.

Implementing Security Testing in DevSecOps: A Practical Guide

The rise of DevSecOps—integrating security into DevOps workflows—is revolutionising how organisations build and protect software. Security testing is embedded throughout the continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline, ensuring vulnerabilities are caught early and fixed fast.

Key Components of DevSecOps Security Testing

Shift Left Security: Move security testing earlier in the development cycle—starting from code commits and build phases.
Automated Static Application Security Testing (SAST): Analyze source code for vulnerabilities automatically as developers write it.
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST): Perform automated tests against running applications to uncover runtime flaws.
Software Composition Analysis (SCA): Scan for vulnerabilities in third-party libraries and open-source components.
Continuous Pen Testing: Supplement automated tools with periodic manual penetration testing for complex, business-critical areas.
Security as Code: Use infrastructure as code and configuration as code practices to enforce secure configurations automatically.

Steps to Implement DevSecOps Security Testing

Integrate Security Tools into CI/CD Pipelines:
- Use tools like SonarQube, Checkmarx (SAST), OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite (DAST), and Snyk (SCA).
- Automate scans triggered by code commits, merges, or deployments.
Establish Clear Security Gates:
- Define policies that block code deployment if critical vulnerabilities are detected.
- Implement triage workflows to prioritise fixes.
Train Developers on Secure Coding:
- Embed security training into developer onboarding and ongoing learning.
- Encourage developers to remediate vulnerabilities early.
Schedule Regular Manual Pen Tests:
- Complement automated scans with skilled pen testers to simulate real-world attacks.
- Focus manual efforts on business logic, authentication, and complex workflows.
Monitor and Respond:
- Use Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools to detect suspicious activities.
- Implement vulnerability management programs that continuously track and resolve issues.

It’s Time to Evolve Your Security Strategy

Annual penetration tests done solely for compliance are no longer enough to protect your organisation against today’s persistent and sophisticated threats. Vulnerabilities can—and will—emerge at any time, especially in fast-moving environments driven by agile development.

By adopting continuous penetration testing and integrating security into your DevSecOps practices, you gain real-time insights, faster vulnerability detection, and a culture of security ownership. This shift transforms pen testing from a static compliance exercise into a dynamic, strategic asset—helping your organisation stay one step ahead of attackers.

Is your security strategy evolving with the times? If not, it’s time to change your approach before the next breach finds its way in.

Here’s a checklist and a detailed roadmap for implementing continuous penetration testing and DevSecOps security testing in your organisation. This will help you move from reactive, compliance-driven pen testing to proactive, integrated security practices.

Checklist & Roadmap for Implementing Continuous Pen Testing and DevSecOps Security Testing

Why You Need This

Traditional pen testing done annually or quarterly only gives you a snapshot of your security posture at a single point in time. With frequent code changes, cloud migrations, and evolving attack vectors, this approach leaves blind spots—and attackers find and exploit those gaps quickly.

Continuous penetration testing combined with DevSecOps practices ensures security is embedded throughout your software lifecycle, not just checked off for compliance.

Checklist for Continuous Pen Testing and DevSecOps Security Testing

Organizational Readiness

[ ] Secure executive buy-in and budget for continuous security testing initiatives
[ ] Establish cross-functional collaboration between security, development, and operations teams
[ ] Define clear security policies aligned with business risk appetite

Technical Infrastructure

[ ] Adopt automated security testing tools integrated into CI/CD pipelines (SAST, DAST, IAST)
[ ] Deploy continuous monitoring and threat detection tools for runtime security
[ ] Set up secure code repositories with policy enforcement (e.g., branch protection, commit signing)
[ ] Use container security scanning if using containerised environments

Process Implementation

[ ] Integrate automated vulnerability scans early and often during development
[ ] Schedule regular (weekly or bi-weekly) manual or automated penetration tests against live environments
[ ] Use bug bounty or crowdsourced pen testing to complement internal testing efforts
[ ] Define clear vulnerability triage, remediation, and re-testing workflows
[ ] Train developers on secure coding practices and threat modelling
[ ] Conduct periodic security awareness sessions across teams

Metrics and Reporting

[ ] Define key security KPIs (mean time to detect, mean time to remediate, vulnerability backlog)
[ ] Generate real-time dashboards for security posture visibility
[ ] Regularly review test results in cross-team security reviews

Detailed Roadmap to Implement Continuous Pen Testing & DevSecOps Security Testing

Phase 1: Assess & Plan (1-2 months)

Perform a maturity assessment of your current security testing practices and CI/CD pipeline
Identify key stakeholders: Security, DevOps, Developers, QA, Compliance, and Business leads
Map your current development and release workflows to find integration points for security testing
Select tooling: Evaluate and choose security testing tools for static analysis (SAST), dynamic testing (DAST), interactive testing (IAST), and continuous monitoring
Define policies for code quality, vulnerability management, and compliance standards

Phase 2: Build Foundation (2-3 months)

Integrate automated SAST tools into your code repositories and CI pipeline to catch issues early
Implement DAST tools to scan deployed apps in staging/test environments continuously
Set up security dashboards and alerting to notify relevant teams immediately of findings
Train developers on secure coding standards and how to use security tools effectively
Begin manual pen tests in parallel to automated scans to validate tooling and find complex vulnerabilities

Phase 3: Expand & Automate (3-6 months)

Automate security tests in all stages of CI/CD pipelines (build, test, release) for continuous feedback
Adopt Infrastructure as Code (IaC) scanning to identify misconfigurations in cloud and infrastructure components
Implement runtime application self-protection (RASP) or continuous monitoring solutions in production
Establish a vulnerability triage board to prioritise and assign fixes promptly
Run regular red team exercises and bug bounty programs to simulate attacker behaviours and uncover gaps

Phase 4: Optimize & Mature (Ongoing)

Track and analyse security metrics to identify bottlenecks and improve remediation workflows
Refine threat modelling practices to anticipate new attack vectors with each new feature or release
Conduct periodic security reviews with stakeholders to align security goals with business objectives
Foster a security-first culture where developers, testers, and operations own security responsibility together
Continuously update tools and techniques to adapt to emerging threats and technologies

Key Tips for Success

Start small but scale fast: Pilot with critical applications first, then expand coverage.
Automation is your friend: Minimise manual effort by embedding security testing into your daily workflows.
Collaborate early and often: Security is not a gatekeeper but a partner in product quality.
Measure impact: Use data-driven insights to prove security ROI and guide improvements.

By transitioning from compliance-only pen testing to continuous, integrated DevSecOps security testing, your organisation can dramatically reduce risk, improve resilience, and stay ahead of attackers—not just pass audits.