Penetration testing plays a vital role in improving a business’s overall security posture by evaluating the effectiveness of current security measures through simulated cyberattacks. To maximise its impact, it’s important to understand how often these tests should be conducted.
This blog will explore the recommended frequency and application of penetration testing across various industries, helping businesses get the most value from their pentesting efforts.
Why is regular penetration testing important across industries?
Regular penetration testing is essential across industries as it helps identify both human and technological vulnerabilities within critical business systems.
Through the simulation of real-world cyber attacks, businesses can uncover weaknesses before malicious actors exploit them, significantly reducing the risks of falling victim to costly and damaging security incidents.
Furthermore, regular testing supports compliance with industry regulations, helping organisations avoid the financial penalties and legal consequences associated with data breaches or non-compliance. This consistent assessment and strengthening of defences empowers businesses to protect their sensitive data, maintain customer trust, and ensure operational continuity against increasingly complex threats.
How often do different industries require penetration testing?
How often a business will perform penetration tests is largely industry-specific, and therefore, no ‘one size fits all’ answer exists. Certain industries that manage large volumes of personal data or are subject to stricter regulatory requirements will benefit from more frequent pentesting. Below, we explore some of the key industries and offer our recommendations on how often penetration testing should take place.
Financial services
Financial services should complete penetration testing quarterly at a minimum requirement, with monthly testing optimal for those looking to stay ahead of evolving threats. Financial businesses are considered particularly prime targets for cyber attackers due to their possession of sensitive financial information, including cardholder data, financial transactions, and personal details.
Without regular testing, banks and fintech companies can be exposed to account takeovers, insider threats and phishing campaigns, leaving them vulnerable to payment fraud and data breaches.
Additionally, failure to meet industry-specific regulations such as DORA can put financial entities at significant risk of costly fines and legal repercussions.
Government
Any governmental and critical infrastructure business should carry out pentesting monthly, supplementing this with continuous vulnerability scanning and threat intelligence to maintain an ongoing assessment of all potential attack vectors. Similar to those in the financial sector, the high volumes of confidential information handled by governmental and critical infrastructure departments mean that these are industries at high risk.
Sectors like these often experience frequent system updates and regulatory changes, which can in turn leave them vulnerable to complex threats if left untested. To minimise the risk of potential threats impacting data security, regular testing and continuous security monitoring should be integrated as part of a broader cybersecurity strategy.
Healthcare services
Quarterly penetration testing is absolutely necessary for healthcare services, which deal with sensitive and oftentimes very personal customer information. Private data, including medical records, is often targeted as part of cyber attacks, with patient information considered incredibly valuable to malicious actors.
Even medical devices, if not regularly evaluated, can pose IoT (Internet of Things) security risks as well as insider threats and unauthorised access.
Because of this, security controls need to be particularly robust within healthcare services.
Telecommunications
The telecommunications industry manages vast volumes of sensitive personal and financial data, making it a prime target for cyber attackers. Regular penetration testing, at least annually or biannually, is essential to proactively identify and address security vulnerabilities.
Attackers frequently exploit weaknesses in internal communication services to steal employee credentials and infiltrate critical business systems. These breaches often focus on extracting personal customer information, including names, contact details, addresses, and payment data.
Given the sector’s role as a data hub for millions of users, maintaining strong cybersecurity defences through consistent testing is vital to protect both operational integrity and customer trust.
Retail, hospitality and e-commerce
Retailers today are far more than just physical stores on the high street. They process vast numbers of online orders daily, handling everything from customers’ financial transactions to delivery addresses. Consequently, retail and hospitality businesses should conduct penetration testing quarterly to safeguard this sensitive information.
The consequences of inadequate cybersecurity in the retail sector are significant and tangible. For instance, recent high-profile cyber attacks on supermarket giant M&S made headlines, highlighting not only the financial losses incurred but also the severe damage to customer trust.
Do certain industries require more frequent penetration testing?
As a general guideline, all businesses should perform annual penetration testing at a minimum to address any significant infrastructure changes and emerging security risks. However, certain industries are especially susceptible to cyber threats due to their handling of highly sensitive information and often face strict compliance requirements that necessitate more frequent testing.
Those in the finance and technology sector, for example, possess high quantities of sensitive customer data, often within a cloud environment. Therefore, these cloud environments must receive regular vulnerability scans and continuous security monitoring beyond the annual pentesting to remain well-informed of new security risks and keep highly sensitive data secure.
Regulatory compliance standards mandate that businesses implement robust security practices to protect data and operations. Key frameworks like ISO 27001 and PCI DSS establish essential security requirements that organisations must meet to operate legally and maintain customer trust within their respective industries.
When might businesses need penetration testing outside of regular scheduling?
Even with regularly scheduled penetration testing programmes, some businesses may need to schedule ad hoc or additional testing more frequently than others.
When to employ situational penetration testing
How and when to employ situational pentesting is largely down to changes that certain industries frequently undergo. The following significant changes typically warrant additional security assessments:
- Infrastructure changes – New servers and software, upgrades to networks (particularly common in fintech businesses), or the introduction of a new information security management system.
- Cloud migrations – Large amounts of data being moved can introduce increased security risks
- Implementation of new payment systems – Particularly relevant for retail and ecommerce, with new systems requiring fresh security assessments
- Post-attack testing – Key when businesses have been targeted by cyber attacks, helping them to identify hidden vulnerabilities and prevent future attacks
- Mergers, acquisitions and changes to business structure often involve the integration of multiple IT systems and teams, potentially exposing a business to new vulnerabilities.
How to schedule regular penetration testing for your business
Scheduling a regular penetration test has become, with the help of modern solutions and vendors, relatively straightforward and simple. The responsibility of scheduling a penetration test will likely fall to your CISO or, for smaller businesses, your CTO.
It’s important to understand your organisation’s penetration testing requirements before delving into booking a test so that when it comes to scoping and prerequisites, you are confident in your needs and can determine from there what type of test you require. Be sure to choose dates for the pentest that avoid critical business periods, and reserve time for pre-engagement, testing and reporting.
Understanding the right frequency for testing enables IT teams to allocate resources efficiently and maintain strong security postures. Regular pentesting, tailored to your industry’s risk profile, helps ensure ongoing protection against new threats while swiftly identifying any critical issues.
Choosing a provider like OnSecurity adds value through features such as automated vulnerability scanning, real-time insights, and continuous system monitoring: key enhancements to any security strategy. Our simple online quoter lets you get a quote in seconds by answering a few quick questions, helping you save time, reduce costs, and achieve your security goals with minimal hassle. Get an instant quote today and take the first step toward a powerful, no-fuss pentesting strategy.
