Getting a good handle on where your cybersecurity posture stands and where it needs improvement is essential to staying afloat in today's increasingly volatile digital landscape. Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing services are crucial to this latter requirement as they analyse how known and unknown threats could put your organisation at risk. That said, a penetration test is only as good as the provider performing the assessment, which is why choosing one you can have complete confidence in is essential. CREST accreditation is a good place to start, as it is essentially synonymous with high-quality penetration testing or a stamp of approval if you will. Read on to learn more about what it means to have CREST-certified penetration testing and the benefits it provides.

Who is CREST?

CREST stands for the Council for Registered Ethical Security Testers, a not-for-profit international certification and accreditation body that supports and represents the technical information security market. Hence, CREST accreditation and certification are highly recognised the world over, granted only to businesses and individual professionals who pass the organisation's rigorous assessment of data security, business processes, and security testing methodologies. Moreover, all CREST-accredited members are required to provide CREST with the policies, procedures, and processes relating to their service provision for assessment since achieving and maintaining one's certification is not a one-time step but rather an ongoing process.

Benefits of choosing a crest-accredited penetration testing service

CREST-certified pen testing assures that the entire service will be conducted to the highest standards in every aspect and will follow the best practices in all key areas, including preparation, reconnaissance, execution, reporting, and so on. Not only that, but it also provides many invaluable benefits, such as:

1. Unparalleled customer assurance

More and more customers are asking business organisations to demonstrate the safety and security of their confidential data. By engaging with CREST-accredited penetration testing providers, these companies can better prove their adherence to security best practices in protecting customer data. Not only that, working with a CREST member company also provides potential commercial advantages when bidding for contracts.

2. Up-to-date expertise

The threat landscape is ever-evolving, with new threats and vulnerabilities popping up every day. This is why CREST accreditation is an ongoing process and repeated adversarial knowledge. The CREST organisation itself also actively informs its members regarding the latest developments in technical information assurance and encourages participation in its member workshops and events.

3. Highly trained security experts

When procuring a CREST-certified penetration test, it is guaranteed to be carried out or at least supervised by CREST-registered penetration testers. These professionals earned their membership after passing a series of rigorous exams that put their knowledge, skills, and competence to the test regularly every three years. On top of that, they must also complete either 6,000 hours or 10,000 hours of regular and frequent professional experience to be CREST-registered and CREST-certified, respectively.

4. Supports regulatory compliance

A CREST-certified penetration test supports a wide variety of information security requirements, including PCI DSS, GDPR, NIS Regulations, ISO 27001, and much more. Penetration testing may be specified indirectly from the need to evaluate the efficacy of current technical and organisational controls or directly by a particular regulation.

Conclusion

With the constant threat of known threats like ransomware coupled with new and unprecedented risks like AI-based cyberattacks, organisations can no longer afford to have any gaps in their cybersecurity posture. This is where penetration testing comes in to uncover the vulnerabilities putting your business at risk so you can address the shortcomings of your defences.

Here at GROUP8, we recognise just how invaluable cybersecurity is for all businesses, big or small. As the industry leader in offensive-inspired cyber defence, you can rely on our comprehensive suite of cybersecurity solutions to protect your organisation from the ever-evolving threat of cyber attacks. For more information about our CREST-certified pen testing and how we can tailor our other cyber security services in Singapore to your needs, don't hesitate to contact us at hello@group.co today.