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Invadel

Continuous

Continuous Penetration
Testing

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OSCP & OSCE3 certified testers150+ years combined experienceOnboarding within 24 hoursFree retest includedOur methodology

When you need it

When continuous testing is the right model

The situations that bring teams to this engagement, and where it fits alongside the rest of your program.

  • You ship weekly or daily, and an annual test describes an application that no longer exists by the time the report arrives.
  • A SOC 2 auditor, a customer, or a NYDFS examiner asks how you find vulnerabilities between annual tests.
  • Findings from the last test are fixed and waiting for a retest that the vendor only offers once a year.
  • Your attack surface changes without you: new cloud accounts, new subdomains, new integrations from other teams.
  • You have compared PTaaS platforms and would rather have senior testers on a schedule than credits that expire.

Not a scanner with a subscription

What continuous means here

The phrase is used for everything from a monthly scan to a crowd of testers on a platform. This is what it means at Invadel.

Manual windows

Senior in-house testers, the same people each time, return on a schedule and test what changed. This is the part that finds logic and authorization flaws. It is not automated and it is not crowdsourced.

Validated scanning

Between windows, scans run on the cadence you choose and an analyst validates every result. You receive real findings, not exports, and the inventory stays current as assets appear.

Retest on demand

When a fix ships, we verify it. Findings move from open to fixed to verified in the platform, and the attestation letter is updated so your evidence is never a year old.

What we look for

What continuous testing catches that an annual test cannot

An annual test is a photograph. Continuous testing is the film. The findings below are the ones that appear in the months between photographs, when nobody is looking.

Regressions after releases

The authorization check that was removed in a refactor, the rate limit that was disabled for a launch and never restored.

We test for

  • Manual retest of previously fixed findings after each release
  • Regression checks on authentication and authorization flows
  • Targeted testing of features changed since the last window
  • Comparison of current behavior against the last report
  • Verification that hardening survived the deploy

New assets & shadow exposure

Subdomains, cloud resources, and test environments that appear between tests and inherit none of the last test’s attention.

We test for

  • Recurring external discovery across domains and cloud accounts
  • New-asset alerts compared against the agreed scope
  • Staging and preview environments exposed to the internet
  • Certificates and DNS records that reveal new services
  • Third-party integrations added since the last window

Newly disclosed vulnerabilities

The library, framework, or appliance vulnerability published on a Tuesday, checked against your stack before an attacker does.

We test for

  • Validated scanning on a fixed cadence
  • Analyst review of critical disclosures against your inventory
  • Exploitability verification, not just version matching
  • Priority guidance for the patching team
  • Retest once the patch ships

Drift in cloud & identity

Permissions that widen, storage that becomes public, and conditional access that quietly stops applying.

We test for

  • Recurring review of IAM and cloud policy changes
  • Public exposure checks on storage and services
  • Identity and MFA coverage on new accounts and apps
  • Secrets and keys appearing in new places
  • Network policy changes between segments

Logic in new features

Every new workflow is a new chance to move money or data the wrong way, and only a person testing the feature can tell.

We test for

  • Manual testing scoped to what shipped in the window
  • Business logic and authorization on new workflows
  • New API endpoints tested with every role
  • AI and integration features tested for injection and abuse
  • Findings written for the team that built the feature

Findings that never got fixed

The medium from last year that is still open, now reachable from a new feature, and now a critical.

We test for

  • Open-finding tracking across windows in the platform
  • Re-rating of old findings as exposure changes
  • Escalation paths for findings past their fix window
  • Evidence trail for auditors on every finding’s lifecycle
  • Retest on demand as fixes land

Built around how you ship

Cadence options

Manual testing

Quarterly
Four manual windows a year, one full baseline and three change-focused
Per release
A manual window tied to each major release
Annual plus scanning
One full manual test a year

Scanning

Quarterly
Monthly validated scans
Per release
Monthly or bi-weekly validated scans
Annual plus scanning
Monthly validated scans and retest on demand

Fits

Quarterly
Products with a steady release rhythm and an annual audit
Per release
Teams shipping significant features every few weeks
Annual plus scanning
Smaller teams that need coverage between annual tests without a larger budget

Program prices are built from the published fixed prices of the tests inside them, adjusted for frequency, and agreed as one number before the program starts. There are no credits, seat licenses, or platform fees.

Same phrase, different product

Continuous penetration testing versus PTaaS platforms

Most products sold as continuous or as penetration testing as a service are software subscriptions with testing attached: credits, seats, dashboards, and a rotating pool of testers who may never have seen your application before. The dashboard is the product and the testing is the feature.

Ours is the reverse. The testing is the product, done by senior in-house testers who keep the context from window to window, and the platform is included at no charge. If you are weighing the two models, our penetration testing as a service page sets out the program structure, and the comparison pages cover the specific platforms.

Methodology

How we test

Full methodology →

Every engagement follows the Penetration Testing Execution Standard and the relevant OWASP guides.

These are the phases your continuous penetration testing runs through.

  1. 01

    Program scoping

    Applications, infrastructure, and audit dates mapped into one annual plan.

  2. 02

    Test windows

    Manual tests run to PTES and OWASP standards on the agreed calendar.

  3. 03

    Validated scanning

    Analyst-validated scans cover the months between manual windows.

  4. 04

    Rolling retests

    Fixes verified as they ship, not at the next annual test.

  5. 05

    Review & adjust

    Scope and cadence revisited each cycle as your environment changes.

How it works

How your engagement runs

From scope through the final retest, your team stays in the loop at every step, with findings tracked live in our platform.

  1. 01

    Design the program

    We map your release cadence, audit dates, and assets, then fix one program price built from published test prices and the scanning cadence you choose.

  2. 02

    Baseline window

    A full manual penetration test of the initial scope establishes the baseline every later window is compared against.

  3. 03

    Scan between windows

    Validated scanning runs on the agreed cadence, with every result checked by an analyst and only real findings reaching your team.

  4. 04

    Manual windows on schedule

    Senior testers return quarterly or per release and focus on what changed, with the baseline and the platform history in front of them.

  5. 05

    Retest on demand

    Fixes are verified when they ship. The attestation letter and the platform reflect the current state, not last year’s.

Compliance

Compliance frameworks this test satisfies

Findings are mapped to the requirement or control they evidence, so the same report serves your auditor, your customers, and your engineers.

SOC 2Continuous evidence of vulnerability management and testing for the Security criteria, window after window.PCI DSSQuarterly scanning under Requirement 11.3 and annual plus post-change penetration testing under 11.4 from one program.NYDFS 23 NYCRR 500The annual penetration test and the ongoing vulnerability assessments section 500.5 requires.HIPAAOngoing technical evaluation evidence for the Security Rule as systems handling ePHI change.

Proof

Proof in the field

Every engagement is confidential, so the work below is anonymized to sector and engagement type. The findings and outcomes are real.

All case studies →

Free

Retest on every penetration test

150+

Years combined experience

13

Senior in-house specialists

24h

Onboarding after signing

HR & Payroll SaaS

Web Application Penetration Test

High risk

Critical: a file-inclusion flaw that let an attacker read sensitive files from the server through the application itself. High: stored cross-site scripting capable of session theft, insecure direct object references, and an authorization bypass that let an administrator create or delete organization owners.

Outcome. Delivered a remediation plan sequenced by real business impact, critical and high findings first, with a complimentary retest to verify every fix.

28

Findings

1

Critical

5

High

Read the case study

Fintech · Payments

Post-Incident Web App Assessment

Medium risk

Excessive data exposure: API responses leaked transaction metadata, including precise geolocation, enabling real-world tracking of users.

Outcome. Surfaced the exposure and hardening gaps, prioritized by how readily an attacker could chain them, and delivered fixes plus a retest to confirm closure.

8

Findings

3

Medium

Post-incident

Engagement

Read the case study
DTCCCity National BankBrewDogLuluEmeriaIP Telecom
Request a reference 

Resources

Field notes from the offensive side

All articles →

Continuous Penetration Testing: What It Is and When You Need It

What continuous penetration testing actually means, how it differs from annual tests and raw scanning, and an honest look at who needs it (and who doesn't).

Security Between Penetration Tests

An annual pentest covers two weeks and leaves fifty uncovered. Here is how to secure the rest of the year without waiting for the next scheduled engagement.

Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS): What It Is

What PTaaS actually means, how it differs from traditional penetration testing and automated scanning, what it costs, and when a subscription model is worth it.

Want to see a real report first?

Request a redacted sample report before you scope an engagement, or read what a penetration testing report should contain.

Request sample report

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What teams most often ask before scoping continuous penetration testing.

Still have questions? 
01What is continuous penetration testing?

A testing program instead of a one-off test: manual penetration test windows scheduled around your releases, analyst-validated vulnerability scanning between them, and retests whenever a fix ships. The aim is that the evidence you hold about your security is never more than a few weeks old, rather than a report that describes the application as it was a year ago.

02How is this different from an automated scanner?

A scanner is one component of the program, and its results are validated by an analyst before you see them. The other component is a person: senior testers return on schedule to test what changed, which is where authorization, business logic, and chained findings come from. No automated tool, and no autonomous “AI pentest”, produces those.

03How much does continuous penetration testing cost?

Programs are priced as one fixed annual or quarterly number built from our published test prices, for example web application from $5,200 and external network from $4,200, plus validated scanning at $1,500 per scan, adjusted for the frequency you choose. There are no credits, no seat licenses, and no platform fee. Tell us your cadence during scoping and we confirm the number in writing.

04Can we start with a single test and move to a program later?

Yes, and most clients do. A single manual test becomes the baseline window of a program, so nothing is repeated or wasted. The findings from the first test carry into the platform and are retested as part of the program.

05Does continuous testing replace the annual penetration test?

It contains it. Every program includes at least one full manual test a year, which is what PCI DSS, NYDFS 500.5, and most auditors and insurers ask for, and adds the scanning and change-focused windows that keep the picture current in between. Auditors receive the annual report plus evidence of the ongoing work.

06Who does the testing?

Senior in-house Invadel testers holding OSCP and OSCE3 certifications, the same team from window to window. Nothing is crowdsourced or subcontracted, which is what allows a tester to notice that a fix from the last window has regressed.

07How do we receive results?

In the Invadel platform as they are verified, and as a report after each manual window and each validated scan. Your engineers see findings with reproduction steps, your leadership sees the executive view, and your auditor sees the lifecycle of every finding from open to verified.

Ready to test your defenses?

Talk to our team about scoping continuous penetration testing.

Prefer the full scoping questionnaire? 
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