What to Look for in a CREST Accredited Penetration Testing Provider 

Penetration testing, or pen testing, is a proactive approach to exploiting and addressing vulnerabilities in an organization’s digital infrastructure before an attacker does. It requires dedicated expertise, the right pentesting tools – whether human-delivered or automated – or third-party pentesting providers. However, choosing a credible and qualified partner is crucial, especially for businesses subject to data privacy and security regulations, such as HIPAA and PCI DSS.

A CREST accreditation provides a globally recognized measure of skills and competency for different cybersecurity service providers, including penetration testing providers. It substantiates crucial skills and a provider’s credentials. In a treacherous threat landscape and competitive cybersecurity market, CREST accreditation can offer valuable reassurance for most cyber risk managers.

What is a CREST Accredited Provider and Why is it Important?

Penetration testing, if done right, strengthens your security posture by identifying and mitigating risks. The key is to choose a competent provider with proven capabilities and processes. Only a thorough and methodical approach to pentesting can minimize the risk of missing vulnerabilities, maximize the value of the test, and strengthen your security. CREST accreditation is a strong indicator of a provider’s competency in security testing.

CREST (Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers) is a globally recognized accreditation body for the cybersecurity industry. It sets rigorous quality assurance standards and enforceable codes of conduct and ethics for cyber security service providers to ensure that they adhere to industry best practices, employ qualified and competent staff, maintain integrity, and operate ethically. By choosing a CREST accredited provider, you can trust that you are partnering with a reputable and competent team with proven skills and processes to conduct effective security testing and validation methods.

Benefits of Choosing a CREST Certified Provider for Pentesting

Access up-to-date, industry-leading expertise

CREST certification requires rigorous assessments encompassing technical proficiency, ethical conduct, and compliance with industry standards. In addition, CREST accredited service providers and pentesters undergo periodic evaluations and gain exclusive access to current information and workshops. This ensures that the provider and its team are not only proficient in technologies like penetration testing but also stay abreast of the rapidly evolving threat and cybersecurity landscape.

Ensure comprehensive coverage

CREST accreditation ensures that the provider knows how to conduct thorough and reliable penetration testing that covers the entire IT infrastructure, including enterprise networks, endpoints, applications, and cloud resources. This enables organizations to gain a comprehensive picture of their attack surface, even in complex and distributed environments.

Reduce risks

Periodic pentests by CREST accredited service providers help identify and mitigate weaknesses before malicious actors exploit them. This proactive approach to risk management ensures you are always a step ahead of your adversaries.

Build an enhanced reputation

Many organizations and customers recognize the value of security providers who are accredited by CREST. In some cases, CREST certified providers may even be a stipulation for certain projects or contracts. By choosing a CREST accredited provider, organizations can stay confident about meeting stringent security requirements set by clients and stakeholders as their provider has proven their expertise through rigorous technical assessments.

Maintain regulatory compliance

Several industry data privacy and compliance regulations, such as PCI DSS and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), recommend penetration testing as a critical security approach. In highly regulated sectors, regulations may even mandate penetration testing conducted by personnel with demonstrably strong methodologies and qualifications, a criterion fulfilled by CREST provider accreditation.

Which Sectors Benefit the Most from Choosing a CREST accredited Pentesting Provider?

Sectors like finance, healthcare, and government handle extremely sensitive data and face stringent regulations. This makes robust cybersecurity an absolute necessity. Choosing a CREST accredited penetration testing provider offers significant advantages in this regard. Firstly, a CREST accredited provider will have demonstrated robust capabilities and processes, including adherence to industry standards and best practices, for validating data privacy and security mechanisms through comprehensive pentesting. It will help you comply with relevant industry regulations that mandate privacy controls and data breach risk mitigation.

Beyond these data-intensive sectors, industries with critical infrastructure, like energy and utilities, and those heavily reliant on IT systems, like e-commerce, can also benefit tremendously. CREST accredited providers offer the expertise and professionalism necessary for effective pentesting, guaranteeing security and operational continuity at all times.

How CREST Penetration Testing Providers Obtain Accreditation?

Getting CREST accreditation is a demanding process that involves rigorous assessments and stringent criteria covering industry experience, standard procedures, team expertise, and independent security audits.

1. Eligibility: CREST application process for providers involves a rigorous application process that examines compliance with established information security and quality management standards like ISO 27001 and ISO 9001. Providers must also demonstrate a minimum of two years of experience in pentesting and possess adequate infrastructure and tools. They must also sign a code of ethics and abide by strict complaint resolution measures.
2. Standardized Practices: CREST outlines a standardized methodology for effective pentesting, which involves steps like planning, information gathering, vulnerability analysis, exploitation, and post-engagement reporting. Providers must adhere to these established best practices and methodologies to get CREST accreditation.
3. Team Expertise: Providers seeking CREST accreditation must employ demonstrably competent and qualified personnel with registered CREST IDs. To achieve registration and get a CREST ID, individual pen testers need to pass CREST exams, like the CREST Certified Tester (CCT) exam which requires at least 5 years of industry experience and expert-level written and lab examinations.
4. Independent Audits: As a last step, providers must undergo an independent audit by a CREST-approved organization that evaluates their tools, processes, documentation, security controls, and team qualifications to ensure they meet CREST’s stringent criteria.

Only providers that successfully navigate these strict requirements can earn the coveted CREST accreditation, demonstrating their ability to deliver comprehensive, effective, and top-notch pentesting services.

What to Look for in a CREST certified Penetration Testing Provider?

When selecting a penetration testing provider, CREST accreditation should be non-negotiable. However, there are several other factors that you can consider to further enhance the overall collaborative experience and ensure successful and highly effective pentesting. Here is a list of factors you can consider:

• Choose a provider with a proven record of accomplishment and positive reviews from past clients.
• Ensure that the provider has the industry-specific experience you need, especially since different sectors can have different security requirements.
• Assess the provider’s approach to pentesting reports, because detailed reports and recommendations are essential for understanding and mitigating the discovered vulnerabilities.
• Consider the provider’s commitment to continuous support and collaboration through the remediation process.

Finally, ensure that your provider offers a re-test to validate the fixes that you have implemented.

Fortify Your Defenses with BreachLock’s CREST Accredited Penetration Testing

Breachlock is a global provider of CREST accredited penetration testing and other security services. Our CREST certified in-house experts have been validated thoroughly for their skills and expertise in various aspects of pentesting. BreachLock supports a combination of automated and manual pentesting techniques to ensure continuous security testing, providing deeper and more enriched real-time contextual insights around the most exploitable points of interest by an attacker. It ensures faster, evidence-based pentesting, lower TCO, and complete coverage.

In addition to CREST, our PTaaS processes, methodologies, and reporting are compliant with other renowned standards and frameworks like OWASP and NIST. As a result, organizations can rely on our services and platform to meet their SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, and HIPAA requirements. Leveraging BreachLock’s comprehensive portfolio of versatile and flexible solutions for Attack Surface Management (ASM), automated pentesting, and red teaming ensures a robust cyber security posture, with proactive mitigation of emerging threats and vulnerabilities in a dynamic and complex digital environment.

Discuss your specific security needs with our experts. Schedule a discovery call with BreachLock today!

About BreachLock

BreachLock is a global leader in Continuous Attack Surface Discovery and Penetration Testing. Continuously discover, prioritize, and mitigate exposures with evidence-backed Attack Surface Management, Penetration Testing and Red Teaming.

Elevate your defense strategy with an attacker’s view that goes beyond common vulnerabilities and exposures. Each risk we uncover is backed by validated evidence. We test your entire attack surface and help you mitigate your next cyber breach before it occurs.

Know your risk. Contact BreachLock today!