The worldwide penetration testing market is expected to reach $3.1 billion by 2027 at a compound growth rate (CAGR) of 12 percent, driven by compliance requirements and the emergence of pen testing as a service, according to a new report by researcher ResearchandMarkets.
Ethical hacking probes a network’s cyber strength by looking for vulnerabilities to exploit. The rising number of cybersecurity attacks combined with major losses and loss of reputation are expected to prod the market ahead, the analyst said.
Factors for pen testing market growth:
- Imposition of strict norms and compliances by the government regarding frequent penetration testing.
- Companies are anticipated to adopt the process of penetration testing at regular intervals and for evaluation of the efficiency of technical and company's measures to secure the data processing.
- The trend of cloud-based, penetration testing-as-a-service (PTaaS) is surging. PTaaS includes continuous monitoring and generates reports that allow users to view results in real-time.
Factors that will restrain the market:
- Low availability of skilled security experts who can perform penetration tests.
- In addition, emerging technologies such as machine learning & artificial intelligence and remote security assessments are also expected to push the pen testing market’s growth.
In a recent study, pen testing-as-a-service provider Cobalt in a newly released report found that security teams are grappling with the same five vulnerabilities for the fifth straight year, all overshadowed by an unrelenting shortage of qualified personnel.
Here are the top five vulnerabilities:
- Server security misconfigurations.
- Cross-site scripting (XSS).
- Broken access control.
- Sensitive data exposure.
- Authentication and sessions.
The majority of vulnerabilities stem from not staying on top of configurations, software updates or access management controls, Cobalt said.
