Cybersecurity Expert Calls for Increased Penetration Testing

London (ots) - Keith Poyser: "Blind faith in cyber defence systems without
constantly putting them to the test is naive."

Penetration testing, i.e. the self-assessment of a company's IT infrastructure
to test its cyber resilience, is too often neglected in the business world,
warns Keith Poyser, Vice President for EMEA at security company Horizon3.ai. He
explains: "You only know how resilient an IT network really is to cyberattacks
if you put it to the test. Only penetration tests can determine whether hackers
can penetrate from the outside or whether an organisation is actually protected
against cyber criminals."

The security expert cites findings from the Government's Cyber Security Breaches
Survey 2024 , which reveals that 50% of businesses experienced a cyber breach or
attack in the past 12 months-a figure that climbs to 70% for medium businesses
and 74% for large enterprises. While over 70% of organisations have implemented
key security measures such as anti-malware, EDR, DLP, password policies, backups
and firewalls, Poyser warns that they underestimate how easily cyber criminals
can bypass these defences by exploiting vulnerabilities through social
engineering, unpatched software, misconfigurations, poor credential security,
and insider threats.

He adds: "Many organisations rely on dozens of cyber defence tools, assuming
they are fully protected against external and internal attacks. But this is like
flying blind, trusting that everything will work perfectly without active
testing. And human led testing only delivers a static snapshot, of a small part
of the estate. It may work in calm conditions, but it's naive to think that a
purely defensive strategy can withstand the relentless and evolving nature of
modern cyber threats." The security expert urges organisations to adopt a more
proactive, automated penetration testing approach in defending against cyber
attacks. By doing so, companies can better safeguard their systems, ensure best
ROI from their existing investments, and show their boards they are "more secure
this week than last week" to meet compliance and regulatory requirements.

Keith Poyser: "Human Risk Is Often Neglected"

According to the Government's Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 , a staggering
95% of cyberattacks succeed because of human error - whether it's opening
phishing emails or using weak passwords. While identifying technical
vulnerabilities and software flaws is critical, neglecting the human factor
leaves organisations equally exposed. Both technical and human vulnerabilities
must be addressed to ensure a comprehensive cyber defence. Keith Poyser
explains: "Hackers generally analyse all publicly available information about a