Threat-Led Penetration Testing

Threat-led penetration testing is a targeted security assessment that simulates real-world cyberattacks based on current threat intelligence. It focuses on identifying vulnerabilities by emulating tactics used by real attackers, helping organizations prioritize risk mitigation and improve resilience.

The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) mandates threat-led penetration testing to enhance the cyber resilience of financial institutions. It ensures institutions can withstand realistic attack scenarios by aligning testing with actual threats, improving risk management, compliance, and business continuity.

Key benefits include relevance to real-world threats, better prioritization of security efforts, enhanced detection of advanced vulnerabilities, improved incident response planning, and regulatory compliance with standards like DORA, GDPR, and PSD2.

The process involves gathering threat intelligence, identifying high-risk assets, developing realistic attack scenarios, executing targeted penetration tests, and generating detailed reports with remediation strategies.

It is applicable in industries such as finance, healthcare, government, retail, and critical infrastructure, where protection of sensitive data and operational continuity are crucial.

Best practices include continuous threat monitoring, realistic scenario simulation, stakeholder collaboration, prioritization of high-risk areas, and conducting tests regularly to keep pace with evolving threats.

Challenges include high resource requirements, rapidly changing threat landscapes, integration complexity, and managing false positives. Effective planning and expert execution are essential to address these challenges.

ImmuniWeb® combines threat intelligence with scenario-based testing, real-time threat monitoring, and expert remediation guidance. It simulates realistic attacks, supports compliance, and offers tailored insights into your organization’s threat exposure.

ImmuniWeb® provides realistic assessments, prioritized mitigation, continuous monitoring, and compliance support. Its testing is enriched with social engineering simulations, supply chain attack evaluation, and live analyst support.