Security testing approaches

Side-by-side comparisons of security testing methods, delivery models and exercise formats, from penetration testing and red teaming to SAST, DAST, bug bounties, tabletop exercises and AI red teaming, grounded in NIST SP 800-115, OWASP WSTG, PTES and TIBER-EU.

Penetration testing

Comparisons of how penetration tests are scoped and run: against red teaming, internal and external viewpoints, authenticated access, network and application layers, manual and automated work, production and staging, audits, risk assessments and who performs the test.

Red teaming and exercises

Comparisons of adversary simulation and exercise formats: red, purple and threat-led red teaming, breach and attack simulation, tabletop and cyber range exercises, phishing simulations, and the regulator-led TIBER-EU and CBEST schemes.

Application security testing

Comparisons of application security testing methods: SAST, DAST, IAST, SCA, SBOMs, manual code review, fuzzing, threat modeling, ASVS verification, API testing and mobile app assessments, measured against NIST SP 800-53 SA-11, NIST SSDF and OWASP guidance.

Testing programs and disclosure

Comparisons of how security testing is bought and run over time: penetration testing as a service, bug bounties, vulnerability disclosure programs and external attack surface monitoring, set against scheduled penetration tests.

AI security testing

Comparisons of ways to test AI systems: AI red teaming, LLM application penetration testing, automated and human-led adversarial testing, agentic AI testing and AI risk assessment, against the OWASP GenAI Top 10 lists, MITRE ATLAS, NIST AI 600-1 and the EU AI Act.

Infrastructure, cloud and OT testing

Comparisons of testing approaches for infrastructure targets: cloud configuration reviews against cloud penetration tests, Active Directory assessments against internal tests, wireless scanning against wireless testing, and passive against active testing in operational technology.

Security testing methodologies and standards

Comparisons of the published methodologies and adversary models that structure a security test: NIST SP 800-115, PTES, OSSTMM, OWASP WSTG, MITRE ATT&CK and the Cyber Kill Chain.

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