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Executive-Ready Reporting Is Here: What’s New in the Synack Platform
featured blog

Executive-Ready Reporting Is Here: What’s New in the Synack Platform

Synack's reporting experience now scopes to individual assets, generates AI-written executive summaries, and lets teams preview, save and share reports without leaving the platform.

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Simon Harper, Senior Director and Head of Product Management
Simon Harper
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Blogs

Penetration Testing for Third-Party Risk Management Programs Penetration Testing

Penetration Testing for Third-Party Risk Management Programs

Penetration testing for third-party risk works best as a deeper assurance layer for suppliers whose compromise would meaningfully affect the enterprise, not as a blanket requirement. Tier vendors by data access, system access, operational weight, and external exposure, then match testing depth and cadence to that tier. Combine vendor-supplied reports, enterprise-commissioned tests, and shared platforms depending on the relationship. Get written authorization first, scope the test to the product and integration that matter, and feed validated findings into remediation plans and risk scores.

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Paul Mote
Paul Mote
14 min read
How to Scope an Enterprise Penetration Test: Free Scope-of-Work Template Penetration Testing

How to Scope an Enterprise Penetration Test: Free Scope-of-Work Template

A penetration testing scope defines the assurance an enterprise needs, not just the assets a vendor will touch. Start with the business or compliance objective, then map the system boundary before counting assets. List applications, APIs, infrastructure, roles and integrations separately, specify authenticated and unauthenticated testing, and clarify whether production, staging or both will be […]

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Tim Nordvedt
Tim Nordvedt
25 min read
Third-Party Penetration Testing: What Security and Procurement Teams Need to Know Perspectives on Security

Third-Party Penetration Testing: What Security and Procurement Teams Need to Know

Third-party penetration testing means two different things: testing your own organization through an independent provider, and testing or reviewing testing on a supplier, partner, or acquisition target. This guide focuses on the second use case. It works best as a governed risk process, not a document request, built on clear authorization, risk-based scope, defensible evidence, and contractual follow-up.

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Paul Mote
Paul Mote
13 min read
Questions to Ask a Penetration Testing Vendor Before You Sign Penetration Testing

Questions to Ask a Penetration Testing Vendor Before You Sign

Before you sign with a penetration testing vendor, ask precise questions that turn marketing claims into measurable commitments. Confirm exact scope, learn which work is automated, AI-led, or human-led, and require that findings get reproduced and validated before they reach a report. Ask who can access your environment, how testers are vetted, and what the rules of engagement and stop conditions look like. Review sample reports, confirm remediation and retesting terms, and normalize every cost. Place every material promise in the contract rather than a slide deck.

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Tim Nordvedt
Tim Nordvedt
1 min read
HIPAA Penetration Testing Requirements for Healthcare Enterprises Penetration Testing

HIPAA Penetration Testing Requirements for Healthcare Enterprises

Many healthcare organizations have been told that HIPAA requires an annual penetration test. The current rule is more nuanced. Penetration testing for HIPAA compliance is not prescribed as one universal annual obligation, but regulated entities must conduct a comprehensive risk analysis, manage identified risks, and evaluate whether their safeguards remain effective. A well-scoped pentest can provide important evidence supporting those responsibilities. HHS has also proposed making annual penetration testing explicit, although that proposal is not yet binding.

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Paul Mote
Paul Mote
15 min read
Offensive Security Is Becoming a Program, Not a Purchase Perspectives on Security

Offensive Security Is Becoming a Program, Not a Purchase

You know what you spent on penetration testing last year. But can you explain what that investment covered between engagements? For many organizations the honest answer is that it covered the weeks the testers were working against a scope agreed before they started. That was a reasonable arrangement when systems changed a few times a year. It is worth revisiting, now that many of them change weekly.

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Angela Heindl-Schober
9 min read
Penetration Testing for SOC 2 Compliance: What Auditors Expect Penetration Testing

Penetration Testing for SOC 2 Compliance: What Auditors Expect

SOC 2 does not prescribe a universal penetration testing requirement for every organization. A pentest is still commonly used as evidence supporting security, risk assessment, and monitoring controls, and auditor expectations depend on the organization's risks, system boundary, and testing policies. Type II examinations require evidence that controls operated over a defined period, not merely that they existed on one date. A vulnerability scan should not be presented as equivalent to a penetration test, and findings, remediation, and retesting evidence matter as much as the original report.

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Paul Mote
Paul Mote
15 min read
PCI DSS Penetration Testing Requirements: What Enterprises Actually Need for Compliance Penetration Testing

PCI DSS Penetration Testing Requirements: What Enterprises Actually Need for Compliance

Getting PCI DSS Requirement 11.4 Right From the Start Enterprises often know they need PCI compliance penetration testing but remain uncertain about what makes a test compliant. PCI DSS v4.0.1 Requirement 11.4 involves considerably more than scheduling an annual external assessment. Scope, internal and external testing, methodology, tester qualifications, segmentation validation, remediation, retesting, and evidence all influence whether the work will satisfy assessor scrutiny. This guide explains what enterprise security and compliance teams should have in place before their next PCI DSS assessment. Introduction PCI DSS v4.0.1 Requirement 11.4 requires documented internal and external penetration testing, generally at least annually and after significant changes. Segmentation controls need separate testing where segmentation reduces cardholder data environment scope, and service providers face a shorter six-month cycle. Vulnerability scanning does not replace penetration testing, and exploitable findings need correction and retesting. Confirm your exact obligations with your QSA before treating any single testing model as sufficient evidence.

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Melissa Wooten- Synack Solutions Architect
Melissa Wooten
12 min read
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