Continuous Penetration Testing: Why Annual Pen Tests Are a Compliance Checkbox, Not a Security Strategy

An annual penetration test reliably satisfies an audit requirement but tells you comparatively little about your actual exposure for the other eleven months of the year. This piece covers what an annual test does and does not actually evidence, why the compliance framing caps what testing programs aim for, and what changes operationally once an organization moves toward continuous testing instead. What Does an Annual Penetration Test Actually Evidence, and What Does It Not?