Why 95% of Companies Fail Their Penetration Tests

Penetration testing (pentesting) is supposed to help businesses find vulnerabilities before attackers do. But here’s the ugly truth:

🚨 95% of companies fail their pentest—not because they lack security tools, but because they approach pentesting the wrong way.

This article breaks down why most companies fail their pentests and how you can actually use the results to improve your security posture.

1. They See Pentesting as a Checkbox, Not a Strategy

Many companies do a pentest just to meet compliance (SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, etc.), but they don’t use the findings to improve security.

Fix:
✅ Treat pentesting as a continuous improvement process, not a one-time audit.
✅ Focus on realistic attack scenarios, not just passing a compliance checklist.

2. Poor Scoping Leads to Ineffective Testing

Many pentests are scoped too narrowly, missing real-world risks. For example:
❌ Only testing external assets (but internal threats are just as dangerous).
❌ Skipping social engineering tests, which are the #1 attack vector today.

Fix:
✅ Include both external and internal network testing.
✅ Simulate real-world attack chains, not just basic scans.

3. No One Fixes the Issues After the Test

One of the biggest mistakes? Ignoring the pentest report after getting the results.

We’ve seen companies run the same test year after year—and fail for the same reasons. If you don’t fix the vulnerabilities, attackers will find them before your next test.

Fix:
✅ Prioritize fixes based on risk (not just severity).
✅ Run a retest after remediation to verify fixes.

Final Thoughts: How to Pass Your Next Pentest

🔹 Don’t treat pentesting as a checkbox—use it to actually improve security.
🔹 Scope it right—test what hackers would actually target.
🔹 Act on the findings—fix issues before attackers exploit them.

👉 Want a real-world pentest that actually strengthens your security? Let’s chat