CREST-accredited provider or quick scan: what a cheap pen test really costs
A quick automated scan costs less than a full penetration test. The saving often disappears when an auditor rejects the report. It disappears completely if the one attack path nobody tested is the one a criminal uses. This page compares the two options so you can judge what you are buying.
What each option gives you
| Area | Quick scan | Snipeyes (CREST-accredited) |
|---|---|---|
| Testing approach | Scanner output, no scoping | Documented approach based on OWASP ASVS, PTES and NIST SP 800-115, scoped to your risks |
| Audit | Often redone when the auditor or PCI assessor asks how testing was done and whether results were checked by hand | Approach and evidence documented, findings mapped to ISO 27001, SOC 2 and PCI DSS |
| Findings | A long list of raw results your team must sort through | A shorter list of validated findings, ranked by how easily they can be exploited |
| Attack paths | Single issues reported in isolation | Chains proven end to end, for example an IDOR leading to account takeover |
| Retest | A separate piece of work | Included within 30 days |
| Board summary | Your team has to write one | Two-page summary included |
Signs that a quote is too quick
Be careful when a provider offers to “scan and send a report in three days” with no scoping. With no accreditation you can verify and no written rules of engagement, you have no assurance about who is testing or how.
Be careful, too, when the work is entirely automated. Tools look at one weakness at a time. They will miss a path where two flaws together, such as an IDOR (changing an ID to reach someone else’s data) and a login bypass, give an attacker control of the network.
Finally, ask about the retest and compliance mapping. Without them, your team fixes issues with no confirmation and has to prove compliance on its own.
An anonymized example
A fintech company in Singapore bought a scan to meet PCI DSS, the card-data security standard. Its QSA (the qualified assessor who reviews PCI DSS compliance) did not accept it, because there was no documented testing approach and no manual validation. The company then asked Snipeyes to test.
Our testers found an IDOR that allowed account takeover. The scanner had marked the same issue as “informational”. The company fixed it, and the QSA accepted the new report.
If you are weighing quotes now, it is worth comparing them against the table above, line by line.