Why Continuous Offensive Security is the Future

With 19% of developers’ weekly working hours now consumed by security tasks and some IT teams spending up to a third of their time chasing vulnerabilities, it’s no wonder security is starting to feel like an endless game of catch-up.

The cost is high financially and operationally, and the pressure on teams is mounting. As technology advances and AI-driven automation accelerates the pace of software releases, the window to identify and fix vulnerabilities is shrinking. This rapid cadence makes the challenge not just persistent but increasingly urgent.

Security is not a checkbox; it is a commitment. And for CISOs battling a fast-moving threat landscape — where every delay adds to technical debt and burnout — simply "passing the test" is not enough.

Yes, passing a penetration test may feel like a win. But if we’re honest, ticking the compliance box doesn’t mean you're secure, it means you were secure once.

Real security is not stationary. It is not an annual exercise or a quarterly report. It is a living, evolving practice that demands continuous attention, adaptation, and proactive response.  That’s where Continuous Offensive Security comes in. 

Traditional penetration testing absolutely has its place, but on its own it is no longer enough. These assessments offer a typically narrowly scoped snapshot with a small change window for action.

Meanwhile, attackers are probing systems 24/7, looking for the one misconfigured API, overlooked endpoint, unpatched vulnerability that gives them a foothold. 

By the time the report lands, the environment has likely evolved, and the threat moved beyond. Your organization is now left to react rather than prevent. 

At its core, security isn’t about the tools you invest in. It’s about the mindset and culture you build across your organization. The organizations that thrive in today’s threat landscape are the ones fostering a culture of: 

1. Readiness: Consistent visibility into vulnerabilities and exposures 
2. Collaborative learning: Continuous feedback loops that turn findings into fixes at the same pace as your development teams
3. Accountability: Shared responsibility across teams, not only within the security function. 

This cultural transformation shifts security from a reactive function to a proactive force, fully embedded into how your business operates, innovates, and grows.

Continuous Offensive Security embodies a mindset of continuous improvement guided by real-world attacker insights, and is deeply integrated with the way your business operates and evolves.

In practice, this approach enables security teams to: 

Run real-time offensive security:

Combining automation and human expertise to surface risks across your applications as they evolve.

Move beyond point-in-time reports:

Access continuous, contextual reporting that highlights risk as it emerges, not weeks or months later.

Embed security into development:

Shift testing left by aligning with your SDL, so findings feed directly into development workflows.

Adapt to your environment:

Tailor the approach to your needs, whether that involves continuous penetration testing, attack surface management, or integration with existing tools and processes.

Rather than adding more noise or tools to manage, this model enhances what your team is already doing. It brings offensive security expertise, threat context, and real-time feedback loops into your environment.

It’s not just about finding vulnerabilities faster. It’s about helping teams build resilience, accelerate remediation, and stay aligned with business priorities. With a consistent and predictable delivery model, it becomes easier to plan, budget, and grow securely without adding operational overhead. 

Your security strategy should be a living, breathing practice—one that adapts to shifting landscapes and evolving threats we face daily, weekly, and monthly. Continuous Offensive Security can provide the visibility, agility and confidence your organization needs to keep pace with your business. 

Real security isn’t a checkbox; it’s a culture. It’s a commitment. 

"Stay ahead of threats with always on security that evolves with your business and never slows innovation."

Jacobo Ros | Global Technical Assurance Services VP, NCC Group

Jacobo drives the global evolution of cyber security assurance services through deep technical expertise and a strong focus on innovation. He leads multidisciplinary teams delivering advanced offensive security capabilities that redefine how organizations secure their digital ecosystems.