Report

Gartner® How to Implement a Continuous Offensive Security Testing Program

A practical path from compliance-driven testing to continuous threat exposure management.

Traditional penetration testing is no longer sufficient for modern environments and threats. As AI penetration testing redefines what adversaries can do, security leaders need a structured approach to continuous offensive security that matches the pace of real-world risk.

The Gartner® How to Implement a Continuous Offensive Security Testing Program report outlines a four-step journey to implement a Continuous Offensive Security Testing (COST) program, shifting from periodic, infrequent assessments to a trigger-driven approach that integrates with operational workflows to continuously reduce risk and improve readiness.

Design: Define what you're protecting, why it matters, and how success gets measured.
Build: Instrument the right combination of tooling and human expertise
Run: Execute testing as an ongoing operational function, not a project with a start and end date.
Improve: Standardize outputs, measure outcomes, and mature continuously.

The shift from continuous testing to continuous risk reduction is what Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) makes possible.

Download the Gartner Report:

Connecting the Gartner COST Framework to Continuous Threat Exposure Management

Security teams have operated under the same constraint for years: test on a schedule, report findings, remediate what you can, repeat. The gaps between tests are where exposure accumulates, and where modern attackers concentrate.

The COST framework addresses the testing discipline directly, giving security leaders a structured path from periodic assessments to continuous testing that integrates with operational workflows. But continuous testing and continuous validation are different.

That's where Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) comes in. More findings don't automatically mean more risk reduction.

Today, 32% of validated findings are critical or high severity, which means the ability to separate signal from volume is itself a security advantage. And once findings are validated, speed still matters: average remediation time has grown 70 days longer, widening the window between discovery and fix. Where COST defines how to test continuously, Continuous Threat Exposure Management defines how to manage, prioritize, and close that window.

HackerOne's platform brings both together: continuous testing paired with the exposure management layer that turns findings into evidence, and evidence into a program that proves its own value.

Gartner How to Implement a Continuous Offensive Security Testing Program, Dhivya Poole, 5 March 2026

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.