AI Based Penetration Testing FAQ

LRQA AI Powered Penetration Testing is an AI assisted service that performs automated penetration style tests at scale. It complements your scheduled, consultant led penetration testing by providing more frequent technical insight between formal assessments.

No. Consultant led penetration testing remains essential for deep, expert led analysis. AI Powered Penetration Testing provides wider, more regular coverage and helps focus consultant effort on higher value areas. 

Most standard web applications and the APIs they invoke can be tested. Suitability is confirmed during scoping, which may involve a short technical questionnaire and, where needed, consultant review of access requirements and environmental constraints. 

Testing is designed to run safely within agreed scope and guardrails. For production environments, the platform includes a dedicated safe mode that constrains what the tool will do to help minimise impact. For more sensitive or high-availability environments, LRQA can help determine the right testing approach before a run begins.

It goes beyond vulnerability scanning by validating exploitable risk, rather than simply listing potential issues. It maps attack surfaces, explores exploit paths and tests application behaviour in a way that is closer to how a human penetration tester works, producing outputs with clearer context, supporting evidence and actionable remediation guidance. It is designed to complement consultant-led penetration testing, not replace it. 

Findings are validated through exploitation, evidence capture and built-in quality controls to confirm whether issues are genuine and help distinguish real risk from false positives and lower-priority noise. Where needed, LRQA specialists can review critical findings to add risk context, prioritisation and expert input. 

AI Powered Penetration Testing is available as a one-time purchase, with a minimum of four tests. You can run those tests when they are most relevant to you, such as post release, post remediation or as part of a regular testing cadence.

Yes. Retesting is included, with up to five retests per test. From the MyLRQA portal, you can select the finding and request a retest once your fix is deployed. Targeted checks are then run against the affected component, with proof captured to show whether the issue is resolved or still exploitable, and the status updated with an auditable record so you can close or rework with confidence.

It works alongside your consultant led testing. Manual testing delivers deep assurance at planned intervals; AI powered testing provides more frequent technical checks between those engagements.

Yes. The service can support year-round assurance with consultant-style reporting that includes structured findings, risk context, screenshots and supporting evidence, all mapped to OWASP and MITRE standards such as ASVS and the Top 10, and MITRE CWE to help demonstrate ongoing testing activity and meet application security expectations.

All data is handled in line with LRQA’s information security and confidentiality standards. Findings and logs are stored securely, retained only for agreed periods and remain your property.

You own all findings and evidence specific to your environment. LRQA and Simbian may use aggregated, anonymised insights to improve the service, never client identifiable data. 

Yes. It complements scanners by providing deeper exploitation insight, helping prioritise issues, supporting remediation and enabling fast retesting.

Typically: test credentials, a public facing web application or allow listing, and basic application information. Specific requirements are confirmed during technical assessment.

The platform produces detailed findings, reproducible steps and remediation guidance tailored to the application and framework under test, helping teams understand what to fix and how to address it. Retesting can then be triggered to confirm whether fixes have been effective. 

AI Powered Penetration Testing supports a more continuous assurance approach by helping you test more often, validate fixes faster and maintain visibility between formal assessments. It can also form part of a wider Penetration Testing as a Service programme for organisations that need a more managed, ongoing testing model.

AI Powered Penetration Testing is designed to evolve as the technology matures. With a fast-moving development roadmap and LRQA’s offensive security expertise shaping where the service goes next, future enhancements will focus on the improvements that matter most to clients, while maintaining strong governance, safety and expert oversight.

Your LRQA Account Manager, client success team and named technical contacts will support scoping, onboarding, configuration, findings review and planning how AI Powered Penetration Testing fits into your wider assurance programme.