BackDoor Blog
Penetration testing, decoded.
Field-tested guides from the team building the autonomous pentester — methodology, tooling, compliance, and where AI actually changes offensive security.
What Is API Penetration Testing? A Complete Guide
API penetration testing finds and proves exploitable flaws in your APIs — BOLA, broken auth, data exposure. Methodology, OWASP API Top 10, and tools.
What Is White Box Penetration Testing? A Complete Guide
White box penetration testing gives testers full access to source code, architecture, and credentials for deep coverage — plus white vs black vs grey box.
Types of Penetration Testing: A Complete Guide
The main types of penetration testing explained — black, white & grey box, and by target: network, web app, mobile, cloud, wireless, and social engineering.
Penetration Testing Steps: The 7 Phases Explained
A step-by-step guide to the penetration testing process — from scoping and reconnaissance to exploitation, reporting, and retest, plus how long it takes.
What Is Mobile Application Penetration Testing? A Complete Guide
Mobile application penetration testing finds and proves exploitable flaws in Android & iOS apps. Learn the methodology, OWASP MASVS, tools, vulnerabilities, and cost.
Top Penetration Testing Companies in 2026 (Compared)
The top penetration testing companies of 2026 compared by testing model — consultancy, PTaaS, crowdsourced, and autonomous AI — with a buyer’s rubric.
What Is Network Penetration Testing? A Complete Guide
Network penetration testing explained: internal vs external testing, the vulnerabilities it finds, methodology, tools, and continuous automated coverage.
Who Is a Penetration Tester? Role, Skills & How AI Is Changing It
What a penetration tester does, the skills and certifications that matter, realistic salaries — and how AI and autonomous testing are reshaping the role.
What Is Web Application Penetration Testing? A Complete Guide
How web application penetration testing works: the OWASP Top 10 flaws it hunts, WSTG methodology, tools, and when automated continuous testing fits.
What Is Penetration Testing (Pen Testing)? Types, Stages & Tools
What penetration testing is, how it differs from vulnerability scanning, its types, stages, and methodologies — and how AI is making it continuous.
Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT): The Difference That Matters
Vulnerability assessment vs penetration testing — what VAPT really means, when you need each, and how auditors expect them to fit together.
Penetration Testing Methodology: The Phases That Actually Matter
A practical penetration testing methodology — recon to reporting — mapped to PTES, OWASP, and NIST SP 800-115, the way a real engagement runs.
PCI DSS Penetration Testing: What Requirement 11.4 Actually Demands
What PCI DSS v4.0 requires for penetration testing (Req 11.4): scope, segmentation checks, retest evidence, and how to pass your QSA the first time.
Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS): What It Is and When It Fits
What PTaaS is, how it differs from a one-off pentest, what it costs, and when a subscription model actually makes sense — and when it doesn’t.
Penetration Testing Tools: The Stack We Actually Use
The penetration testing tools that earn their place in 2026 — recon, scanning, exploitation, reporting — and how they fit a real engagement.
Automated Penetration Testing: What to Automate, What to Never Automate
Automated, autonomous, agentic — what the labels mean, what today’s tools actually cover, and where automation quietly fails.
How Much Does a Penetration Test Cost? A Buyer’s Breakdown
What drives penetration testing cost, real 2026 price ranges by scope, hidden fees to watch for, and how to get an apples-to-apples quote.
Black-Box Penetration Testing: Attacking From the Outside In
What black-box penetration testing is, how it compares to white- and grey-box, and how to run one that mirrors a real attacker.
Penetration Testing Services: How to Buy One Without Getting Burned
How to choose a penetration testing service — scope, evidence quality, retesting, and the questions that separate real testing from a scan-and-PDF.
AI Penetration Testing: What It Actually Does (and Doesn’t)
How AI penetration testing works, where autonomous agents beat manual pentests, and where they don’t. A practitioner’s guide, not hype.
Stop reading about pentests. Run one.
A swarm of AI agents attacks your site from the outside — full report with proven exploits in ~5 hours, from € 5,100.