Cobalt expands platform for continuous offensive security testing

Cobalt has announced a significant expansion of its Cobalt Offensive Security Platform to enable organisations to move from isolated penetration tests to continuous, centrally managed security programmes across their operations.

Platform expansion

The upgraded Cobalt Offensive Security Platform is designed to address the limitations of traditional penetration testing, which has often been a slow and inflexible process producing static reports after discrete testing activities. The new offering is described as a human-led, artificial intelligence-powered platform providing heightened visibility, control, and operational efficiency, allowing companies to assess and secure their full technical environments at scale.

As referenced in the 2025 Gartner Innovation Insight: Penetration Testing as a Service report, the demand for continuous and scalable security testing is expected to grow considerably. The Gartner report states that, "by 2029, organisations adopting PTaaS will perform penetration testing up to five times more frequently than those relying solely on traditional methods." This projection highlights the increasing need for agile security assessments that keep up with the rapidly evolving technology landscape.

Addressing traditional shortcomings

Traditional pentesting methods have, according to Cobalt, left development teams with limited information and have only provided point-in-time security assessments. The company states that this approach is insufficient for modern enterprises seeking ongoing and strategic protection against security threats.

The expanded platform is intended to support businesses in transforming from fragmented, manual testing processes to unified, continuous security programmes. It provides enterprise-level controls, increased automation, and centralised oversight, intended to help organisations manage every stage of the penetration testing lifecycle, from planning and scheduling to reporting on findings.

Platform features

Cobalt's Offensive Security Platform includes several new capabilities. These are:

• Pentest Planning and Calendar View: This feature allows companies to efficiently schedule penetration tests, aligning security activities with organisational needs through a centralised planning interface.
• Integrations: The platform naturally integrates with more than 50 different business tools, allowing companies to synchronise security testing with existing operational workflows through native integrations or a workflow builder.
• Ability to Create and Manage In-House Pentests: Companies can now launch and oversee in-house penetration tests using the Cobalt Platform, including inviting their own testers and analysing results in a single location.
• Insights and Benchmarks: Organisations are able to monitor their security progress, benchmark performance against industry peers, and identify specific actions to improve their security posture.

Company statement

"Enterprises are rapidly evolving beyond fragmented, project-based security approaches-they need a unified, intelligence-driven program that keeps pace with their threat environment," said Sonali Shah, CEO, Cobalt. "Cobalt delivers programmatic excellence by bringing together AI-powered automation and elite human expertise. It transforms offensive security from a compliance checkbox into a continuous advantage, giving organisations the visibility to understand their risk posture in real time, and the speed to remediate vulnerabilities before they become business disruptors."

Industry outlook

With ongoing digital transformation and the expansion of software infrastructure, organisations across sectors face increasing complexity and risk in their IT environments. The shift towards penetration testing as a service (PTaaS) aligns with broader industry trends towards automation, continuous monitoring, and integrated risk management solutions.

According to Cobalt, its platform expansion aims to support customers seeking to embed security throughout their operations and accelerate the process of identifying and addressing critical vulnerabilities. The company states that its service model, combining technology and human expertise, is utilised by organisations looking to centralise and systematically improve their offensive security programmes.

The 2025 Gartner report and the development of scalable PTaaS platforms such as Cobalt's reflect the evolving landscape of offensive security, where continuous testing and proactive risk management are becoming essential for organisations intent on maintaining robust defences in a rapidly changing threat environment.