Automated Website Security Testing Pentest Blog

Why Pay for Monthly Website Security Testing as “Insurance” If You have No Security Vulnerabilities?

by | Feb 23, 2023 | Penetration Testing

I really enjoy driving my car, especially on a scenic highway with the windows open and the wind in my hair. But I have to tell you, I don’t enjoy paying for car insurance. Or any insurance for that matter. Most of us rarely, if ever, actually make use of our various insurance policies. But I get it. If I ever needed it, I’ll be glad it’s there. 

When it comes to cybersecurity protection, many companies pay a monthly subscription for a website scanning service, as “insurance” against vulnerability exploitation. We are all keenly aware that bad actors use a multitude of malicious activities to gain access into company websites. The most common attack vectors include malware, viruses, and social engineering. Cross-site scripting is a good example, where an attacker uploads a piece of malicious script code onto a website to steal data and get into other kinds of mischief. SQL Injection is another attack vector where hackers drop malicious code into web input forms. If successful, they can hold data for ransom and change, delete, or expose business and customer data.

Recent studies show the average cost of a data breach to a small business can range from $120,000 to $1.24 million, and small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) are a growing target for cybercriminals. Across the board, on average, websites are attacked 94 times a day and visited by malicious bots 2,608 times every week. Every day becomes more critical for SMBs to arm themselves against these growing threats.

Only pay for what you absolutely need

Most SMBs have websites that remain relatively unchanged throughout the year. Oh, there are the regular blog additions, press releases, other periodic postings, but the basic content and structure doesn’t change much. There are occasions when a webmaster or someone in IT makes a configuration change, adds a new web app, or opens a port and forgets to close it. If website vulnerabilities can be discovered and mitigated, and there are infrequent website modifications, is the ongoing monthly service money well spent? Or is there a better alternative?

Certainly, there are a number of website vulnerability testing services, but they only provide scanning capabilities, for which you pay a monthly subscription. The monthly service fee may seem tolerable, but over 12 months, the yearly cost can be much more than a small business really needs to spend. 

PurpleRidge free self-service website security testing is valuable security insurance

PurpleRidge free automated self-service website security testing is built upon Ridge Security’s award-winning automated penetration testing software. Our automated service discovers, analyzes, and validates vulnerabilities with evidence. And unlike scanning services, PurpleRidge has zero false positives. 

With PurpleRidge, you can independently conduct automated website security tests as often as you want – free of charge, and without any fees for the Summary reports. If there are no vulnerabilities, you’re good to go. More importantly, if the Summary report shows a vulnerability on your website, you can choose to obtain a Comprehensive report that gives you everything you need, including vulnerability, exploit, and attack surface details, as well as remediation advice and tools for patch verification. 

The Comprehensive report is only $299. That’s certainly much less expensive than paying thousands of dollars each year for less effective testing and reporting. You only pay for the optional Comprehensive report if you absolutely need it, when you have an actual security risk. 

So, what are you really getting for that website scanning subscription service? Perhaps nothing more than countless false positive alerts that interrupt your operations and add undue stress. The actual need for a monthly subscription may be overkill. That’s why we offer our automated self-service website security testing free. PurpleRidge is essentially website security insurance, without having to pay a monthly premium. 

You might be asking yourself, “If I diligently patch my web apps and software, won’t I be protected from malware and other malicious exploits?” Sure, it’s possible your business may not become a target. But when you least expect it, a software flaw, weak password, a port left opened, or misconfigured security policy can turn your website risk into a cyberbreach reality. 

PurpleRidge automated self-service website security testing is available free to SMBs that often lack an IT or security team. We test for 17 different attack vectors. A complete list is available on our website, but it includes Cross-site Scripting (XSS), SQL Injection, File Upload, HTTP Host Header Injection, known web application and web framework vulnerabilities, and many others. The PurpleRidge Summary report includes valuable information, including a complete list of attack surfaces.

PurpleRidge free automated self-service website security testing includes:

Free! Website security testing

Free! Summary report

Free! Attack Surface Management report

Free! Test drive of a sample test with a sample report

Click here to learn more about PurpleRidge FREE website security testing service.