From Pen Test Past to AppSec Future

Infosec firms built on hands-on testing don’t need to start over—just evolve. Here’s how True Positives helps you stay competitive and relevant in the modern AppSec landscape.

The Boom That Built the Business

For many infosec consultancies, the early 2000s were breakout years. Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing memo didn’t just trigger a security awakening—it ignited a boom in software penetration testing. As software security became a front-and-center concern and web applications surged, demand quickly outpaced supply. Pen testing shops couldn’t hire fast enough.

Clients waited weeks to get on the calendar. Engagements were booked before scoping. Everyone knew the drill:

“Two testers for two weeks—starting six weeks out.”

Clients winced, signed, and paid. Many firms were born and built on this imbalance—on scarcity, urgency, and a willingness to accept inefficiency as the price of entry.

But that legacy model, for all its past success, no longer aligns with how software security testing is bought—or delivered.

When Automation Changed Everything

By the 2010s, vulnerability scanning tools began to shift the equation. Automation brought speed, coverage, and—crucially—cost savings. Clients, under budget pressure and evolving expectations, started to question the value of slow, resource-intensive testing cycles.

This wasn’t just a tooling shift; it was a market correction. The old model—manual-heavy, project-based pen testing—couldn’t scale with modern development. At the same time, web technologies exploded in complexity. Dynamic apps, APIs, advanced user authentication schemes and cloud-native architectures demanded more than occasional testing snapshots.

Firms built on the legacy model began to feel it. Fewer inbound leads. Smaller scopes. Clients choosing tools over teams. The question became unavoidable: how do we stay relevant in a landscape that rewards efficiency over heroics?

Why Automation Alone Isn’t the Answer

Adapting wasn’t easy—automation proved a double-edged sword. It was a moonshot to automate penetration testing in a tech environment and threat scape that wouldn’t stay still; many tried, few succeeded. Vulnerability scanners excel at identifying what's exposed for discovery—surface-level issues—but automation alone fell short in securing complex enterprise software systems. The deeper challenge has always been automation's inability to reliably interpret context, navigate logic, and make nuanced decisions—capabilities that remain inherently human and essential to meaningful software security.

In targeting what can be automated, vendors like Invicti, Veracode, and Rapid7 made impressive strides—rising above a sea of quick-fix tools and delivering real capability, even if within well-understood limits.

You Can't Scan What You Can't See

As web technologies accelerated—sprawling frameworks, dynamic applications, advanced authentication schemes—the tools meant to evaluate security began falling behind. Threats moved just as quickly, if not faster: zero-days, logic flaws, and evasive API abuses outpaced the slew of solutions flooding the market.

The result? A growing gap between what could be scanned and what truly mattered. Automation's line of sight was narrowing—like trying to assess a yard by peering through the cracks in a fence, unaware that dangerous threats might be pacing just out of view.

The sense of coverage was there. The confidence it created? Often false.

And that false sense of assurance only raised the stakes. In environments where application complexity and business-critical functionality intersect, the cost of missed vulnerabilities isn’t just technical—it’s reputational and operational. The more automation fell short, the clearer it became: making enterprise software truly secure demanded hands-on expertise. Manual inspection wasn’t optional—it became the differentiator for firms intent on delivering real security outcomes in high-value environments.

Adapting to Compete in the New AppSec Reality

Success today requires a hybrid approach: use automation where it works, and layer in expertise where it counts. More and more infosec firms are evolving their services to meet this demand—often by collaborating with specialist partners who can help them deliver scalable, efficient, and modern AppSec testing.

True Positives has long supported this shift—partnering with consultancies of all sizes to help preserve and grow their application security service lines in a changing environment.

Our recipe for supporting infosec service companies in the modern era is simple but powerful: we supply superior automation, manual validation, and contextual guidance—so you can focus your expertise on the services automation can't touch. That means sophisticated, context-driven assessments like business logic testing, secure architecture design, threat modeling, and holistic security strategies including Secure by Design, Shift Left, SDLC integration, and DevSecOps alignment. Whether extending delivery capacity, fine-tuning operations, or providing access to modern tooling and expertise, we help partners meet rising client expectations without losing their independence.

Our precision-managed AppSec testing complements your services—blending automation, manual validation, and contextual guidance. You stay in control of the relationship. We support what makes your firm valuable.

Unlocking Improved Relevance and Competitiveness

The old model began to lose favor when the phone stopped ringing as often. As software development accelerated and teams adopted DevOps and DevSecOps practices, buying behavior shifted. Today’s buyers—often embedded in development organizations—assume that basic vulnerability scanning is table stakes.

What they now seek are partners who can deliver strategic insight, contextual analysis, and integrated coverage that aligns with their velocity and complexity. Risk must be managed in real time, across pipelines and platforms, with input that goes beyond generic findings.

With the right support, you can rise to meet these expectations. By working with a partner like True Positives, you’re equipped to stay relevant, reach new market segments, and enhance your services—without having to reinvent your business.

Bottom Line

The pen testing boom created the foundation—but the next chapter requires evolution. Today’s AppSec market favors firms that can pair scalable automation with seasoned human insight, delivering real security value at modern velocity.

If you’re ready to evolve, we’re ready to support you. Let’s protect what you’ve built—and extend it into what’s next.

Collaborate smart. Compete sharp. Deliver better.

About True Positives

True Positives delivers modern application security services, led by its flagship MSSP solution. For in-house teams and programs, we provide custom professional services to enhance security while easing resource strain and operational overhead. Backed by 150+ years of combined expertise, our mission is to enable Stronger AppSec, Smarter Spending.

📌 Website: https://true-positives.com
📩 Contact: appsec_solutions@true-positives.com