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Midwatch · Continuous Security Validation

Continuous Penetration Testing

Someone is always on the midwatch.

Security weaknesses don't wait for your next annual test. Midwatch is NaviSec's automated pen testing between your annual human-led engagements — continuous penetration testing of your scoped environment, with NaviSec analysts investigating what it finds.

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Machine speed.
Human judgment.
Keep testing between annual engagements. Midwatch complements your annual comprehensive human-led penetration test — it doesn't replace it.
What's included
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Continuous Automated Testing

Automated testing checks for potential vulnerabilities and exploit paths across your scoped environment — continuously, not once a year.

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Expert Validation

NaviSec analysts investigate flagged findings, validate exploitability, and perform additional testing — automation supplies the speed, people supply the judgment.

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Confirmed Findings, Clear Next Steps

You're alerted when findings are confirmed, with evidence and guidance to prioritize remediation. Reporting is planned every two weeks.

The gap

Your annual pen test is a snapshot. Your attack surface isn't.

An annual penetration test shows what an attacker could do on the day of the test. The next day, someone ships a code change, opens a firewall rule, connects a new SaaS tool, or a new vulnerability is published. More than 48,000 new CVEs were published in 2025 — roughly 20% more than in 2024 — and any one of them can turn a clean report into a stale one.

Many frameworks, insurers, and customers expect an annual human-led test, and that isn't going away. But “annual” leaves most of the year unobserved. Continuous penetration testing closes that gap: Midwatch keeps testing your scoped environment between engagements, so new exposure has a far better chance of being caught before next year's kickoff.

How Midwatch works

Automated penetration testing, with humans in the loop.

1. Continuous testing

Midwatch's automated testing checks your scoped environment for potential vulnerabilities and exploit paths on an ongoing basis between your annual engagements.

2. Expert validation

Automation flags; people decide. NaviSec analysts investigate each flagged finding, validate whether it is actually exploitable, and perform additional testing where it matters.

3. Confirmed findings, clear next steps

When a finding is confirmed, you're alerted with evidence and guidance to prioritize remediation — not a raw scanner dump. Reporting is planned every two weeks.

That is the difference between automated pen testing that hands you a report to sort through and continuous pen testing that hands you confirmed findings. Because Midwatch is automation-led and expert-backed, analyst effort scales with what is actually found: quiet stretches stay quiet, and real findings get real attention.

Automated vs. manual vs. continuous

Automated, manual, and continuous penetration testing: what is the difference?

“Automated pen testing” gets used loosely — sometimes for a vulnerability scanner, sometimes for breach-and-attack simulation, sometimes for an AI tool. Here is how we draw the lines:

Vulnerability scanning

Finds known weaknesses and misconfigurations. It doesn't try to prove they can be exploited, so results tend to be long and unprioritized.

Automated penetration testing

Goes further: it checks whether weaknesses can actually be exploited and maps attack paths, quickly and repeatedly within a defined scope. What it can't reliably do is find business-logic flaws or think like a creative human attacker.

Manual (human-led) penetration testing

Experienced testers chain findings together, abuse business logic, and test what no tool anticipated. It is the deepest assurance — but periodic by nature, which is why NaviSec Delta penetration testing remains the foundation.

Continuous penetration testing

Automated testing that runs on an ongoing basis, ideally with human validation, so results are fresher than a once-a-year snapshot. Midwatch is this layer: automation for speed and coverage, NaviSec analysts for judgment, and your annual human-led test for depth.

Go deeper: penetration testing vs. vulnerability assessment · types of penetration testing · the penetration testing buyer's guide.

Where it fits

Midwatch complements your annual penetration test — it doesn't replace it.

We're upfront about this because it's the honest answer: an automated tool on its own isn't a penetration test, and it isn't a substitute for the human-led engagement your auditors, insurer, or customers expect. Midwatch is designed to complement your annual comprehensive human-led penetration test — continuous coverage in the months between, validated by people.

Not sure how often you should test, or what your insurer or a framework requires? Start with when you need a penetration test, then see how Midwatch fits alongside NaviSec's full set of offensive and defensive services.

Who it's for

Built for organizations whose environment changes faster than their test schedule.

  • Teams that change infrastructure, applications, or cloud services often.
  • Organizations with an annual penetration test that want assurance between tests.
  • Businesses being asked by insurers, customers, or auditors how they test between annual penetration tests.

Scope is defined with you up front — Midwatch tests the environment you scope together.

Straight answers

Questions buyers actually ask.

What is continuous penetration testing?
Continuous penetration testing (often shortened to continuous pen testing) is ongoing security testing that keeps probing your environment between formal engagements, instead of checking it once a year. Because infrastructure, applications, and the vulnerability landscape change constantly, a point-in-time test goes stale quickly. Midwatch is NaviSec's continuous penetration testing and continuous security validation service: automated testing runs continuously across your scoped environment, and NaviSec analysts investigate and validate what it finds.
What is automated penetration testing — and is it a real pen test?
Automated penetration testing — often called automated pen testing — uses software to find vulnerabilities and test whether they can actually be exploited, quickly and repeatedly. It is excellent for breadth and frequency, but tools struggle with business-logic flaws and creative attack chains — which is why NaviSec doesn't treat automation alone as a penetration test. Midwatch pairs automated testing with analyst validation, and sits alongside — not instead of — an annual human-led penetration test.
Does Midwatch replace our annual penetration test?
No. Midwatch complements your annual comprehensive human-led penetration test by testing continuously in between. Many compliance frameworks, insurers, and customers expect a human-led engagement each year, and the depth of that engagement is something automation doesn't replicate.
How is Midwatch different from a vulnerability scanner?
A vulnerability scanner reports potential weaknesses — often a long, unprioritized list. Midwatch goes further: automated testing looks for vulnerabilities and exploit paths, and NaviSec analysts investigate flagged findings, validate exploitability, and perform additional testing before you're alerted. You hear about confirmed findings, with evidence and guidance — not raw scanner output.
What happens when Midwatch finds something?
Flagged findings go to NaviSec analysts first. When a finding is confirmed, you're alerted with evidence and guidance to help you prioritize remediation. Reporting is planned every two weeks.
How often does Midwatch test?
Automated testing runs continuously between your annual engagements, and reporting is planned every two weeks. During scoping we walk through exactly what is covered and how results are delivered.
What does Midwatch test?
Midwatch tests the environment you scope with NaviSec. We agree on what's included up front, in a short conversation, so the testing matches your actual business and risk.
How much does continuous pen testing cost?
It depends on the environment we scope together. Organization size doesn't reliably predict scope — a small company can need more testing than a larger one. The fastest way to a real answer is a short scoping conversation.
Is Midwatch the same as PTaaS or continuous security validation?
Vendors use several overlapping terms — continuous penetration testing, penetration testing as a service (PTaaS), and continuous security validation — for ongoing testing that combines automation with human expertise. Midwatch is NaviSec's version of the idea: automation-led and expert-backed, designed to run between your annual human-led penetration tests.
Security is a journey, not a destination

Keep testing between your annual pen tests.

Start with a confidential conversation about your environment and what Midwatch would cover for you.

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