Cybersecurity consultancy, Pentest People, has announced its expansion plans following a record year of business growth that saw its revenues increase by 60%.
Organisations commission Pentest People’s cybersecurity experts to test their websites, applications and IT systems for any weaknesses that could allow cybercriminals to steal information, damage IT systems, or hold data to ransom.
Co-founder, Andrew Mason, attributes the company’s rapid growth to the innovative solutions offered by its highly skilled security consultants including the introduction of SecureGateway, a device that was developed and released at the start of lockdown, enabling penetration testers to continue performing internal testing of clients’ systems while everyone was working from home.
The development of SecureGateway resulted in Pentest People being included in the Digital Enterprise Top 100 list of Leeds’ most resilient businesses that use digital technologies in the most innovative and transformational ways and also led to the company being nominated for three awards in the Digital City Awards 2021.
To help clients to continually improve their security defences, Pentest People also launched its Dark Web Monitoring service in February, to allow clients to proactively monitor for any mentions of their brand, URLs, or IP addresses on underground online marketplaces where cyber criminals often advertise stolen data. This new service was swiftly followed by the launch of the Pentest People Red Team Assessment Service in March, which allows organisations to test their ability to withstand a full scale, targeted cyberattack.
In addition to retaining existing clients, Pentest People continued to attract new business and increased headcount during the pandemic. A number of CHECK team leaders have been recruited, who possess qualifications and penetration testing experience approved by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which has won additional public sector contracts for the company. Led by technical director, Gavin Watson, and sales director, Anthony Harvey, Pentest People has grown to over seventy employees within three years, with ten new members of staff added since the start of 2021. The company has also taken on a number of apprentices from the local area.
To accommodate its growing team, Pentest People moved into the largest office in Leeds’ Round Foundry Media Centre at the start of March.
Commenting on the company’s rapid growth and expansion plans, Andrew said, “Anthony, Gavin and the team have done a fantastic job of growing business during an exceptionally challenging year. We are keen to reinvest in the growth of Pentest People and in the next twelve months we plan to open additional offices in London and Cheltenham, at the heart of the UK’s cyber security operations. We’re adding new services in response to customers’ needs and hiring new CHECK team leaders, as well as taking on apprentices who show an aptitude for cyber security, so that we can nurture their skills and provide them with solid professional experience and expertise.”
