Intruder launches AI pentesting agents as GCHQ-backed startup automates $50K manual security tests

"A manual penetration test costs between 10,000 and 50,000 dollars. It takes weeks to schedule, days to execute, and produces a report that is out of date before the ink dries. Intruder, a London-based cybersecurity company that graduated from GCHQ's Cyber Accelerator, has launched AI pentesting agents that replicate the methodology of a human pen tester and deliver results in minutes."

"Intruder's AI pentesting agents work by investigating vulnerability scanner findings using the same methods a human pen tester would employ. When the scanner flags a potential issue, the AI agent interacts directly with the target system, sending requests, analysing responses, and probing for exposed data to determine whether the finding represents a genuine exploitable flaw or a false positive."

"The timing is not accidental. The cybersecurity industry is watching AI transform the attack side of the equation faster than the defence side can adapt. Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview found thousands of zero-day vulnerabilities across every major operating system and browser in a single evaluation pass."

"The question is no longer whether AI will replace human pen testers. It is whether the replacement will happen fast enough to close the gap between the vulnerabilities AI can find and the speed at which organisations can fix them."

Manual penetration tests cost between 10,000 and 50,000 dollars, require weeks of scheduling, take days to execute, and generate reports that can become outdated quickly. Intruder, a London-based cybersecurity startup from GCHQ’s Cyber Accelerator, launched AI pentesting agents that replicate the methodology of human pen testers and produce results in minutes. The agents investigate vulnerability scanner findings using human-like methods, interact directly with target systems, send requests, analyze responses, and probe for exposed data to confirm exploitable flaws or identify false positives. The market is accelerating automation of vulnerability discovery as AI finds large numbers of zero-day vulnerabilities, raising pressure to fix issues quickly enough to keep pace.

Read at TNW | Security