Top 10 Best Cloud Penetration Testing Companies in 2025

Cloud computing has become the backbone of modern business operations.

Organizations are migrating to cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud at an unprecedented pace, leveraging the scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency they offer.

However, this migration also introduces a new and complex attack surface. Cloud penetration testing is no longer a niche service; it’s a critical component of any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.

It goes beyond traditional network testing to identify misconfigurations, excessive IAM permissions, and other vulnerabilities unique to cloud environments.

A single misconfigured S3 bucket, an overly permissive IAM role, or an exposed database can lead to a catastrophic data breach.

For 2025, the best cloud penetration testing companies combine deep technical expertise with specialized tools and methodologies tailored to the unique complexities of cloud security.

These firms offer services ranging from automated, continuous validation to in-depth, expert-led assessments that mimic the tactics of real-world attackers.

This article provides a detailed review of the Top 10 Best Cloud Penetration Testing Companies in 2025, highlighting their unique approaches, key features, and why they stand out in this vital and rapidly evolving market.

Why Cloud Penetration Testing Is More Crucial Than Ever In 2025

The shared responsibility model of cloud providers means that while the cloud provider secures the infrastructure, the customer is responsible for everything they put on top of it.

This includes applications, data, and, most importantly, configurations.

The most common cloud breaches in 2025 are not due to vulnerabilities in the cloud provider’s infrastructure, but rather due to customer-side errors.

Complexity: Cloud environments are highly dynamic, with services, containers, and identities being spun up and down constantly. This complexity makes it easy for misconfigurations to go unnoticed.

Identity is the New Perimeter: With the move to the cloud, the traditional network perimeter has dissolved. The new perimeter is identity and access management (IAM), making it a prime target for attackers.

Speed of Development: Agile and DevOps methodologies mean that new services are deployed in a matter of hours, not months. This speed makes continuous security validation essential to prevent vulnerabilities from being introduced.

The companies on this list have adapted their services to address these challenges, offering solutions that are built for the cloud-native era.

Comparison Table: Top 10 Best Cloud Penetration Testing Companies 2025

Company	Automated Scanning	Human-Led Testing	Continuous Testing	AI-Powered Features	Cloud-Native Focus
SentinelOne	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
CloudBrute	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Nessus	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes
Intruder	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes
Pentera Cloud	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Escape	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ No
Picus Security	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
BreachLock	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
OpenVAS	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ No
Qualys	✅ Yes	❌ No	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes

1. SentinelOne

Why We Picked It

SentinelOne has successfully extended its AI-powered threat detection capabilities to the cloud.

We chose it because it is not a traditional penetration testing company, but a security platform that provides continuous, autonomous cloud security validation.

Its Singularity Cloud Security product offers a proactive way to find misconfigurations and vulnerabilities without the need for a separate, point-in-time pentest, integrating security into the CI/CD pipeline.

Specifications

SentinelOne’s platform provides a unified view of your cloud security posture across AWS, Azure, and GCP.

It uses AI to identify and remediate misconfigurations, secure containerized workloads, and enforce security policies.

The platform provides real-time monitoring and threat detection, offering continuous protection against cloud-native threats.

Reason to Buy

If your organization needs a holistic, integrated, and continuous approach to cloud security, SentinelOne is a top choice.

Its platform provides a powerful, always-on solution for detecting misconfigurations and vulnerabilities, reducing reliance on manual, point-in-time penetration tests and empowering your team to maintain a strong security posture.

Features

• AI-Powered Threat Detection: Uses behavioral AI to identify and respond to cloud-native threats.
• CSPM and CIEM: Offers robust cloud security posture management and cloud infrastructure entitlement management.
• Unified Visibility: Provides a single pane of glass for multi-cloud environments.
• Continuous Monitoring: Offers real-time monitoring of cloud workloads and configurations.

Pros

• Provides a continuous, always-on security solution.
• Integrates seamlessly with existing security workflows.
• Reduces reliance on manual, point-in-time testing.
• Offers a unified view of multi-cloud environments.

Cons

• Not a dedicated penetration testing company.
• May not find complex, multi-stage vulnerabilities that require human intuition.

✅ Best For: Organizations that need a continuous, integrated, and AI-powered platform for multi-cloud security posture management and vulnerability assessment.

🔗 Try SentinelOne here → SentinelOne Official Website

2. CloudBrute

Why We Picked It

CloudBrute is a foundational tool for any cloud penetration tester.

While it is not a full-service company, we included it because it perfectly demonstrates the critical first step of cloud pentesting: reconnaissance.

Its effectiveness in brute-forcing and discovering misconfigured, publicly accessible assets is unparalleled.

For organizations or security teams that want to perform their own initial reconnaissance, it’s an essential, cost-effective tool.

Specifications

CloudBrute is a command-line tool that uses wordlists to enumerate cloud resources and discover publicly accessible assets.

It supports multiple cloud platforms and is designed to find common misconfigurations, such as open S3 buckets and exposed APIs. It is a black-box tool that requires no credentials to run.

Reason to Buy

If you are a security professional or an organization looking to perform your own initial cloud reconnaissance, CloudBrute is a must-have tool.

It’s a great way to quickly check for low-hanging fruit and identify potential entry points for attackers. It’s a no-cost way to get a baseline understanding of your cloud attack surface.

Features

• Cloud Reconnaissance: Effectively discovers publicly exposed cloud assets.
• Multi-Cloud Support: Supports AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• Brute-Force Discovery: Uses wordlists to enumerate and find hidden assets.
• Open-Source and Free: A powerful tool with no associated cost.

Pros

• Highly effective for initial reconnaissance.
• Free and open-source.
• Supports multiple cloud platforms.
• Easy to use for security professionals.

Cons

• Not a full-fledged penetration testing solution.
• Requires manual follow-up to validate findings.

✅ Best For: Security professionals and organizations looking for a free, powerful tool for initial cloud reconnaissance and attack surface discovery.

🔗 Try CloudBrute here → CloudBrute Official Website

3. Nessus

Why We Picked It

Nessus has maintained its position as an industry standard for vulnerability scanning for good reason.

We chose it because of its extensive and continuously updated plugin library, which includes thousands of checks for cloud-specific misconfigurations and vulnerabilities.

While it is primarily a scanner and not a pentesting tool, it is a foundational component of almost every cloud penetration test, providing the initial data that human testers use to plan their attacks.

Specifications

Nessus can perform authenticated and unauthenticated scans on cloud environments.

It integrates with major cloud providers to perform deep configuration audits, check for compliance with industry standards like CIS Benchmarks, and identify known vulnerabilities in services and applications.

It provides detailed, prioritized reports to help organizations fix what matters most.

Reason to Buy

If your organization needs a reliable, comprehensive, and widely trusted tool for automated cloud vulnerability scanning, Nessus is an excellent choice.

It provides a strong foundation for any cloud security program and is essential for maintaining compliance and continuously monitoring for known weaknesses.

Features

• Extensive Vulnerability Database: Continuously updated with checks for thousands of vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.
• Cloud Configuration Audits: Scans for misconfigurations in AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• Compliance Checks: Aligns with industry standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and CIS Benchmarks.
• Prioritized Reporting: Provides clear, actionable reports that help you prioritize remediation efforts.

Pros

• Industry-standard and highly trusted.
• Comprehensive and continuously updated.
• Excellent for compliance reporting.
• Easy to use and provides actionable insights.

Cons

• Is a scanner, not a true penetration testing tool.
• Cannot find complex, chained vulnerabilities or business logic flaws.

✅ Best For: Organizations that need a robust, comprehensive, and widely-recognized solution for automated cloud vulnerability and configuration scanning.

🔗 Try Nessus here → Nessus Official Website

4. Intruder

Why We Picked It

Intruder’s value proposition is its simplicity and effectiveness.

We chose it because it is specifically designed to help lean security teams proactively manage their cloud security without the complexity of larger enterprise tools.

Its “CloudBot” feature, which automatically discovers and scans new cloud assets, is a game-changer for maintaining continuous visibility over a dynamic cloud environment.

Specifications

Intruder’s platform provides continuous attack surface monitoring for AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. It integrates with cloud environments to automatically discover and scan new hosts and IP addresses.

The platform runs continuous vulnerability checks and provides smart, prioritized reports that explain vulnerabilities in plain English, helping teams fix what matters most.

Reason to Buy

If your organization is growing rapidly and needs an easy-to-use, continuous, and automated cloud security solution, Intruder is a top choice.

It automates the tedious parts of vulnerability scanning, ensuring that your team stays ahead of new threats without getting bogged down in manual work.

Features

• Continuous Monitoring: Automatically detects and scans new cloud assets.
• CloudBot: A smart feature that automates asset discovery in AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• Smart Reporting: Prioritizes vulnerabilities and provides clear, actionable remediation steps.
• Compliance Ready: Provides reports that help with compliance audits like SOC2 and ISO 27001.

Pros

• Very easy to set up and use.
• Ideal for lean and growing teams.
• Provides continuous security validation.
• Excellent, jargon-free reporting.

Cons

• Primarily an automated scanner, not a full-service pentest.
• May not be suitable for highly complex, bespoke cloud environments.

✅ Best For: Growing organizations and lean security teams that need a simple, automated, and continuous cloud vulnerability management solution.

🔗 Try Intruder here → Intruder Official Website

5. Pentera Cloud

Why We Picked It

Pentera Cloud is a unique offering in the market because it goes beyond simple scanning to perform a true, autonomous attack simulation.

It doesn’t just tell you that a vulnerability exists; it safely exploits it to prove that it is a real risk.

We chose it for its ability to provide a continuous, “attacker’s-eye view” of your cloud posture, validating your security controls and finding exploitable attack paths that would be missed by traditional scanners.

Specifications

Pentera Cloud is an agentless platform that continuously maps your cloud assets and simulates attacks to find exploitable misconfigurations, software vulnerabilities, and exposed credentials.

It can emulate lateral movement between cloud and on-premises environments and prioritizes findings based on their true business impact.

Reason to Buy

If your organization needs to continuously and automatically validate its cloud security posture against real-world attack techniques, Pentera Cloud is an ideal choice.

It provides a repeatable and scalable way to find and fix the most critical security gaps before they are exploited.

Features

• Automated Cloud Pentesting: Safely simulates real-world attacks to find exploitable vulnerabilities.
• Continuous Security Validation: Provides a continuous “attacker’s-eye view” of your cloud defenses.
• Hybrid Environment Testing: Can emulate attacks that move from cloud to on-premises.
• Evidence-Based Remediation: Prioritizes findings based on their true exploitability and impact.

Pros

• Provides a realistic assessment of your cloud security.
• Highly scalable and repeatable.
• Reduces reliance on expensive, time-consuming manual tests.
• Excellent for continuously validating security controls.

Cons

• Lacks the human intuition to find complex business logic flaws.
• May be more expensive than basic scanning tools.

✅ Best For: Organizations that need to continuously validate their cloud security posture with an automated platform that simulates real-world attacks.

🔗 Try Pentera Cloud here → Pentera Cloud Official Website

6. Escape

Why We Picked It

Many cloud breaches happen at the application layer, but traditional scanners struggle to find complex business logic flaws.

We chose Escape because it is purpose-built to address this gap.

Its Agentic DAST uses AI to go beyond simple crawling and intelligently explore the application, testing for critical vulnerabilities like broken access control and business logic bypasses.

This makes it a crucial tool for securing the applications that run in the cloud.

Specifications

Escape’s platform is an API-first DAST that can test for over 140 attack scenarios, including business logic flaws.

It uses a state-aware AI crawler to navigate complex web applications and APIs. The platform integrates seamlessly into CI/CD pipelines, providing continuous security testing and developer-friendly reports with instant code-to-cloud visibility.

Reason to Buy

If your organization’s cloud environment is built on a modern stack of microservices, APIs, and single-page applications, Escape is an essential tool.

It provides a scalable and highly effective way to find the most critical vulnerabilities at the application layer, which are often the weakest links in a cloud security chain.

Features

• Agentic DAST: Uses AI to understand and test business logic.
• API-First Testing: Purpose-built to test modern APIs.
• Continuous Integration: Seamlessly integrates into CI/CD pipelines.
• Detailed Remediation: Provides code snippets and clear remediation steps for developers.

Pros

• Highly effective at finding business logic flaws.
• Purpose-built for modern cloud-native applications and APIs.
• Provides continuous security validation.
• Developer-friendly and easy to use.

Cons

• Primarily focused on web applications and APIs, not infrastructure.
• Not a full-scale cloud penetration testing solution.

✅ Best For: Development teams and organizations that need a powerful, AI-driven DAST solution to secure their cloud-native web applications and APIs.

🔗 Try Escape here → Escape Official Website

7. Picus Security

Why We Picked It

Picus Security’s approach is unique because it focuses on a core tenet of cloud security: validating whether your existing security controls actually work.

It doesn’t just find vulnerabilities; it proves whether your security tools (like firewalls, IDS, and EDRs) can detect and prevent real cloud attacks.

We chose it for its ability to provide a data-driven, continuous assessment of your cloud security posture, helping you optimize your security investments.

Specifications

The Picus Cloud Security Validation module simulates attacks based on the MITRE ATT&CK Cloud Matrix.

It tests for common cloud misconfigurations, overly permissive IAM policies, and other cloud-native threats.

The platform provides a dashboard that shows which security controls are effective and which are not, allowing you to prioritize and optimize your defenses based on real data.

Reason to Buy

If your organization has invested heavily in cloud security tools and needs to validate their effectiveness, Picus Security is a top choice.

It provides a continuous, data-driven way to measure your cloud security posture and ensure that you are getting a return on your security investments.

Features

• Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS): Continuously tests the effectiveness of your security controls.
• MITRE ATT&CK Alignment: Simulates attacks based on real-world adversary tactics.
• Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): Helps identify and fix misconfigurations.
• Actionable Insights: Provides data to help you optimize and tune your security tools.

Pros

• Provides a continuous, data-driven assessment.
• Validates your security investments.
• Helps to find gaps in your security controls.
• Aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

Cons

• Not a traditional penetration testing service.
• Requires a significant investment in a platform.

✅ Best For: Security teams that need to continuously validate the effectiveness of their cloud security controls and measure their security posture.

🔗 Try Picus Security here → Picus Security Official Website

8. BreachLock

Why We Picked It

BreachLock’s hybrid model is a compelling solution for organizations that want the best of both worlds: the speed and scalability of automation with the depth and creativity of human expertise.

Their Automated Cloud PTaaS platform automates the initial phases of a pentest, allowing their certified ethical hackers to focus on complex vulnerabilities and business logic flaws that only a human can find.

This makes their solution both efficient and highly effective.

Specifications

BreachLock offers cloud penetration testing services for AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Their PTaaS platform automates vulnerability scanning and provides a real-time dashboard for managing the pentest lifecycle.

All findings are manually verified by certified testers, ensuring a “zero false positives” guarantee. The platform also offers continuous security assessments and unlimited re-testing.

Reason to Buy

If your organization needs a continuous, comprehensive, and high-quality cloud penetration testing service, BreachLock is an excellent choice.

Its hybrid model ensures that you get a thorough and accurate assessment that is both scalable and cost-effective.

Features

• Hybrid PTaaS Model: Combines automated scanning with human-led testing.
• Continuous Assessments: Provides ongoing security validation.
• Certified Testers: All findings are validated by certified ethical hackers.
• Zero False Positives: A guarantee that all reported vulnerabilities are real.

Pros

• Combines the best of automation and human expertise.
• Provides a high-quality, accurate assessment.
• Offers continuous testing and unlimited re-testing.
• All findings are manually verified.

Cons

• Can be more expensive than a purely automated solution.
• Requires collaboration with a human team.

✅ Best For: Organizations that need a hybrid PTaaS solution that combines the speed and scale of automation with the accuracy and depth of human-led testing.

🔗 Try BreachLock here → BreachLock Official Website

9. OpenVAS

Why We Picked It

OpenVAS has been a staple in the cybersecurity community for years, and for good reason.

We chose it because it is a free and open-source solution that provides powerful, enterprise-grade scanning capabilities.

While it requires technical expertise to set up and manage, it’s an invaluable tool for organizations that want to perform their own vulnerability assessments without the cost of a commercial product.

Specifications

OpenVAS is a full-featured vulnerability scanner that can be used to scan cloud environments.

It has a continuously updated feed of network vulnerability tests (NVTs) that can check for known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.

It provides detailed reports on the findings and can be customized to perform a variety of scans.

Reason to Buy

If your organization has a skilled security team and a limited budget, OpenVAS is an excellent choice.

It provides a powerful, free solution for continuous vulnerability scanning, empowering your team to proactively find and fix vulnerabilities in your cloud infrastructure.

Features

• Free and Open-Source: A powerful tool with no licensing costs.
• Comprehensive Scanning: Can scan for a wide range of vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.
• Continuously Updated: The NVT feed is updated daily to stay ahead of new threats.
• Customizable: Can be tailored to perform a variety of scans.

Pros

• No cost for the software.
• Provides comprehensive scanning capabilities.
• A strong foundation for building an in-house security program.
• Highly customizable for specific needs.

Cons

• Requires significant technical expertise to set up and manage.
• Does not perform a full penetration test.
• Lacks the professional support of a commercial vendor.

✅ Best For: Security professionals and organizations with a limited budget that want to perform their own continuous cloud vulnerability assessments.

🔗 Try OpenVAS here → OpenVAS Official Website

10. Qualys

Why We Picked It

Qualys is a veteran in the vulnerability management space, offering a robust TruRisk platform that extends into continuous cloud monitoring, CNAPP, and API security, giving it a strong foundation for continuous cloud penetration validation.

Specifications

Cloud-based security, compliance, and risk platform (VMDR – Vulnerability Management, Detection, and Response).

Reason to Buy

Recommended for large enterprises needing a massive, integrated platform to manage risk, compliance, and continuous monitoring across hybrid cloud and legacy infrastructure.

Features

• Qualys Cloud Platform: Unified console for all security modules.
• Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): Continuous monitoring of cloud configurations.
• TruRisk Scoring: AI-powered risk scoring to prioritize remediation based on exploitability.
• Cloud Agent: Lightweight, persistent agents for continuous asset visibility.
• Container Security: Continuous scanning of container images and runtime environments.

Pros

• Comprehensive platform covering virtually all attack surface types.
• Exceptional coverage for global compliance standards.
• Highly mature and trusted solution for large enterprises.
• Risk prioritization (TruRisk) helps teams focus their efforts.
• Strong support for hybrid cloud environments.

Cons

• Can become complex and costly when deploying multiple modules.
• The sheer volume of data produced requires dedicated team resources for analysis.

✅ Best For: Global enterprises and managed security providers (MSSPs) looking for a massive, integrated, and continuous risk management platform.

🔗 Try Qualys here → Qualys Official Website

Conclusion:

The shift to cloud computing has created a complex and dynamic threat landscape. In 2025, a simple, once-a-year penetration test is no longer sufficient.

Organizations must adopt a proactive, continuous, and comprehensive approach to cloud security.

The companies on this list represent the best in the industry, each with a unique solution for a different need.

Whether you need a continuous, AI-powered platform like SentinelOne or Pentera Cloud, a powerful automated scanner like Nessus or Intruder, a specialized tool for application security like Escape, or a hybrid solution that combines human and machine intelligence like BreachLock and Astra Pentest, the right partner for you is here.

By understanding the strengths of these market leaders, you can choose the best solution to secure your cloud environment and build a resilient cybersecurity posture.