Penetration testing market seen reaching $5.3 billion by 2031

By AI, Created 4:36 AM UTC, June 04, 2026, /AGP/ – Allied Market Research says the global penetration testing market will grow from $1.6 billion in 2021 to $5.3 billion by 2031 as cloud adoption, remote work and rising cyber threats push more organizations to test defenses proactively. PTaaS and network testing are emerging as key growth areas, with North America leading and Asia-Pacific accelerating.

Why it matters: - Penetration testing is moving from a periodic security check to a core part of ongoing cyber defense. - The market’s projected growth signals stronger spending on vulnerability discovery before attackers can exploit weaknesses. - Cloud migration, remote work and tighter compliance requirements are broadening demand across industries.

What happened: - Allied Market Research projected the global penetration testing market will rise from $1.6 billion in 2021 to $5.3 billion by 2031. - The report put the market’s compound annual growth rate at 13.1% from 2022 to 2031. - The report was published June 4, 2026. - The company included a downloadable PDF brochure and a purchase page for the full report.

The details: - Penetration testing, also known as ethical hacking, simulates real-world attacks to find weaknesses in software, networks, cloud environments, databases and endpoints. - Organizations use the tests to reduce risks tied to unauthorized access, data breaches, financial losses, operational disruptions and reputational damage. - The report cited rising cyberattacks, digital transformation and cloud-based technologies as major demand drivers. - Remote work, regulatory compliance and security infrastructure spending are adding to the market’s momentum. - Cloud adoption is creating new testing needs around misconfigurations, insecure APIs, weak access controls and data exposure. - The report said data center growth is also increasing demand because those facilities hold critical business information. - Industries including banking, healthcare, telecommunications, government and energy face more pressure to conduct regular security assessments. - Network penetration testing held the largest market share in 2021. - Social engineering testing is projected to grow the fastest during the forecast period. - PTaaS, or Penetration Testing as a Service, is gaining traction because it offers on-demand testing and continuous visibility into security posture. - North America held the largest share in 2021, while Asia-Pacific is projected to grow fastest. - Key companies named in the market include BreachLock, Bugcrowd, Cigniti Technologies, Cisco, CovertSwarm, iSecuriON, Netragard, NetSPI, NowSecure, PortSwigger, Rapid7, Reboot Security, SecurityMetrics, Trustwave, Vumetric Cybersecurity, Astra Security and Vairav Technology.

Between the lines: - The report points to a shift from point-in-time assessments toward continuous validation as attack surfaces expand. - PTaaS stands out because it matches how companies now buy security: faster, more flexible and more cloud-native. - Social engineering’s growth suggests buyers are paying more attention to people, not just systems, as a security weak point. - AI, machine learning and automation are expected to reshape testing methods, although those changes remain forward-looking.

What’s next: - Demand is expected to keep rising as cloud-first and hybrid-work models become standard. - More organizations are likely to adopt PTaaS to get faster remediation and ongoing testing. - Continued regulatory pressure should keep compliance-driven spending elevated. - The report expects Asia-Pacific to gain share as cybersecurity investment accelerates in India, China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

The bottom line: - Penetration testing is becoming a must-have control for organizations that want to keep pace with cloud expansion and a more aggressive threat environment.