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It’s official: Packetlabs is now CREST-accredited, meaning that our ethical hackers offer CREST-certified pentesting services, security assessments, red and purple teaming, and so much more.

Let’s explore why we’re so thrilled to be sharing this with you:

What is CREST Certification?

A CREST certification is a globally-recognized accreditation issued by CREST (the Council of Registered Security Testers). As an international governing membership body representing the global cybersecurity community, CREST certifications are lauded as the best of the best by the cybersecurity industry regarding the indication of knowledge, skills, and competence. 

CREST accredits 300 member companies across dozens of countries, certifies thousands of security professionals, and works with some of the world’s top cybersecurity stakeholders to ensure that organizations’ cybersecurity is in good hands. Its mission is to build capable and consistent collaboration through high-quality security services.

In 2023, being CREST-certified is becoming an increasingly mandated requirement for those hiring or buying services–and for good reason. Their code of conduct ensures the promotion of best cybersecurity practices, professional representation, responsible reporting, and so much more.

When and Why Was the Council of Registered Security Testers Founded?

First established in 2006, CREST was first solely available to organizations in the UK that worked closely with the UK government.  Initially, this included organizations that worked within civil aviation, finance, telecommunications, and national infrastructure to support the United Kingdom’s cybersecurity standards and general frameworks.

Currently, CREST certifications are available in various regions such as Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Americas, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Both teams and individual cybersecurity professionals can apply.

What Are CREST’s Cybersecurity Application Requirements?

Organizations that intend to become CREST-certified must prove that their service standards are high-quality and consistent.

To do this, there are four requirements for any member application: each of these relates to the company’s operating procedures and standards, the company’s security and development, the company’s approach to pentesting services, and the company’s data security methods.

Although our application focus orbited around pentesting services, CREST certifications can also extend to organizations in the following disciplines:

• Cyber essentials

• Cybersecurity incident response

• And SOC

All applicants are encouraged to thoroughly audit their processes to ensure full compliance before beginning the application process. 

How CREST’s Values and Our Pentesting Services Align

At Packetlabs, we’re proud to add CREST’s core values to our own.

These values are:

1. Capability

With over 300 quality-assured members (including cybersecurity organizations whose names are known worldwide), CREST’s assured services cement industry-leading quality that is externally tested via in-depth audits and accreditation examinations.

The result? Vetted cybersecurity teams and individual professionals who are equipped to proactively support confidential information from even the most advanced of threat actors. Personal details, national security information, critical infrastructure–it’s all safe in the hands of a capable CREST-certified professional. 

2. Capacity

With cyberattacks set to cost the world $10.5 trillion yearly by 2025, the need–and capacity–for capable cybersecurity professionals and pentesting services is skyrocketing.

Because CREST provides rigorous examinations and audits to test ethical hackers and other cybersecurity thought leaders on every level of knowledge, skills, and competency, organizations can’t settle for anything less than the best–and these examinations showcase which teams are worth investing in.

3. Consistency

Accreditation by CREST is lauded as a symbol of quality, trust, and innovation for members. 

Since all CREST member organizations are mandated to submit their policies, processes, and procedures relating to their services as a part of the accreditation process, buyers can rest easy knowing that each and every one of their methods are fully compliant with best practices. 

4. Collaboration

CREST draws on its extensive international network to collaborate and bring about a wide range of unique content to inform and support other members globally. 

This is done by conducting multiple events, webinars, and workshops that allow member interactions to bring about conversations around cyber security to mould it to higher efficiency. 

Packetlabs’ Values

To go beyond the checkbox, our team still works off our original core values, which are:

• No egos, ever

• Be amazing, together

• Dig deeper to deliver more

• Always be learning

• Be a good person (always)

It is an honour to align ourselves with CREST’s famously high cybersecurity standards. 

How Do You Get CREST-Certified?

To be recognized as an official CREST-certified practitioner, teams must have a minimum of 10,000 hours (five years) of relevant cybersecurity experience. Within that experience, they must have demonstrated that they can successfully run full independent testing projects alongside coordinating team members.

Out of the three levels of CREST accreditation, being CREST certified is by far the most prestigious. The benefits of being CREST-certified include, but aren't limited to:

• Quality Assurance: With 10,000+ hours of experience behind a CREST-certified team, buyers can rest easy knowing that their digital spaces are being thoroughly inspected 

• Regulatory Compliance: Built-in support for PCI DSS, GDPR, NIS, ISO 27001, and more

• Adherence to Best Practices: Here at Packetlabs, our team of ethical hackers prides itself on always being on the cutting-edge of new methodologies–between our 10+ other certifications, dedication to 95% manual pentesting services, and now our CREST certification, we make it our mission to innovate daily

We’re proud to have been vetted by such a notable external body and to have been allowed to further demonstrate our passion for the consistent betterment of the community. 

Experience CREST-Certified Pentesting Services Today

At Packetlabs, our solutions orbit around one core goal: strengthening your organization’s security posture. Our comprehensive, CREST-accredited testing methodologies tackle difficult-to-find vulnerabilities and demonstrate, in real-time, their potential impact on your finances, reputation, and general security infrastructure.

Ready to experience CREST-certified pentesting services? Reach out to our team today for a free, zero-obligation quote.