Government agencies have historically relied on periodic security assessments, such as an Authority to Operate (ATO) review, to ensure the ongoing safety of their systems. However, these test cycles are measured in months and years, but the average cyberattack takes less than an hour from initial access to data exfiltration. 

A major driver of this trend is AI. Cybercriminals are increasingly using AI to automate reconnaissance and exploit development, reducing the time required to execute a cyberattack and the development of new threats. For instance, a rogue OpenAI agent recently hacked the Australian government’s website, catching them completely by surprise. At the same time, many agencies are turning to AI-assisted coding tools to accelerate software development, but these tools lack the right context and best practices, resulting in buggy, vulnerability-ridden code. 

Point-in-time assessments can’t and won’t stop automated adversaries. Staying ahead requires continuous validation, pairing machine-speed AI reconnaissance with the critical intuition of human operators. In this blog post, we’ll show how continuous pen testing that combines human expertise with agentic capabilities can help agencies achieve ongoing security validation at scale without sacrificing quality. 

Why pen testing needs more than just AI

Historically, agencies were limited in how frequently they could run pen tests because there was a finite number of skilled professionals available to conduct them. As a result, only a handful of crown-jewel assets receive intense but infrequent testing, leaving the rest untouched. 

With AI, the equation has changed. AI tools can also run continuously, automatically identifying and triaging vulnerabilities across thousands of systems at machine speed. It excels at pattern matching, making it effective at identifying known threats, such as SQL injection and other OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities. With AI agents, agencies can move beyond vulnerability detection to actively validate whether identified weaknesses are exploitable. AI agents can test exploits for identified vulnerabilities, allowing agencies to focus their limited resources on real vulnerabilities. Once they patch the issue, they can also use agents to retest the vulnerability to ensure that the security gap is closed. 

However, this doesn’t mean AI is enough to keep agency systems secure. As pattern matchers, they lack the thinking and creativity required to catch emerging threats. Some of the areas where AI falls short include:  

  • Chained exploits: Many cyberattacks require combining multiple, potentially innocuous vulnerabilities in a novel way. Currently, humans are better at looking at a system and seeing these relationships.
  • Business logic flaws: Business logic flaws exist when the implementation of software doesn’t match the intended functionality. If AI doesn’t understand design intent, it can’t identify these flaws.
  • Novel attack paths: AI is well-suited to identifying new examples of things already present in its training data. As a result, it’s not very effective at identifying novel attack paths, and human testers generally perform better at this task. 

The new model: Using humans and AI together

To run continuous pen tests without sacrificing quality, agencies need to combine AI pen testing with a skilled human operator. Humans can use their expertise to direct AI tools to the most promising attack paths, while AI can handle the repetitive, time-consuming work of testing and validating those paths. This combination allows agencies to perform security assessments more frequently across all their systems, rather than subjecting only a few systems to intensive, infrequent testing.  Here are some other benefits of this approach: 

  • Maintain compliance: FedRAMP and BOD 26-04 direct government agencies to implement continuous testing and remediate vulnerabilities within tight windows (as short as 3 days). Using this new model, agencies can remain compliant without stretching their already limited resources. 
  • Achieve full testing coverage: Vulnerability scanners perform shallow tests, and human-run engagements are often constrained in time and resources. Combining human testers with AI-driven coverage enables government agencies to conduct broad, in-depth assessments across their entire IT infrastructure.
  • Do more with small teams: Traditional vulnerability scanning is prone to false positives, increasing overhead for small IT and security teams. With this model, each vulnerability comes with a proof of exploitability, ensuring that every report is valid and ranked by associated risk.

Why government agencies can trust Bugcrowd

Bugcrowd can help you shift towards this continuous pen testing model. We have a large pool of skilled, vetted human pen testers across a wide range of technologies (e.g., web applications, mobile, networks, APIs, LLMs) that can help you uncover complex vulnerabilities and exploit chains. Bugcrowd’s Savant Pathseeker complements their efforts by using agentic AI to identify vulnerabilities and prove exploitability. Here are other reasons to choose Bugcrowd: 

  • FedRAMP Moderate Authorization status: Bugcrowd achieved FedRAMP Moderate status in March 2026. Not only does this allow federal agencies to immediately access the Bugcrowd platform, but it also demonstrates that the Bugcrowd platform meets CISA’s stringent security requirements for protecting sensitive data used in pen testing engagements.
  • Isolated GovCloud environment: Bugcrowd uses an isolated AWS GovCloud environment to support its government customers, ensuring that sensitive government data is securely stored, processed, and protected in accordance with federal security requirements (e.g., CISA BOD 20-01). 
  • Vetted pen testers: All Bugcrowd researchers have undergone stringent identity verification and ongoing vetting to ensure that they’re trustworthy and adhere to professional standards. Many researchers already have security clearance to access classified systems, reducing the time and effort required to source qualified testers for sensitive environments. 
  • Controlled access: Agencies can set up invite-only pen testing engagements, allowing only hackers with a track record of high-value submissions and professional behavior to participate. 
  • Experience-trusted by CISA’s VDP Platform: CISA’s VDP platform and over 60 FCEB agencies already utilize trusted researchers for Bug Bounty and Vulnerability Disclosure at Bugcrowd’s Secure the Government collection.  

Deploying continuous pen testing with Bugcrowd

Achieving effective, continuous pen testing at scale requires human-led, AI-powered pen testing. With Bugcrowd’s Savant Pathseeker and pool of vetted, skilled human testers, you can achieve the best of both worlds: the scale and speed of AI with the creativity and ingenuity of human researchers. Ready to get started? Request early access to Savant Pathseeker for pen testing scaled to meet your needs.

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