DEV Community: Panos Kontogiannis

Do You Actually Need a Penetration Test? A Checklist

Panos Kontogiannis — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:32:55 +0000

A penetration test is worth real money and a bit of effort, so it is a fair question to ask whether you need one at all, or whether it is overkill for where you are right now. The honest answer is that not every app needs a pentest this minute, and knowing when you need a penetration test matters more than any sales pitch. Some situations make it genuinely urgent. Others mean it can wait a little longer. Here is a checklist to tell the difference.

First, what "need" actually means

A penetration testing answers one question: can someone who understands your app actually break into it or abuse it. So you "need" one when the cost of that question going unanswered has become higher than the cost of asking it. Early on, with no real users and nothing sensitive to lose, that cost is low. As soon as you are holding something people care about, it climbs fast. Most of the checklist below is just different ways of noticing that you have crossed that line.

Signs it is time: check any that apply

You handle data people would be upset to lose. Personal details, health or financial information, private messages, anything covered by a regulation. The moment a breach means real harm to real users, a pentest stops being optional.

You move money, or make decisions that cost money. Payments, payouts,
credits, pricing, subscriptions. Anywhere a logic flaw could let someone pay less, get more, or move funds they should not, is exactly where manual testing earns its keep.

You are about to launch something significant. A first real product, a major new feature, a public release. Testing before launch is far cheaper than learning about a hole from an attacker after it.

You just shipped a big release or architectural change. New authentication, a new payments flow, a move to a new framework or platform. Significant change is exactly when new weaknesses get introduced, and when a fresh look is most useful.

A customer, prospect, or partner is asking. Enterprise buyers and regulated industries increasingly require proof of testing before they will sign. If a vendor security questionnaire or a deal is waiting on it, you need one, and soon.

An auditor or framework requires it. SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and similar frameworks expect regular testing. If you are pursuing any of them, a pentest is not a maybe, it is a line item.

You are raising money or being acquired. Security due diligence is now a normal part of funding rounds and acquisitions. A clean, recent test report removes a question mark at exactly the moment you do not want one.

You have multiple user roles or tenants. Admins and regular users, or many customers sharing one system. The more separation your app is supposed to enforce, the more places that separation can quietly fail, and those are among the most damaging bugs there are.

You have never had an independent look, and you are past hobby scale. If real people depend on your app and no outside expert has ever tried to break it, that gap alone is a reason. You cannot mark your own homework.

You have had a scare. Suspicious activity in your logs, a near-miss, a report from a stranger, or a scanner flagging something nobody on the team can confidently interpret. A scare is a signal that it is time to have someone look properly and tell you whether it is real.

If you ticked even one of those, the answer is likely yes, and the next question is just timing.

Signs it can probably wait

Being honest cuts both ways. A penetration testing is a point-in-time snapshot of a specific target, so testing too early, before there is anything real to test, wastes the snapshot.

You are pre-product, with no real users and no real data. Build the thing first. Keep basic hygiene in place, but a full pentest can wait for something worth testing.
Your app genuinely holds nothing sensitive. A brochure site with no logins, no user data, and no forms wired into anything important is low stakes. Sensible configuration matters more here than a full engagement.
You had a solid test recently and nothing major has changed since. A penetration testing is not something you need every month for its own sake. If nothing significant shipped, your last report is probably still telling the truth.

How to decide when you are unsure?

If you are on the fence, weigh two things: how much harm a breach would cause, and how much has changed since anyone last looked. High harm or lots of change points to yes. Low harm and a stable app points to not yet. And if the only thing driving the question is a checkbox, it is worth remembering that the checkbox usually exists because someone downstream has decided the harm is real.

You do not have to guess in the dark, either. Any decent tester will talk through your situation honestly before quoting anything, and a good one will tell you plainly if you do not need a full engagement yet. That conversation costs nothing and beats both extremes: testing too early and wasting it, or testing too late and finding out the hard way.

The honest bottom line

You need a penetration test when your app has become worth attacking and something real is on the line: sensitive data, money, a deal, a launch, or a requirement you cannot skip. If none of that is true yet, it is fine to wait, and an honest tester will tell you so. The goal is not to test constantly. It is to test at the moment the answer actually matters.

At TB Solutions we would rather tell you straight whether you need a test than sell you one you do not. If you are weighing it up and want an honest read on where you stand, that is a conversation worth having.

Claude 3.7 Sonnet: A pinnacle achievement in the field of artificial intelligence

Panos Kontogiannis — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 12:20:08 +0000

What is Claude 3.7 Sonnet?

Claude 3.7 Sonnet is the latest model in the Claude 3 family, introduced by Anthropic in February 2025. It combines exceptional reasoning capabilities with advanced features that place it among the leading artificial intelligence solutions on the market today. Advanced reasoning capabilities. Claude 3.7 Sonnet “thinks” and is distinguished by its “extended thinking” mode, which allows the model to process information much more deeply before formulating an answer. This leads to a significant improvement in the quality of analysis in complex tasks that require logical thinking. The model can look at problems from different angles, identify assumptions and assess the reliability of its conclusions.

How to improve your site's ranking in local Google results?

Panos Kontogiannis — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 10:13:34 +0000

3 categories of business information that are very important. Factors for ranking business sites in Google. How does Google determine local ranking? What does relevance mean? Why does distance matter? Everyone loves famous. Showcase your business on Google Maps

Link building on budget – Is it possible and when should it be done?

Panos Kontogiannis — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 11:04:52 +0000

Link building on budget – Is it possible and when should it be done?

What is link building, what is the purpose and what is the price? Link building is the process of SEO site optimization to build incoming links from other sites to yours.

What is the purpose?

The goal is to improve the site's top position in Google SERP.

Why?

To increase organic traffic and from there to sales and customers.

How much does it cost?

Prices start at 1000 BGN per month for a Bulgarian online store that wants to improve its search engine visibility and increase targeted traffic, sales and customers for its business. Depending on the niche, competition and goals, the price can go up a lot.

*Is it a subscription service or is it one time?
*
It is subscription-based and the shortest term is one year. The business must be aware that when signing a contract for SEO services, it must have the necessary budget to realize its goals. There is no point in starting something to "see" and to "test". These are long-term processes that require resources, expertise and serious commitments, but they pay off appropriately for visionaries who know how to run a business.
Source: https://blog7.org/link-building-na-budget-vazmozhno-li-e-koga-da-se-pravi/

Which to choose for my e-shop: SEO agency, freelancer or DIY

Panos Kontogiannis — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 08:32:59 +0000

SEO Optimization: Try it yourself, hire a freelancer or a digital SEO company? Which choice will bring us more benefits for our business? Every business owner who wants to be online and sell to customers 24/7 has been in a situation where they have to make their choice. How is it right to allocate a budget of BGN 10,000? To hire an SEO company, to test the services of an SEO specialist who is rumored in facebook groups or to try to optimize your site and make advertising campaigns on google and facebook, instagram?

In this article we will present the pros and cons that we consider important, and everyone can make an informed decision about their business. Read more https://blog7.org/koe-e-za-predpochitane-seo-agencia-freelancer-ili-samostoyatelno/

Why Your Website Must Have an SEO Strategy for 2022

Panos Kontogiannis — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 09:55:15 +0000

If you're running a small business, you know that it's essential to be found online. And if you want to be found online, you need to rank high in Google search results. But how can you outrank your competitors and claim the top spot on Google?

There are a number of effective SEO strategies that you can use to outrank your competitors on search engines. In this article, we'll explore that SEO techniques that will help you beat your competition and take home top SEO ranking.

Advantages of E-commerce

Panos Kontogiannis — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 06:50:58 +0000

Faster Buying Process: E-commerce has speed up the whole buying process for customers. They do not need to visit physical outlets for shopping and can purchase products by just sitting at their home. It saves huge times and performs faster transactions.
1. Eliminates Operating Cost: It has reduced the overall operating cost of businesses. E-commerce has eliminated the need of opening physical outlets by the business. For operating an outlet, there are huge expenses in terms of rent, utilities, various bills, and staff salaries. It saves all these expenses and operates all business activities through an online website.
2. Personalize Shopping Experience: E-commerce enables customers in enjoying personalized shopping experience. Customers can search for a large variety of products as per their choice and needs without any restrictions. Online business shows products to customers according to their interest and their location.
3. Available 24×7: Online shopping facility is available at all the time that is 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. This is one of the major advantages of e-commerce that customers can access online products at any time. Unlike physical outlets, there is no official opening and closing time here.
4. Connects far and wide: Online businesses are able to reach and connect to customers at far distant places with no geographical limits. People can place their orders from any place and get their orders delivered at their location.
5. Detailed Product Information: Peoples can acquire a full description in detail regarding the products online. It gives full information so that customers can make a comparison with other products easily and choose the best one.
6. Retargets the Customers: Online shopping has made it easy for a business to retargets their customers. The electronic business acquires vast information about their customers while they are doing their shopping online. Customers can be contacted from time to time by sending them personalized emails, messages, coupons and discounts offers.