Standard vs. Advanced Tabletop Testing: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters

What Is a Tabletop Test?

A tabletop test is a facilitated, discussion-based exercise where team members walk through their emergency response plans in a simulated scenario. The goal is to identify gaps, clarify roles, and ensure that critical functions can be executed under stress — before a real-world event forces your hand.

• Speed: Automated tools can scan an entire network within minutes, detecting common vulnerabilities like misconfigurations or outdated software.
• Continuous Monitoring: Healthcare systems require constant vigilance. Automated testing can run regularly to provide real-time insights into new vulnerabilities as they emerge.
• Scalability: For large healthcare facilities with expansive IT infrastructures, automated testing efficiently assesses a wide range of systems and devices.

However, automated tools can sometimes miss nuanced or context-specific vulnerabilities. While they provide a strong baseline for ongoing monitoring, they may lack the human insight needed to identify sophisticated or emerging threats.

Guided Penetration Testing: Detailed & Strategic

Guided simulation penetration testing (also referred to as manual PTaaS) is conducted by cybersecurity experts who simulate real-world attack scenarios to uncover vulnerabilities that automated tools might miss. This approach excels in areas where:

• Human Expertise is Critical: Guided testing identifies complex vulnerabilities, such as logic flaws in custom applications or specific risks in medical devices.
• Targeted Analysis is Needed: For high-priority systems, such as electronic health records (EHRs) or connected medical devices, manual testing provides in-depth scrutiny.
• Compliance is Complex: Many healthcare facilities require detailed reporting to meet standards like HITRUST or HIPAA. Manual testers can tailor their evaluations to align with these frameworks.

The downside? Guided simulation penetration PTaaS is time-intensive and often more expensive. It’s not practical to use exclusively, especially in fast-paced environments like healthcare.

Striking the Right Balance: A Hybrid Approach

For healthcare facilities, a combination of continuous and guided simulation penetration testing is often the best solution. Continuous testing ensures automated, “always-on” coverage, quickly identifying common vulnerabilities across large networks. Guided simulation testing complements this by providing a deeper, manual, and more nuanced evaluation of high-risk areas. Here’s how healthcare facilities can integrate both approaches:

• Use automated testing to conduct regular scans of your entire IT environment.
• Deploy manual testing periodically for critical systems, such as EHR platforms or medical devices, where the stakes are highest.
• Leverage automated reporting to prioritize vulnerabilities and direct manual testers to areas of greatest concern.

This hybrid approach ensures that healthcare facilities stay ahead of evolving threats while maintaining compliance and protecting patient data.

Take Action Today

Cybersecurity in healthcare is non-negotiable. With the right balance of continuous and guided simulation penetration testing, you can protect your systems, secure patient data, and reduce the risk of cyberattacks. Contact Agility Recovery to learn how our Cyber Resilience and Threat Detection solutions can help safeguard your healthcare facility.