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IT audit

Penetration Testing

CYBERSECURITY

Test Your Cyber Defenses Against Real-World Attacks

What is Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing, often called “pen testing” or ethical hacking, is a simulated cyberattack against your computer system to check for exploitable vulnerabilities. Unlike automated scanning, which simply lists potential issues, a penetration test involves human experts actively trying to breach your defenses—just like a real hacker would.

The goal is to safely exploit security weaknesses in your networks, applications, and user behavior to determine if unauthorized access or malicious activity is possible. It is the ultimate stress test for your cybersecurity posture.

Why Your Organization Needs Penetration Testing

Thinking you are secure and knowing you are secure are two different things. Penetration testing provides the empirical evidence you need to trust your defenses.

  • Identify Real-World Risks: Discover how an attacker could chain together small vulnerabilities to cause major damage.
  • Test Your Incident Response: Evaluate how quickly and effectively your internal security team detects and responds to an active attack.
  • Meet Compliance Standards: Satisfy strict testing requirements for regulations like PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2, and CMMC.
  • Justify Security Investments: Provide concrete evidence of security gaps to leadership to secure budget for necessary upgrades.

Contact Us

Network Penetration Testing

Attempt to breach your internal and external networks to access sensitive systems and data.

Social Engineering

Test the human element of your security by attempting to trick employees into revealing information via phishing emails or phone calls (vishing).

Physical Security Testing

Attempt to gain physical access to your facilities and server rooms to test your locks, cameras, and access controls.

Web Application Testing

Target your web apps, APIs, and mobile applications to find coding flaws like SQL injection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).

Wireless Network Testing

Assess the security of your Wi-Fi networks to prevent unauthorized access from nearby attackers.

The Penetration Testing Process

Our methodology follows industry standards (NIST, PTES) to ensure a thorough, safe, and effective assessment for your organization.

The penetration testing process starts with defining the scope, timing, and methods to ensure a safe and minimally disruptive assessment. Our team then gathers intelligence to identify potential entry points and attempts to exploit vulnerabilities to demonstrate real risks. Afterward, we deliver a detailed report with findings and remediation steps, and can retest to verify issues are resolved.

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Meet the Team

Antonina McAvoy

Antonina McAvoy

CISA, CISM, QSA, PCIP
Partner, Risk Advisory Services
Norfolk