External attack surface
Validate internet-facing hosts, ports, VPNs, remote administration, email and DNS services, exposed management interfaces, TLS configuration, default content, weak authentication, and patch-related exploitability.
EXTERNAL · INTERNAL · ACTIVE DIRECTORY
Network Penetration Testing
External and internal network penetration testing that validates exposed services, identity attack paths, segmentation, and the controls meant to stop lateral movement.
EXPERT-LED · MANUAL VALIDATION
Measure how far a real foothold can travel
A vulnerability list does not explain whether an attacker can move from one exposed service or compromised workstation to privileged access. Network penetration testing validates reachable attack paths, weak identity controls, unsafe trust relationships, and segmentation failures under explicit rules of engagement.
HOW THE TESTING FEELS IN PRACTICE
Network penetration testing, done by hand
Automation gives coverage. The findings that matter come from someone chaining weak controls together, questioning assumptions, and checking what a motivated attacker could reach next.
- Manual attack-path testing, not a scanner export
- Evidence you can reproduce and hand to engineering
- One retest round after remediation
ASSESSMENT COVERAGE
What the test covers
Coverage is finalized during scoping, then tested with a mix of systematic checks and manual attack-path analysis.
Internal discovery and segmentation
Assess host visibility, VLAN and firewall boundaries, management networks, shared services, name resolution, administrative protocols, and whether a standard user or workstation can reach sensitive systems.
Active Directory and identity
Review domain trusts, privileged groups, service accounts, Kerberos and NTLM weaknesses, delegation, certificate services, password policy, stale identities, local administrator reuse, and practical paths to elevated access.
Credential and privilege risks
Test password spraying only when authorized, exposed secrets, service credentials, weak local permissions, credential material, excessive privileges, unsafe scheduled tasks, and escalation opportunities on reachable hosts.
Lateral movement and trust abuse
Use controlled techniques to validate remote administration paths, relay opportunities, shared credentials, service-to-service trust, jump hosts, and whether security controls detect or prevent movement between zones.
Detection and containment observations
Record which test actions were blocked, alerted, or silently allowed. The engagement is a penetration test rather than a full red-team exercise, but these observations help tune preventive and detective controls.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT FIRST
Penetration testing methodology
Every phase is designed to produce defensible evidence without taking unnecessary operational risk.
Scope and safety planning
Define IP ranges, locations, environments, prohibited systems, test windows, source addresses, credentials, escalation paths, and actions requiring separate approval.
Reconnaissance and enumeration
Map externally visible and internal services, hosts, domains, trust relationships, technologies, and identity surfaces with rate-conscious discovery.
Vulnerability analysis
Combine scanner coverage with manual verification, configuration review, version analysis, and attack-path reasoning to remove noise before exploitation.
Controlled exploitation
Use the least disruptive proof needed to validate access, privilege, segmentation, or trust impact. Destructive actions and persistence are excluded unless separately approved.
Attack-path validation
Where scope allows, chain findings to show practical movement from initial access toward sensitive systems or privileged identities without collecting unnecessary data.
Reporting and retest
Document evidence, affected assets, root causes, attack paths, and prioritized fixes. Retesting confirms whether controls now break the demonstrated path.
ACTIONABLE OUTPUTS
What you receive
The report is written for two audiences: stakeholders who need a clear risk decision and engineers who need enough detail to reproduce and fix the issue.
- Executive summary and tested-scope inventory
- External and internal exposure observations
- Prioritized findings with evidence and affected assets
- Attack-path narrative for chained weaknesses
- Network, identity, and host-hardening recommendations
- Retest status and residual-risk notes
KEEP REVIEWING YOUR CONTROLS
Security checklists for your team
COMMON SCOPING QUESTIONS
Network penetration testing FAQ
What is the difference between external and internal network penetration testing?
External testing starts from the internet and focuses on exposed services and perimeter entry points. Internal testing begins from an agreed foothold or network segment and evaluates identity, privilege, segmentation, and lateral movement risks.
Can you test Active Directory?
Yes. An internal scope can include domain enumeration, Kerberos and NTLM weaknesses, service accounts, delegation, certificate services, privileged groups, credential exposure, and practical paths to elevated access.
Do you run denial-of-service tests?
Not by default. Availability testing can cause real disruption, so it is excluded unless a specific technique, target, window, monitoring plan, and stop condition are approved in writing.
Do you need administrator credentials?
No. Black-box, grey-box, and assumed-breach models are possible. Test credentials often improve coverage and allow role-specific validation, but the chosen model depends on the objective and time available.
How is a network pentest different from a vulnerability scan?
A scan identifies probable weaknesses by signature and configuration. A penetration test manually verifies exploitability, evaluates trust and identity controls, and can chain multiple weaknesses to demonstrate meaningful impact.
CLEAR SCOPE · CONTROLLED TESTING · USEFUL REPORT
Request a Network penetration testing scope
Share the target, environment, roles, and objective. The service field is already selected so you can send the right context quickly.
- Written scope and assumptions before testing
- Safe rules of engagement and escalation path
- Manual validation with reproducible evidence
- Remediation walkthrough and one retest round
TELL US ABOUT YOUR SCOPE
Request a security assessment
Share a few details about the target and your goals. We will reply with the right testing approach and a clear proposal.
Protected against automated submissions. Only submit systems you own or are authorized to test. Do not include passwords, API keys, or other secrets.