Penetration Testing
Identify vulnerabilities before attackers do. Our ethical hacking services simulate real-world cyber attacks to reveal security gaps and provide actionable remediation strategies that strengthen your defenses.
Our Penetration Testing Process: Ethical Hacking with Full Transparency
Penetration testing should uncover real vulnerabilities without causing business disruption. Here's our structured approach to simulating attacks, identifying weaknesses, and providing remediation guidance—all while keeping your operations running smoothly.
Scoping & Rules of Engagement
Timeline: Week 1
Your Involvement: 2-3 hours for scoping call and approvals
We define exactly what's in scope (IP ranges, applications, physical locations), testing methodology (black-box, gray-box, white-box), and acceptable testing windows. You'll receive a detailed Rules of Engagement document specifying what we will and won't test, how we'll avoid business disruption, and emergency contact procedures if we discover critical vulnerabilities requiring immediate attention.
Reconnaissance & Discovery
Timeline: Week 2
Methods: OSINT, network scanning, service enumeration
Like a real attacker, we gather information about your environment using open-source intelligence, network scanning, and service enumeration. This phase identifies potential attack surfaces—exposed services, application endpoints, email addresses, technology stack details, and other information that could aid an attack. We document everything we find and how we found it.
Exploitation & Validation
Timeline: Weeks 3-4
Communication: Daily status updates
Our certified ethical hackers attempt to exploit identified vulnerabilities using manual testing and industry-standard tools. We validate each finding with proof-of-concept exploits, demonstrating actual impact rather than theoretical risk. For critical findings, we notify you immediately and pause testing if needed. You're never left in the dark—daily updates keep you informed of progress and any concerns.
Reporting & Remediation Support
Timeline: Week 5
Support: 60-day remediation Q&A, optional retest
We deliver comprehensive reports with executive summary, detailed technical findings, proof-of-concept evidence, and step-by-step remediation guidance. Each vulnerability includes CVSS scoring, business impact analysis, and specific fix recommendations. We conduct a findings presentation to ensure your team understands all vulnerabilities. Optionally, we can retest after remediation to verify fixes and provide clean reports for compliance purposes.
Testing Standards & Safety
🛡️ Our Commitments:
- • No testing on production systems during business-critical hours (unless approved)
- • Immediate notification of critical/high-severity findings
- • Secure handling of any discovered credentials or sensitive data
- • Complete data destruction after engagement completion
📜 Methodologies We Follow:
- • PTES (Penetration Testing Execution Standard)
- • OWASP Testing Guide for web applications
- • NIST SP 800-115 Technical Guide to Information Security Testing
- • PCI-DSS penetration testing requirements (when applicable)
Real-World Attack Simulations
Penetration testing is a controlled, ethical hacking exercise designed to identify security weaknesses before malicious actors can exploit them. Our certified security professionals simulate real-world attack scenarios to test your organization's defenses, uncover vulnerabilities, and provide detailed remediation guidance.
Our comprehensive penetration testing services include:
- ✓ External penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities in your internet-facing systems and applications
- ✓ Internal penetration testing to assess security from an insider threat perspective and lateral movement risks
- ✓ Web application testing following OWASP Top 10 methodology to secure your custom applications
- ✓ Wireless network testing to identify rogue access points and Wi-Fi security weaknesses
- ✓ Social engineering assessments including phishing simulations to test your human firewall
- ✓ Detailed reporting with risk ratings, proof-of-concept exploits, and prioritized remediation recommendations
Compliance-Aligned Testing
Our penetration testing methodology aligns with industry standards including NIST 800-115, PTES (Penetration Testing Execution Standard), and compliance requirements for PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and SOC 2. We provide detailed documentation suitable for audit purposes and regulatory compliance validation.
Why Choose Guarded for Penetration Testing
Not all penetration tests are created equal. Here's what differentiates our ethical hacking services from automated scanners and less experienced consultants.
Manual Testing, Not Just Automated Scanning
While many firms rely heavily on automated vulnerability scanners, our certified penetration testers perform extensive manual testing to uncover logic flaws, business logic vulnerabilities, and attack chains that scanners miss. We use tools as starting points, then apply human creativity and expertise to identify the vulnerabilities that actually matter—the ones attackers would exploit to compromise your environment.
Certified, Experienced Testers
Our penetration testing team holds industry-recognized certifications including OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional), CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker), and GPEN (GIAC Penetration Tester). More importantly, they have real-world experience conducting hundreds of penetration tests across diverse industries and environments. You're getting seasoned professionals, not junior consultants learning on your systems.
Business-Safe Testing Protocols
We understand that your business can't afford downtime for a security test. Our testing protocols are designed to minimize risk of disruption—we conduct denial-of-service tests only in isolated environments, avoid destructive exploits on production data, maintain backout procedures for all testing activities, and immediately notify you of critical findings so they're not left unaddressed during the engagement. Your business operations remain your top priority.
Actionable Remediation Guidance
Our reports go beyond identifying problems—we provide specific, actionable remediation steps your team can implement immediately. Each finding includes the vulnerable code or configuration, proof-of-concept exploit demonstrating the impact, detailed remediation instructions with code examples where applicable, and verification steps to confirm the fix. We're focused on helping you get secure, not just documenting that you're vulnerable.
Transparent Pricing & Retest Policy
Penetration testing pricing is based on scope complexity—number of IP addresses, applications, or attack vectors. Typical engagements range from $8,000-$15,000 for external network testing, $12,000-$25,000 for internal network assessments, and $15,000-$35,000 for comprehensive web application security testing. We provide fixed-price quotes after scoping so there are no billing surprises.
Need to verify your fixes? We offer discounted retest engagements ($2,500-$5,000) to validate remediation and provide clean reports for compliance or client requirements. Many organizations schedule annual penetration tests to maintain compliance and continuously validate their security improvements.
Complementary Security Services
Explore our complementary services to build a comprehensive security program
Risk Assessment
Identify vulnerabilities before testing. Our NIST-based risk assessments provide the foundation for targeted penetration testing.
Managed Cybersecurity
Continuous protection after testing. 24/7 monitoring and response to address vulnerabilities discovered during penetration tests.
Tabletop Exercises
Test your response to attacks. Simulate real-world scenarios based on penetration test findings to improve incident response.
Protect Your Business from Cyber Threats
Don't wait for a breach to find your vulnerabilities. Schedule a penetration test to discover and fix security gaps before attackers find them.