Penetration Testing
Guides and field notes on penetration testing for US organizations: scope, cost, methodology and outcomes.
SOC 2 and Penetration Testing: What Auditors Actually Expect
No SOC 2 criterion says penetration testing. Several say you must identify vulnerabilities and evaluate whether controls operate effectively, which auditors read the obvious way.
PCI DSS Penetration Testing Requirements Explained
PCI DSS is unusually specific about testing, which makes it easier to satisfy and easier to fail. Here is what requirement 11.4 actually asks for.
HIPAA Security Rule and Penetration Testing
HIPAA does not name penetration testing. It requires an accurate and thorough risk analysis and periodic technical evaluation, and OCR has been consistent about what inadequate looks like.
ISO 27001 and Penetration Testing: What Auditors Expect
ISO 27001 does not mandate penetration testing by name. It requires you to manage technical vulnerabilities and verify controls work, which in practice amounts to the same thing.
Field Notes: Domain Admin in a Day
An anonymized field note on reaching domain administrator in under eight hours from an ordinary user account, using four ordinary misconfigurations that nobody had connected.
Field Notes: The Air Gap That Was Not
An anonymized field note from an industrial assessment: the control network was described as air-gapped, and four separate connections to the corporate environment said otherwise.
What Is Penetration Testing? A Complete 2026 Guide for US Business
Penetration testing is an authorized, simulated cyber attack that finds and safely exploits weaknesses before real attackers do. Here is what it covers, how it works and why US organizations rely on it.
CMMC Level 2: What Defense Contractors Need to Know
CMMC did not create new requirements. It created verification of requirements defense contractors have carried since 2017, which is why so many are behind.
Cyber Security for Energy, Utilities and Industrial Operators
The air gap most operators believe they have generally does not exist. Connectivity accumulates for good reasons, and nobody reassesses what it adds up to.
FedRAMP Penetration Testing Requirements
FedRAMP is the most prescriptive testing regime most cloud providers will encounter. It names the attack vectors you must cover, which removes the usual scoping arguments.
Penetration Testing vs Vulnerability Scanning: What Is the Difference?
Scanning gives you breadth and currency. Testing gives you depth and proof. Buying one when you needed the other is the most common and most expensive mistake in this decision.
NYDFS Part 500: Penetration Testing and the Amended Rules
Part 500 is among the most specific US cybersecurity regulations, it carries personal certification by a senior officer, and the amendments raised the bar again.
Active Directory Attack Paths: How Attackers Reach Domain Admin
Domain compromise is almost never one exploit. It is a chain of ordinary misconfigurations nobody connected. Here are the links attackers use most and how to break them.
How Much Does Penetration Testing Cost in the USA?
Two proposals for the same environment can differ threefold, and the cheaper one is sometimes right. Here is what actually drives the number and how to compare.
Web and API Attacks: The OWASP Top 10 in Practice
The OWASP Top 10 is a useful map and a poor checklist. Here is what these categories actually look like when an operator finds them, and why access control dominates.
Assumed Breach: The Evolution of Offensive Security
Perimeter testing answers a question most organizations have already conceded. Assumed breach asks the more useful one: when someone gets in, how much does it cost you?
AI in Penetration Testing: What It Actually Changes in 2026
AI has genuinely changed the economics of reconnaissance and correlation. It has not changed who decides whether a finding is real. Here is where the line actually falls.
Continuous Penetration Testing vs Point-in-Time Testing
An annual test describes an environment that no longer exists by the time the report is read. Continuous testing solves that, and introduces problems of its own.
Penetration Testing: FAQs
What does StrikeCyber cover under Penetration Testing?
This topic collects our research, field notes and guidance on penetration testing, written by our operators from real offensive security engagements.
Is StrikeCyber research specific to the United States?
Yes. Our research is grounded in the US threat and compliance landscape, including SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, CMMC, NIST CSF and FedRAMP and local sector risks, while drawing on global attacker tradecraft.
How can I get help with penetration testing?
Beyond the research, our operators deliver offensive security engagements across the United States. Scope a free consultation to discuss your environment.
Ready to take the offensive?
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