3
Critical Vulnerabilities
Identified
OWASP
Top 10 vulnerabilities tested
Black / grey / white
Box testing approaches
Written report
With risk-ranked findings
Annual
Testing recommended
Engagement Scoping & Threat Modeling
A penetration test scoped too broadly wastes time on systems an attacker would never bother with. Scoped too narrowly, it misses the actual risk. We design attack scenarios around the threats your organization genuinely faces, profiling the actors most likely to target your sector and data, mapping your critical systems and business logic, and defining a scope that produces findings your team can act on. The result is a test that simulates a real attack, not a checkbox exercise.
Reconnaissance & Intelligence Gathering
Attackers spend significant time learning your environment before they move. Shadow IT assets, forgotten subdomains, exposed staging environments, and public technology stack disclosures are the entry points internal teams do not know exist. We conduct passive and active reconnaissance using the same techniques and sources an attacker would use, and this phase alone regularly surfaces assets and exposures that your security team had no visibility into.
Deep Manual Exploitation
Scanners find what they were trained to look for. Skilled testers find what the application was never designed to prevent. Our testers manually probe authentication and session management, authorization controls, injection points, business logic paths that produce unintended outcomes, and API vulnerabilities aligned to OWASP API Top 10. The findings from this phase are typically the ones your scanner never reported, and the ones attackers would actually use.
Post-Exploitation & Lateral Movement
Most security programs are built to prevent initial access, but the real damage in a breach happens after an attacker is already in. We simulate what an attacker does with their first foothold: privilege escalation, persistence mechanisms, internal network traversal, and movement toward your most sensitive data or critical systems. This phase shows you not just that a vulnerability exists, but what it actually enables an attacker to do with it.
Proof of Impact & Reporting
A finding rated "High" with no business context does not help your leadership decide whether it needs immediate remediation or can wait for the next sprint. We document every finding with a controlled proof-of-concept that demonstrates the actual impact, what data is exposed, what account can be taken over, what operation can be disrupted, and deliver two reports: a technical report for your engineering team with reproduction steps and remediation guidance, and an executive summary that translates findings into business risk without requiring a security background to read.
Retesting & Strategic Advisory
A penetration test report that gets filed away after the first read did not deliver value. Fixes get implemented incorrectly, new issues surface in neighboring code, and remediation debt builds. We retest every significant finding after your team has remediated to confirm the fix is effective, not just that the obvious attack path is closed. We also provide strategic guidance on the underlying architecture and development patterns that produced the vulnerabilities, so future sprints do not reintroduce the same issues.
AI Attack Simulation
AI-powered attacks operate differently from traditional human-directed ones. They move faster, adapt to obstacles, and do not follow predictable patterns that conventional defenses were trained to catch. We simulate AI-driven attack scenarios including autonomous agent-based intrusion, AI-assisted phishing campaigns targeting your specific users, and adaptive exploitation techniques that modify behavior when initial approaches fail. This tests whether your detection and response capabilities can identify and contain an attack that does not behave like a human attacker.
Understanding Penetration Testing
What organizations need to know before commissioning a test
What is penetration testing?
Penetration testing is a simulated cyberattack conducted by authorized security professionals to identify exploitable vulnerabilities in your systems, applications, or network before a real attacker does. Unlike automated vulnerability scanning, manual pen testing chains individual weaknesses into realistic attack paths, uncovers business logic flaws, and demonstrates the actual impact of a successful breach with controlled proof-of-concept exploits.
Who needs it?
Penetration testing is required or strongly expected by PCI DSS, SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO 27001, CMMC, and most cyber insurance policies. Beyond compliance, any organization handling sensitive customer data, processing payments, operating critical infrastructure, or preparing for an enterprise sales cycle with security questionnaires should conduct annual penetration testing, and after significant system changes.
Why does it matter?
Vulnerability scanners find known vulnerabilities. Attackers find attack chains. The difference between a scan and a penetration test is the difference between a checklist and an adversary. Organizations that rely solely on automated tools routinely have critical exposures that no scanner ever flagged, because the vulnerability was not in a single system, it was in how two systems trusted each other.
How does the process work?
An engagement begins with scoping and rules of engagement, followed by reconnaissance, active exploitation, post-exploitation simulation, and reporting. Engagements are classified by knowledge level: black-box (no prior information), grey-box (partial access credentials), or white-box (full system knowledge). Compliance frameworks typically specify which type they require. Retesting after remediation is included in a quality engagement.
What Makes Us Different From Others
- Manual Testing as the Standard, Not the Exception - We do not rely on automated tools to find the vulnerabilities that matter. Every engagement is led by skilled testers who think and act like real attackers.
- Business Logic Testing Included - Most firms skip business logic vulnerabilities because they require understanding your application, not just running a scanner. We dig into how your system is supposed to work and find where it doesn't.
- Realistic Attack Scenarios - Our engagements are built around the threats your organization actually faces, not a generic checklist applied to every client regardless of industry or risk profile.
- Post-Exploitation Depth - We simulate what happens after initial access, showing the full potential impact of a breach rather than stopping at the first vulnerability found.
- Reports Built for Action - Every finding comes with a clear description, a controlled proof of concept, a business impact statement, and specific steps to fix it. No filler, no fluff.
- Retesting Included - We verify that your fixes actually work. Most firms charge extra for retesting. We build it into the engagement because the goal is a more secure environment, not just a completed report.
garrisonOne uncovered a critical SQL injection flaw in our customer portal that our previous tools had completely missed. Their report was clear, every finding had a business impact statement, and they walked our dev team through each remediation step. We run annual pen tests as standard practice now.
Client results
See how we have helped
Retail
E-Commerce — PCI DSS Penetration Test
Pre-PCI DSS audit penetration test uncovered critical vulnerabilities in the payment processing environment. All findings remediated before the QSA assessment.
Critical
Findings remediated
PCI DSS
Audit passed
0
Post-test failures
Legal
Law Firm — Security Assessment
A 90-day remediation roadmap delivered after a full security assessment. The firm met enterprise client security requirements and avoided a regulatory incident.
90 days
Remediation roadmap
Critical
Risks addressed
100%
Client requirements met
Industry focus
Industries we serve
Penetration Testing Services: Explore by Type
Related Services: Vulnerability Assessment | Security Assessment & Audit | AI Security Services | All Cybersecurity Services
Frequently asked questions
What is penetration testing?
Penetration testing is a controlled security engagement where skilled testers actively attempt to compromise your systems, applications, or network using the same techniques real attackers use. The goal is to find exploitable weaknesses before someone with malicious intent does, and to demonstrate the real impact those weaknesses could have on your business.
What types of penetration testing do you offer?
We conduct web application penetration testing, network penetration testing, API security testing, and internal network assessments. Each engagement is scoped based on your environment and objectives, whether you need a focused test on a single application or a broad assessment across your entire infrastructure.
What is the difference between black box, grey box, and white box testing?
Black box testing simulates an external attacker with no prior knowledge of your environment. Grey box testing gives the tester partial information, such as user credentials, to simulate an insider or compromised account. White box testing provides full access to documentation and source code for the most thorough coverage. We recommend grey or white box testing for most engagements because they produce more actionable findings.
Will penetration testing cause any downtime or disruption?
We design our engagements to avoid service disruption. Testing is conducted in a controlled manner, and any potentially disruptive tests are discussed with your team in advance. We coordinate timing around your operational windows so the work has minimal impact on your day-to-day operations.
How long does a penetration test take?
A focused web application test typically takes one to two weeks. A comprehensive network or infrastructure test may take two to four weeks depending on scope. We provide a clear timeline during scoping so your team can plan accordingly.
What do we get at the end of the engagement?
You receive a detailed report with every vulnerability found, a controlled proof-of-concept demonstration of its impact, the business risk it represents, and specific remediation steps. We also provide an executive summary for leadership and stay available to walk your team through the findings.
Do you retest after we fix the issues?
Yes. Retesting is included in our engagements. Once your team has addressed the findings, we verify that the fixes are effective and that no new vulnerabilities were introduced during remediation.
How often should we run a penetration test?
Most organizations run penetration tests annually or after significant changes to their environment, such as new application releases, infrastructure changes, or cloud migrations. High-risk industries such as finance and healthcare often require more frequent testing to meet compliance obligations.
Resources
Company
Contact
- US: 4752 Euclid Rd Suite 11,
Virginia Beach, VA 23462 - India: Orchard Street, Sector 61,
Gurgaon, Haryana - Phone: (301) 825-5518
- info@garrisonone.com
