Find Your Weaknesses
Before Attackers Do
Penetration testing is the only way to truly know how secure your systems are. Our certified testers simulate real-world attacks on your network, applications and people giving you an honest, evidence-based picture of your risk.
Why Vulnerability Scanning Isn't Enough
Automated vulnerability scanners identify known weaknesses but they can't think creatively, chain vulnerabilities together, test human behaviour, or prove that a weakness is actually exploitable. Penetration testing goes further: a skilled human tester attempts to breach your defences using the same techniques as real attackers.
For businesses seeking Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001 certification, cyber insurance, or simply genuine assurance, a penetration test provides evidence that your controls work under real attack conditions.
- Cyber Essentials Plus requires an independent technical assessment
- Many cyber insurance policies now require annual penetration testing
- 82% of data breaches involve a human element only social engineering tests reveal this (Verizon DBIR 2025)
- Penetration testing satisfies ISO 27001 Annex A.12.6 technical compliance requirements
| Capability | Vuln Scanner | Pen Test |
|---|---|---|
| Identifies known CVEs | Yes | Yes |
| Proves exploitability | No | Yes |
| Chains vulnerabilities | No | Yes |
| Tests human behaviour | No | Yes (social eng.) |
| Context-aware findings | No | Yes |
| Accepted by insurers | Rarely | Yes |
| Cyber Essentials Plus | No | Required |
Our Penetration Testing Services
Scoped, ethical and thoroughly documented testing that gives you actionable results.
External Network Penetration Test
Testing of your internet-facing infrastructure firewalls, VPNs, web services, mail servers from an attacker's external perspective.
- Firewall & perimeter testing
- VPN and remote access
- Exposed services audit
- Public IP enumeration
Internal Network Penetration Test
Simulates an insider threat or post-breach attacker testing what damage can be done from within your network.
- Active Directory attacks
- Lateral movement testing
- Privilege escalation
- Credential harvesting simulation
Web Application Penetration Test
OWASP Top 10-aligned testing of your web applications, APIs and portals finding injection flaws, broken authentication, IDOR and more.
- OWASP Top 10 coverage
- API endpoint testing
- Authentication bypass
- Business logic flaws
Social Engineering & Phishing
Simulated phishing campaigns and pretexting tests to measure your staff's susceptibility to social engineering attacks.
- Targeted spear phishing
- SMS smishing simulation
- Vishing (phone-based) tests
- Awareness gap reporting
Wireless Network Testing
Assessment of your Wi-Fi security testing for weak encryption, rogue access points, guest network isolation and client-side attacks.
- WPA2/3 configuration review
- Rogue AP detection
- Guest network isolation
- Evil twin attack simulation
Cyber Essentials Plus Assessment
The technical assessment component of Cyber Essentials Plus certification conducted by our certified assessors against the NCSC's five controls.
- Boundary firewalls
- Secure configuration
- Access control
- Malware protection
- Patch management verification
Our Testing Process
Structured, ethical and transparent from scoping to remediation verification.
Scoping Call
We define the target, objectives, timeline and rules of engagement no surprises.
Reconnaissance
Passive and active information gathering to understand your attack surface.
Exploitation
Ethical exploitation of identified vulnerabilities to prove real-world impact.
Reporting
A detailed report covering findings, evidence, risk ratings and remediation steps.
Retest
After you've remediated, we verify the fixes included in our engagement price.
Why Choose Use-It for Penetration Testing
We combine ethical hacking expertise with deep knowledge of your IT environment delivering findings you can actually act on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Test Your Defences?
Book a scoping call no commitment, no jargon. We'll tell you exactly what we'd test and what you'll get back.