Penetration Testing Services Find Your Vulnerabilities Before Attackers Do.
Network. Web App. Social Engineering. Wireless.

A vulnerability scan is automated — software tools scan systems, check software versions, and identify known vulnerabilities by comparing against databases of CVEs. A vulnerability scan tells you what's known to be unpatched or misconfigured. A penetration test is adversarial — a skilled assessor actively attempts to exploit what they find, chain vulnerabilities together to achieve a meaningful objective (access to sensitive data, domain administrator privileges, lateral movement to production systems), and demonstrate the business impact of discovered vulnerabilities. Compliance frameworks that require penetration testing (PCI DSS, NY DFS Part 500, SOC 2) specify penetration testing because they want evidence of what an attacker could actually accomplish with the vulnerabilities that exist in the environment — not just a list of patches that haven't been applied. Gradius delivers both: automated vulnerability scanning as part of the ongoing security program, and penetration testing that demonstrates real attack paths.

Penetration test timelines depend on scope. An external network penetration test for a small to mid-size organization (under 50 internet-facing assets) typically takes 3–5 days of active testing. An internal network penetration test adds 2–4 days depending on network complexity. A web application penetration test for a single application typically takes 3–5 days. Social engineering engagements (targeted spear phishing, vishing, pretexting) are typically conducted over 1–2 weeks to allow sufficient time for realistic campaign execution. A full-scope engagement covering external network, internal network, web application, social engineering, and wireless typically spans 2–3 weeks of active testing. Report delivery typically follows within 5–7 business days of testing completion. Post-test remediation and validation retesting adds time depending on the number and severity of findings. Most organizations complete the full cycle — testing, reporting, remediation, and validation — within 4–8 weeks of engagement start.

Several major compliance frameworks require or strongly expect penetration testing. PCI DSS Requirement 11.4 mandates annual penetration testing of systems in scope for the cardholder data environment — both internal and external network penetration testing, conducted by a qualified internal resource or an approved third-party tester. NY DFS Part 500 (2023 amendments) requires covered entities to conduct annual penetration testing of their systems and use the results to inform the risk assessment. SOC 2 auditors increasingly expect evidence of penetration testing as a validation of security controls — particularly for the Security and Availability trust services criteria. HIPAA's Security Rule doesn't explicitly mandate penetration testing, but OCR guidance and audit protocols treat it as a best practice for satisfying the technical safeguard evaluation requirement. Cyber insurance carriers increasingly require annual penetration testing as a condition of coverage or as a factor in underwriting decisions. Gradius produces reports formatted to satisfy each applicable framework's documentation requirements.

Critical findings during active testing are communicated to the client immediately — before the final report is delivered — so that particularly dangerous exposures can be remediated as soon as they're discovered rather than waiting for the end of the test. After testing completes, the final report prioritizes findings by severity: critical and high findings are the immediate remediation priorities because they represent attack paths that an attacker could exploit with significant business impact. Gradius provides post-test remediation support — working with the organization's team or Gradius's own engineers to close critical and high findings, conducting targeted retesting to validate that fixes are effective, and issuing a remediation validation report. For organizations on the Gradius managed IT or security program, critical findings from pen tests can be remediated directly by the same team that conducted the test — without engaging a separate implementation resource.

Penetration testing engagements are scoped and priced per engagement — not on a monthly flat-rate model. Ongoing managed IT and security programs are monthly flat-rate. Most organizations require penetration testing annually (or semi-annually for some compliance frameworks) and pair the pen test with the continuous managed security program that monitors and defends the environment between tests. Gradius provides both: the annual penetration test and the continuous security program that maximizes the value of the test findings by implementing remediation and maintaining the hardened posture between test cycles.

We serve 12+ industries in NJ, NY & CT including healthcare, legal, financial services, construction, manufacturing, real estate, insurance, architecture, professional services, restaurants, nonprofits, and general business — each with specialized compliance and operational expertise built in.