Discover what attackers see when they look at your organisation from the outside. Our external network testing simulates real-world attacks to identify vulnerabilities in your internet-facing infrastructure before malicious actors can exploit them.
External Network Penetration Testing assesses your internet-facing infrastructure. This may include firewalls, VPNs, mail servers and other network services which could be exploited by unauthenticated attackers. It focuses on identifying vulenrabilities in your perimeter security.
T-14 days
Our scoping process begins with identifying all internet-facing assets and infrastructure that should be included in the assessment. We work with you to understand your network architecture and define clear testing boundaries.
This phase ensures we have a comprehensive view of your external attack surface while respecting any testing limitations.
T-7 days
We work with you to establish testing windows that minimise business impact and ensure proper monitoring is in place. This includes setting up appropriate notifications for your security team and confirming emergency contact procedures.
We’ll also verify that all necessary authorisations are in place to conduct external scanning and testing activities.
Testing begins with our expert team conducting both automated and manual assessments of your external infrastructure. We employ a combination of commercial and custom-built tools to identify potential security weaknesses.
Any critical vulnerabilities discovered during testing are reported immediately to allow for swift remediation.
T+14 Days
Upon completion of testing, we deliver a comprehensive report detailing all discovered vulnerabilities, their potential impact, and specific recommendations for remediation.
Our debrief session walks through the findings in detail, ensuring your team understands the risks and has a clear roadmap for implementing security improvements.
Discover and address vulnerabilities in your internet-facing infrastructure before they can be exploited by malicious actors. Regular external testing helps maintain a strong security posture against evolving threats.
Meet compliance requirements for regular security assessments while gaining actionable insights to improve your security posture. Many regulatory frameworks require regular external security testing.
Verify that your perimeter security controls, including firewalls, IDS/IPS systems, and access controls, are effectively configured and protecting your assets as intended.
Test your organisation's ability to detect and respond to external threats. External testing provides valuable insights into your security team's capabilities and helps identify areas for improvement in your incident response processes.
Our external network penetration testing combines automated scanning with extensive manual testing to provide comprehensive coverage of your external attack surface.
Project Black's approach to external network testing follows industry-standard methodologies while incorporating our own expertise and custom tools. Our testing process is aligned with frameworks such as NIST SP 800-115 and the Penetration Testing Execution Standard (PTES).
Below are the key testing categories we focus on during external network assessments:
Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Gathering
Before active testing begins, we gather intelligence from public sources to understand your external footprint and identify potential security issues.
Network Enumeration and Discovery
The next phase involves comprehensive mapping of the external network infrastructure to identify all potential entry points and exposed services.
Vulnerability Assessment
We conduct thorough vulnerability scanning and manual verification to identify security weaknesses in network services and infrastructure.
Exploitation and Post-Exploitation
Controlled exploitation of discovered vulnerabilities to demonstrate real-world impact and identify attack chains.
Project Black leverages industry-standard tools and methodologies combined with our proprietary testing frameworks to deliver comprehensive external network security assessments.
To scope the assessment, we need the IP address ranges and/or domain names in scope. We do not require credentials or internal network access - external testing begins from the perspective of an unauthenticated internet-based attacker.
Yes. Cloud-hosted assets (AWS, Azure, GCP) that fall within the agreed IP or domain scope are included. We can also help identify cloud assets that may have been inadvertently exposed, such as misconfigured S3 buckets or storage accounts.
Automated vulnerability scans identify known software vulnerabilities but cannot chain findings together, assess business logic, or validate exploitability. Our manual testing goes further - we verify each finding is genuinely exploitable and attempt to escalate access to demonstrate real-world impact.
In most cases, no. There may be the rare occasion where a vulnerable service may behave unexpectedly when tested however we’ll bne in touch to arrange a specific test window if this is a concern.
We can test from both listed and unlisted IPs. Whitelisting our IPs allows us to bypass perimeter controls like WAFs and rate limiting to assess the underlying infrastructure. Testing without a whitelist better simulates a real attacker but may reduce coverage - we discuss the best approach during scoping.
Yes. VPNs, remote desktop gateways, and other remote access solutions are common targets in external assessments. We evaluate authentication controls, software versions, and known vulnerabilities in these services.
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