Network penetration testing
A network penetration test attacks the infrastructure layer: the perimeter, remote access, network devices, exposed services, the segmentation between zones, and the directory that authenticates all of it. A good tester does not hand back a list of missing patches. They chain what they find into a path — exposed service, foothold, domain control — and show you exactly where that path can be broken.
For the teams who own the infrastructure, not just the app
Infrastructure and IT teams who inherited a network built over a decade and need to know which of its old assumptions still hold.
Organizations with flat or partially segmented networks that want to know how far one compromised laptop actually gets.
Teams running an Active Directory estate that nobody has deliberately attacked since the day it was set up.
What a network test covers that a scan and an app test do not
The three get quoted against each other as if they were interchangeable. They answer different questions. A scan tells you what is known to be wrong right now. An application test tells you whether one product can be abused by the people allowed to use it. A network test tells you how far someone gets once they are inside your infrastructure — and it is the only one of the three that produces an attack path.
The scan column is not a competitor. It is a control you should also be running — the point is that it answers a different question. Strike runs the network test continuously rather than in a yearly window, so a newly exposed service gets tested when it appears.
The five phases, and what each one produces
Findings that come back most often, and why they matter
Frequently asked questions
What does a network penetration test include?
Discovery of what is actually reachable, enumeration of the services and directory objects behind it, exploitation of at least one path to a foothold, lateral movement to test segmentation, and privilege escalation toward administrative or directory-level control. The deliverable should describe the chain, not just the individual weaknesses, and should name the earliest step where one change breaks the whole path.
Should I run an internal or an external network test?
They answer different questions and mature programs run both. External testing asks what a stranger on the internet can reach and exploit. Internal testing starts from the assumption that someone is already inside — a phished user, a contractor laptop, a compromised device — and measures how far that gets. If you have never run either, start external, because that is where opportunistic attacks arrive.
How long does a network penetration test take?
In a traditional engagement the testing window is usually the smallest part of the calendar time; scheduling, report writing and the retest cycle take longer. Duration scales with the number of live hosts and the complexity of the directory, not with the size of the address range. In a continuous model there is no window: testing runs, and findings are delivered as each one is validated.
Do testers need credentials for a network test?
Not to start. A useful internal test usually begins unauthenticated to reproduce the position of an attacker who just landed on the network, then uses whatever it captures. Providing a standard user account as well is worth doing, because it lets the tester cover the authenticated attack surface in the time available instead of spending the engagement earning access you could have granted.
Can a network penetration test break something?
Any active testing carries some risk, which is why scope, timing and escalation contacts are agreed in advance. Denial-of-service testing is normally excluded by default. Fragile legacy systems should be flagged so they can be handled carefully or tested in a mirrored environment. The realistic risk is a service becoming briefly unresponsive, and it should be covered by an agreed contact who can act immediately.
How is this different from running a vulnerability scanner?
A scanner reports what is known to be wrong with each system in isolation. A network test reports what an attacker can do with those systems together. The difference shows up in the findings that matter most: a permissive firewall rule, an over-privileged service account and one unpatched host are three unremarkable entries on a scan report and one domain compromise on a pentest report.
A network engagement is usually bought as two halves. Each has its own page, because each answers a different question.
Our solution architecture
A centralized platform that combines continuous asset monitoring, autonomous threat emulation, and expert remediation support—powered by AI agents, human validation, and a dedicated governance team.
ALWAYS-ON PLATFORM
More than a test. A strategic layer for real security.
Our AI is powered by a proprietary data layer built from thousands of hours of pentesting and real-world validations. Strike combines autonomous execution and expert human validation to uncover complex risks, reduce noise, and prioritize actionable findings.
In-depth continuous testing
Strikers uncover high-impact vulnerabilities across multi-technology environments (web apps, APIs, mobile, cloud, and more).
AI-led retesting on-demand
Validate fixes instantly, without waiting for the next testing cycle.
Real-time fixing
AI agents guide your team step-by-step through remediation to accelerate resolution.
Step-by-step Threat emulation creation
Easily scope, launch, and track your Threat emulation with full transparency.
Human triaging & peer review
Every finding is validated by security experts to ensure accuracy and impact.
Full visibility
Track every finding with complete transparency through security expert work logs and real-time notifications.
Seamless integrations
Connect directly with Slack, Teams and Jira to streamline collaboration with your security and development teams.
Vulnerability Manager
Visualize, manage, and retest vulnerabilities in one platform, with full context on severity, sources, and remediation.
Compliance-ready reporting
Automatically generate up-to-date reports aligned with PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001, SOC 2, and more.
Ongoing partnership
Weekly check-ins with a dedicated Customer Success Manager, plus personalized onboarding and strategic planning.
More than an offensive security platform, Strike operates as a continuous validation layer for environments that never stop changing.
Trusted by security teams that lead
Human expertise.
AI power.
Superior security.
Whether you’re scaling fast, closing enterprise deals, or just tired of noisy reports, we’ll help you build a security stack that moves faster than your threats.
