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Penetration Testing

External, internal, web app, wireless, and social engineering — real tactics, techniques, and procedures with prioritized remediation.

A vulnerability scan tells you what might be wrong. A penetration test tells you what an attacker can actually do. Forged conducts offensive security assessments that simulate real-world attacks against your environment — external, internal, web application, wireless, and social engineering — using the same tactics, techniques, and procedures that actual threat actors deploy. We chain vulnerabilities together, attempt lateral movement, and document exactly how far an adversary can get. The deliverable is a prioritized remediation roadmap that your team can execute on, not a 200-page automated report that collects dust. Organizations that invest in real-world testing before an incident consistently spend a fraction of what a breach response costs — and satisfy insurance carrier and compliance requirements in the process.

What's Covered

Scope of Assessment

External Penetration Testing

Attack simulation against your internet-facing infrastructure — firewalls, VPNs, web servers, email gateways, DNS, and cloud services. We find what's exposed and prove what's exploitable from the outside.

Internal Penetration Testing

Simulating an attacker who's already inside your network — a compromised workstation, a malicious insider, or a contractor with too much access. Lateral movement, privilege escalation, and domain compromise testing.

Web Application Testing

OWASP-aligned assessment of your web applications, portals, and APIs — injection, authentication bypass, authorization flaws, data exposure, business logic vulnerabilities, and session management weaknesses.

Wireless Security Testing

Rogue access point detection, WPA/WPA2/WPA3 cracking attempts, evil twin attacks, client isolation testing, and guest network segmentation validation. Proving whether your wireless is a backdoor.

Social Engineering

Phishing campaigns, pretexting phone calls, physical access testing, badge cloning, and tailgating scenarios. Measuring your human attack surface — the one vulnerability no firewall can patch.

Red Team Operations

Full-scope adversary simulation with minimal rules of engagement. We combine technical exploitation, social engineering, and physical access to test your security program end-to-end — people, processes, and technology.

Our Process

How It Works

01

Scoping & Rules of Engagement

We define exactly what's in scope, what's off limits, what success looks like, and how we'll communicate during the engagement. Rules of engagement documented and signed before any testing begins.

  • Target identification — IP ranges, domains, applications, physical locations
  • Testing window definition — dates, times, and coordination with your team
  • Communication protocols — who we contact if we find critical issues mid-test
  • Out-of-scope assets and techniques explicitly documented
  • Legal authorization and rules of engagement signed by both parties
02

Reconnaissance & Discovery

Passive and active intelligence gathering — mapping your attack surface the same way a real threat actor would. OSINT, DNS enumeration, service fingerprinting, and vulnerability identification before exploitation begins.

  • Open-source intelligence (OSINT) — publicly available information about your organization
  • DNS enumeration — subdomains, mail servers, name servers, zone transfer attempts
  • Service discovery — ports, protocols, versions, and configurations
  • Vulnerability scanning — known CVEs, misconfigurations, and default credentials
  • Attack surface mapping — every potential entry point cataloged and prioritized
03

Exploitation & Post-Exploitation

This is where we prove impact. We exploit vulnerabilities, chain them together, escalate privileges, move laterally, and demonstrate what an attacker could actually achieve — data access, system control, or business disruption.

  • Vulnerability exploitation with proof-of-concept demonstrations
  • Privilege escalation — local admin to domain admin progression
  • Lateral movement — pivoting through the network to reach critical assets
  • Data exfiltration demonstration — proving access to sensitive information
  • Persistence testing — can an attacker maintain access after initial exploitation
04

Reporting & Remediation Planning

Detailed findings report with every vulnerability documented, risk-rated, and paired with specific remediation steps. Executive summary for leadership. Technical detail for your engineers. Remediation prioritization based on real-world exploitability — not CVSS scores alone.

  • Executive summary — key findings, risk highlights, and strategic recommendations
  • Technical findings — each vulnerability with description, evidence, impact, and remediation
  • Attack narrative — step-by-step walkthrough of the attack chain we used
  • Prioritized remediation roadmap — what to fix first based on exploitability and impact
  • Retest availability — we verify your fixes actually work after remediation
Deliverables

What You Receive

Executive Summary Report

2–3 page leadership-ready document with overall risk rating, key findings, and strategic recommendations. Designed for board presentations, insurance conversations, and compliance documentation.

Technical Findings Report

Detailed documentation of every finding — vulnerability description, evidence (screenshots, command output), CVSS score, business impact, and step-by-step remediation guidance. Typically 30–80 pages depending on scope.

Attack Narrative

Chronological walkthrough of the attack chain — from initial access through privilege escalation, lateral movement, and objective achievement. Shows how individual vulnerabilities combine into real-world attack scenarios.

Remediation Priority Matrix

Every finding rated by exploitability and business impact — not just CVSS. Critical and high findings with clear fix-by dates. Quick wins identified separately from strategic improvements.

Evidence Package

Screenshots, command logs, captured data samples (sanitized), and proof-of-concept scripts. Complete evidence trail for your records, your auditor, and your remediation team.

Retest Report

After you've remediated, we retest every finding to verify the fix is effective. Retest report confirms what's resolved and flags anything that still needs attention. Included in the engagement.

Who It's For

Is This Right for You?

Compliance Requirements

PCI-DSS requires annual pen testing. CMMC, SOC 2, HIPAA, and many cyber insurance policies require or strongly recommend it. We deliver the test and the report your auditor needs.

Post-Deployment Validation

Just finished a network build, cloud migration, or security overhaul? A pen test validates that what was designed and deployed actually works as intended against real attack techniques.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Acquiring a company means inheriting their security posture. A pen test before close reveals what you're taking on — exposed systems, compromised credentials, and unpatched vulnerabilities.

Annual Security Assessment

Organizations that take security seriously test annually — at minimum. Year-over-year results show whether your security program is improving, stagnating, or regressing.

Incident Response Preparation

You haven't been breached yet — or you have and don't know it. A pen test reveals the attack paths that exist right now so you can close them before someone else finds them.

Customer & Partner Assurance

Your customers and partners are asking about your security posture. A third-party pen test report is the most credible evidence you can provide — more convincing than any questionnaire response.

Common Questions

FAQ

What's the difference between a vulnerability scan and a penetration test?

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A vulnerability scan is automated software that checks for known issues — like running a metal detector. A penetration test is a skilled human who thinks like an attacker, chains vulnerabilities together, and proves what's actually exploitable — like hiring someone to actually try to break in. Scans find potential problems. Pen tests prove real ones.

Will pen testing break anything or cause downtime?

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In the vast majority of cases, no. We use techniques calibrated to avoid service disruption. Denial-of-service testing and potentially destructive exploits are only performed with explicit authorization and during agreed maintenance windows. We've tested thousands of systems without causing unplanned outages. That said, testing carries inherent risk — which is why scoping and rules of engagement are documented carefully.

How often should we conduct penetration testing?

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At minimum, annually — and after any significant infrastructure change (network redesign, cloud migration, major application release, M&A). PCI-DSS requires annual external and internal testing plus testing after significant changes. Organizations with higher risk profiles or rapid change should consider semi-annual or continuous testing programs.

What certifications do your testers hold?

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Our offensive security team holds OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional), GPEN (GIAC Penetration Tester), CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker), and relevant vendor-specific certifications. More importantly, our testers have real-world experience finding and exploiting vulnerabilities — certifications prove knowledge, but experience proves capability.

How much does a penetration test cost?

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External-only assessments for a small environment start around $8,000. A comprehensive engagement covering external, internal, wireless, and web application testing for a mid-size organization typically runs $15,000–$35,000. Red team operations with social engineering and physical testing are scoped individually. We provide fixed-price quotes after a scoping call — no hourly billing surprises.

Case Study
750-Staff Nonprofit Health Organization
Consolidated IT operations and improved quality without business interruption.
Read Case Study

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