Penetration testing
CREST-accredited penetration testing for Australian organisations, delivered by senior consultants and focused on findings you can act on with confidence.
operating since 2017.
Your environment changes constantly. New systems, integrations, cloud services, and user behaviours can introduce weaknesses that aren't visible to internal teams or routine scanning.
Penetration testing simulates realistic attack scenarios to identify vulnerabilities a motivated attacker could exploit. Engagements are scoped collaboratively, delivered by experienced consultants, and reported in a way that supports clear remediation decisions.
Done well, penetration testing is a risk-reduction exercise. The goal is to give you a credible view of your security posture and a practical path forward.
Best for
Organisations seeking an independent, technically rigorous assessment of their security to identify exploitable weaknesses, validate existing controls, and reduce real-world risk. Common drivers include:
- Customer, partner, or insurer requirements for independent testing
- Regulatory or compliance obligations
- Validating security investment and existing controls
- Preparing for or supporting ISO 27001, SOC 2, or similar certifications
- Assessing newly deployed systems, environments, or applications
Why choose us for your penetration test
CREST accredited
Your test is performed under CREST (International) accreditation across Australasia, giving your customers, board, and procurement teams confidence that testing has been performed to a recognised professional standard.
Senior consultants, based in Australia
Your engagement is scoped and delivered end-to-end by experienced consultants based in Brisbane, working with clients across Australia. You get sound judgement, sensible scoping, and findings that reflect real exploitability, with the local context and accountability that comes from working with Australian organisations every day.
Findings prioritised by impact
Your report is written to support decisions. Findings are prioritised by exploitability and business impact, with clear remediation guidance so you know what to address first and why. Long lists of low-impact issues are not the goal.
Types of penetration testing
Engagement types include:
- External infrastructure and network penetration testing
- Internal network penetration testing
- Web application penetration testing
- Cloud environment penetration testing
- API security testing
- Targeted testing aligned to specific business risks
Your engagement is scoped around your environment and objectives rather than delivered as a one-size-fits-all exercise.
How a penetration test runs
Scoping and planning
You and your senior consultant agree clear objectives, identify critical assets and attack surfaces, and confirm testing constraints, timing, and communication protocols. Scope and rules of engagement are documented before testing begins.
Testing and analysis
Your consultant performs controlled testing that simulates realistic attacker behaviour, identifying exploitable vulnerabilities and insecure configurations and attempting practical exploitation where appropriate to validate impact. Findings are analysed for exploitability, chained together where relevant to demonstrate realistic attack paths, and assessed against the business context you provided during scoping.
Testing is designed to be thorough while minimising disruption to business operations, and anything ambiguous is verified before it lands in your report.
Reporting
You receive a structured report covering executive summary, technical findings, evidence, business impact, and prioritised remediation guidance. The report is written to be useful to both your technical team and your board.
Walkthrough and post-engagement support
Your consultant walks the relevant stakeholders through the report, answers questions, and supports remediation prioritisation. Re-testing is available once findings have been addressed, so you can verify that fixes hold up.
Challenges we help you address
Lack of visibility into real risk
Internal assessments and automated tools rarely show how an attacker would actually exploit your environment. Your test demonstrates realistic attack paths and business impact, helping you focus effort where it matters.
Needing credible evidence for stakeholders
Your customers, partners, insurers, and auditors increasingly require independent assurance. CREST-accredited testing and professional reporting provide credible evidence that testing has been performed competently and independently.
Reports that overwhelm rather than clarify
Long lists of low-impact findings make it hard to prioritise. Your report prioritises by exploitability and impact, with clear guidance on what to address first and why.
Vulnerability scans dressed up as penetration tests
Some "penetration tests" are little more than an automated scan with a report cover. Your engagement is delivered by experienced consultants who validate findings through controlled exploitation, chain weaknesses together to demonstrate realistic attack paths, and assess impact against your business context. The result is a test that reflects what a motivated attacker with modern tooling could actually do, not a scanner-generated list of CVEs.
Concern about disruption
Security improvement shouldn't come at the cost of business stability. Your test is planned carefully, communicated clearly throughout, and uses controlled techniques to minimise risk while still achieving meaningful coverage.
Outcomes
After your penetration test, you'll have:
- A credible, independent view of your real-world security posture
- A prioritised list of findings with clear remediation guidance
- A report suitable for executive, board, and customer review
- Evidence that supports your compliance, insurance, and procurement requirements
Proof in practice.
A snapshot of how we've helped Australian organisations strengthen security, meet stakeholder expectations, and move forward with confidence.
Frequently asked questions.
Straight answers to the questions we hear most. Can't find yours? We're happy to help.
Most engagements run between one and three weeks of testing, plus scoping and reporting time. The right duration depends on your scope, complexity, and the depth of testing required. You'll get a recommendation during scoping rather than a fixed package.
Often, yes. Production testing gives the most realistic view of risk. Where production testing carries operational concerns, your engagement is planned carefully, uses controlled techniques, and follows clear communication protocols. For some scenarios, a representative non-production environment may be more appropriate.
Vulnerability scanning is automated identification of known weaknesses. Penetration testing involves experienced consultants attempting to exploit weaknesses, validate impact, and chain findings together to demonstrate realistic attack paths. They serve different purposes and complement each other.
Scoping starts with a conversation about your environment, objectives, and constraints. You'll get a recommendation that reflects real risk rather than maximised billable hours, with everything confirmed in writing before testing begins.
You receive a full report and a walkthrough session with the relevant stakeholders. From there, you'll have support for remediation prioritisation, follow-up questions, and re-testing once findings have been addressed.
Yes. Our penetration testing is delivered under CREST (International) accreditation across Australasia, by senior consultants with relevant industry credentials.
All Acumenis consultants are based in Australia, with team members in Brisbane and Toowoomba. We support clients nationally and internationally, meeting in person across South East Queensland and travelling as engagements require. Engagements are handled by the same consultant from start to finish, giving you clear accountability and on-shore data handling throughout.
Let's talk about where you are and where you need to be.
Whether you're preparing for certification, validating your controls, or building security foundations for growth, we'll help you get there with clarity and confidence.
