Penetration Testing
Prove Exploitability. Prioritize Fixes. Reduce Real-World Risk.
Digital Warfare delivers penetration testing for networks, web applications, APIs, and cloud environments - focused on what can actually be exploited, how an attacker would chain weaknesses, and what to fix first for the biggest risk reduction.
- Evidence-based findings (not scanner output)
- Clear severity and business impact
- Practical remediation guidance your team can implement
- Executive-ready reporting for leadership and stakeholders
NDA-friendly. Rules of Engagement provided. Clear scope and testing windows.
Our Pen Testers & Auditors
Have Been Featured in...
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Business Impact
Validate real-world exploit paths and prioritize fixes that reduce financial exposure, downtime risk, and costly remediation.
Reduce incident cost by validating exploitable paths (IR, legal, downtime)
Protect revenue + contracts with defensible testing and reporting
Save engineering time by fixing the issues that reduce risk fastest
Designed for teams who need security testing that stands up to scrutiny.
- Structured approach with defined Rules of Engagement
- Reporting that supports security, engineering, and governance conversations
- Testing performed with safety controls to reduce operational impact
- Experienced Pen Testers, each with 25+ years of experience
- Headquartered in McLean VA, operating globally
Unvalidated findings create two expensive outcomes: teams waste cycles fixing low-impact issues, or critical exploit paths remain open until an incident forces emergency spend.
Our Team Has Discovered
Bug Bounty Vulnerabilities in...
Responsible disclosure / bug bounty findings. No affiliation implied.
Vulnerability data isn’t the same as risk.
Many organizations have scanners, EDR, WAFs, and “security tools everywhere” - yet still struggle to answer the questions that matter:
- Which weaknesses are actually exploitable in our environment?
- Can an attacker move laterally or escalate privileges?
- Are we exposed through authentication logic, access control gaps, or misconfigurations that scanners miss?
- If we fix only a few issues this quarter, which fixes reduce the most risk?
Penetration testing is how you convert uncertainty into proof, priority, and a clear remediation path.
What a Digital Warfare penetration test is built to do
A penetration test should create actionable clarity - not noise.
Our engagement is designed to:
- Identify vulnerabilities that are practically exploitable
- Demonstrate attack paths (where applicable) to show how issues chain together
- Validate security controls and detection/response assumptions
- Provide a prioritized remediation plan aligned to real attacker behavior
- Improve readiness for audits, customer security reviews, and internal risk decisions
Client Testimonials
"Since 2019, Digital Warfare has been our preferred vendor to conduct external Pen Testing on our SaaS Platforms. Saul and James are a pleasure to work with; their expertise in the cybersecurity space is impressive and their level of customer service and flexibility is unmatched among vendors. They are attentive, responsive, and thorough in everything they do!"
- Nate Schlossberg, VP Engineering, Feedonomics / Commerce.com
"We first used another company that had great marketing, sales people, and all the awards. They told us we were fine and found nothing, which seemed suspicious but sounded that maybe we did well. Then someone who called themselves a "security researcher" reached out and showed us that we had a ton of holes in our web application and other areas. After wasting a ton of money on the first pen testing company (who would not refund our money), we asked around and the name Digital Warfare kept coming up as highly recommended. They found things that made us squirm but we are glad they found them before a bad guy did. We highly recommend this firm to anyone looking for the real deal."
- David Price, Delphinus Capital
"After reviewing different providers, we chosen Digital Warfare to perform penetration tests and Microsoft 365 security analysis. We couldn’t be happier with that decision! The job has been done in time and manner, including several calls to review results, re-tests, and monthly vulnerability checks. We have established a relationship where we have Digital Warfare as a key partner and our main security advisor. We plan to do more projects together."
- Juan Rosli, Director of Technology, Accial Capital
"Digital Warfare has been an essential partner in our security endeavors for the past 3 years. They are professional, knowledgeable, and above-all, excellent at what they do!"
- Thomas L Stanley, Principal Site Reliability Engineer, Technical Lead, Schedulicity.com
What This Service Includes
Core Coverage
Your penetration test is scoped to your environment and goals, but typical coverage includes:
- External network testing (internet-facing services, perimeter exposure)
- Internal network testing (lateral movement, AD exposure, segmentation validation)
- Web application testing (OWASP-style testing of auth, sessions, access control, input handling, business logic)
- API testing (authN/authZ, token handling, object-level authorization, rate limiting, mass assignment, data exposure)
- Configuration and security control validation (as applicable to scope)
Common Add-Ons
- Cloud configuration testing (AWS/Azure/GCP)
- Wireless testing
- Mobile application testing
- Social engineering (phishing/vishing) - if desired and authorized
- Credentials/identity review (within a defined RoE)
- Segmentation and zero-trust validation
- Purple-team style collaboration (test + improve detections)
What We Don’t Do (Without Explicit Authorization)
To protect your operations and keep expectations clean, we do not perform disruptive actions (e.g., denial-of-service, destructive payloads, production instability) unless explicitly approved in the Rules of Engagement.
Deliverables
You’ll receive documentation that your technical team and leadership can use immediately
Deliverables typically include:
Executive summary
Risk themes, highest-impact issues, prioritized next steps
- Executive Risk Summary: impact narrative, exposure themes, prioritized remediation roadmap.
Scope and assumptions
targets, exclusions, constraints, timing
Findings with evidence
- Reproduction steps
- Screenshots / request traces (as applicable)
- Affected assets / endpoints
- Severity and impact rationale
Remediation guidance
- Recommended fixes
- Compensating controls (when relevant)
- Validation steps to confirm the fix worked
Risk prioritization
- Exploitability considerations
- Likelihood and business impact framing
Outbrief / debrief session
- Walkthrough of results
- Q&A with engineering/security stakeholders
Methodology and Process
A defined process reduces surprises and produces better outcomes
Scoping & kickoff
We align on goals (e.g., “prove external exposure,” “validate segmentation,” “test app authZ”), define targets, confirm exclusions, and establish communication and escalation paths.
STEP 1
Rules of Engagement (RoE)
You receive an RoE that defines:
- Allowed testing windows
- Points of contact
- Safe-testing constraints
- Data handling expectations
- Incident escalation procedures
STEP 2
Recon & enumeration
We map the attack surface, discover reachable services, and identify likely pathways based on real attacker tradecraft.
STEP 3
Exploitation and validation
We attempt to safely exploit identified weaknesses to confirm impact and eliminate noise.
STEP 4
Post-exploitation (as authorized)
Where explicitly allowed, we validate lateral movement paths, privilege escalation, sensitive data access, and control effectiveness.
STEP 5
Reporting & prioritization
Findings are consolidated into a report designed to drive decisions and engineering action - not just document issues.
STEP 6
Debrief and next steps
We review findings with stakeholders and align on remediation priorities and validation plans.
STEP 7
Retesting & Report updates
We review retest findings and provide clean testing reports.
STEP 8
Pen testing that your engineers won’t hate - and your leadership can act on
What we optimize for:
- Signal over noise: manual validation and evidence-based findings
- Exploitability-first: focus on what can be chained and abused in practice
- Clean communication: clear scope, clear RoE, clear reporting
- Actionable remediation: written so engineering teams can fix issues without guesswork
- Security maturity support: optional mapping of results into broader risk and control programs
Proof and Practical Expectations
What “good” looks like after a penetration test
Because every environment is different, the best proof is what changes afterward:
- A shortlist of highest-impact remediation actions
- Reduced attack surface and fewer high-risk exposures
- Better visibility into how an attacker could traverse systems
- Cleaner internal narratives for audits, customer due diligence, and leadership updates
Who This Is For
Teams that need real answers - not checkbox testing
Penetration testing is ideal for:
- Security leaders who need prioritized remediation and risk clarity
- Engineering teams preparing for launches, migrations, or major releases
- Organizations responding to customer questionnaires or vendor risk reviews
- Companies preparing for audits (SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / internal controls)
- Teams with “too many findings” who need validated exploitability
Common trigger events:
- Before an audit or customer security review
- After a security incident or suspicious activity
- Before rolling out a new app, API, or major feature
- After infrastructure changes (cloud migration, new
Compliance and Framework Mapping
Support compliance without turning the test into a paperwork exercise
While penetration testing is not the same as a full compliance audit, results can support common security programs by providing evidence for areas such as:
- Vulnerability management and remediation tracking
- Secure SDLC validation and release readiness
- Control effectiveness verification (where applicable)
- Risk-based prioritization and reporting
If you want explicit mapping:
We can structure reporting to better support alignment with frameworks such as NIST CSF, NIST 800-53, and ISO 27001 and their expectations (depending on scope and your internal program needs).
Engagement Options
Flexible formats depending on your goals and timeline
Common engagement models:
- Fixed-scope engagement (defined targets and timeline)
- Phased testing (e.g., external first, internal second, then web/API)
- Continuous / recurring testing cadence (quarterly or release-based)
What influences scope and cost:
- Number of targets and applications
- Complexity (auth flows, integrations, roles, multi-tenant logic)
- Environment constraints (prod vs staging, test windows, access)
- Time sensitivity and reporting requirements
- Need for add-ons (cloud, mobile, wireless, social engineering)
Risk Reversal
Reduce uncertainty before you commit
To make the engagement predictable:
- You receive a written scope summary before testing begins
- Rules of Engagement are defined up front (no “surprise” testing)
- Findings can be reviewed in a live session to ensure accuracy and shared understanding
- Retest/validation is included on all pen tests
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
1What’s the difference between a vulnerability scan and a penetration test?
A vulnerability scan identifies potential issues using automated checks. A penetration test validates exploitability and real-world impact through manual analysis, chaining weaknesses, and producing evidence-based findings.
2What types of penetration tests do you offer?
Typical options include external network, internal network, web application, and API penetration testing. We also support add-ons like cloud, wireless, and mobile testing depending on scope.
3How do you keep testing safe for production systems?
We define a Rules of Engagement with approved windows, escalation contacts, and constraints. We avoid disruptive activities unless explicitly authorized and plan testing to reduce operational risk.
4What do you need from us to start?
Usually: a point of contact, target list, testing windows, and any required access (VPN, accounts, staging details). We’ll confirm requirements during scoping.
5Can you test authenticated areas of an application?
Yes - authenticated testing is often where the highest-impact issues are found (authorization gaps, role bypass, IDOR/BOLA, session handling, business logic flaws). We’ll define necessary roles/accounts during scoping.
6Do you provide a retest?
Retesting is included on all pen tests.
7How long does a penetration test take?
It depends on scope, complexity, and access. Many engagements run from several days to multiple weeks end-to-end when including reporting and debrief.
8Will the report include remediation guidance?
Yes. Findings include practical remediation guidance and validation steps so your team can confirm fixes.
9Do you map findings to OWASP or CVSS?
We can include common security categories (e.g., OWASP-style classifications for app testing) and severity scoring approaches (e.g., CVSS-style reasoning) where appropriate for your reporting needs.
10Can you work under an NDA?
Yes. NDA-first engagements are common for penetration testing.
11Do you support audits like SOC 2 or ISO 27001?
Pen testing can provide strong supporting evidence, especially around validation of security controls and vulnerability management. If you need audit-friendly structure, tell us during scoping.
12What will you NOT do during a test?
We do not perform disruptive actions (like denial-of-service) or destructive payloads unless explicitly authorized in the Rules of Engagement.
13How does penetration testing reduce financial risk?
Penetration testing reduces financial risk by validating which weaknesses are truly exploitable and prioritizing fixes that reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents. The output helps teams avoid wasted remediation effort, reduce downtime exposure, support customer security
Turn unknown risk into prioritized action
If you’re relying on scans, assumptions, or compliance checklists alone, you’re missing what attackers exploit in practice. A penetration test gives you:
- Proof of what’s exploitable
- Prioritized fixes with real impact
- Documentation leadership can act on
- Clear next steps for engineering and security
