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ITS Security Division

Penetration Testing That Shows What an Attacker Could Reach

Identify exploitable weaknesses, understand their potential business impact, and get clear remediation priorities through authorized penetration testing.

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Cybersecurity Expertise Backed by Industry Recognition

ITS has earned industry recognition for cybersecurity expertise, managed services, and technology partner performance.

  • CRN MSP 500 2026
  • CRN Tech Elite 250 2026
  • CRN Security 100 2026
  • Cloudtango's MSP Select 2026
  • SonicWall MSP Partner of the Year 2026

Why a Vulnerability Scan Alone Leaves Questions Open

A vulnerability scan identifies potential weaknesses. A penetration test goes further by attempting to exploit selected weaknesses and determine what an attacker could reach. NIST treats them as different activities in its Technical Guide to Information Security Testing and Assessment, SP 800-115.

Findings Are Not Consequences

A list of findings with severity ratings does not tell you whether an attacker could reach your file server, your finance data, or your domain administrator account.

Small Weaknesses Combine

An exposed service, a reused local administrator password, and one over-privileged account can each look minor on their own and together form a complete path.

Untested Assumptions Fail Quietly

Testing provides practical evidence of how controls respond when someone deliberately attempts to bypass them.

Third Parties Ask for Evidence

Some auditors, insurers, and enterprise customers require or request penetration-testing evidence depending on the applicable framework, contract, or risk profile.

What Does a Penetration Test Give Your Business?

A test produces evidence your team can act on and evidence you can show to someone else.

See the Real Attack Path

Findings are presented as the routes a tester actually took, so remediation starts with the path that leads somewhere rather than with the longest list.

Prioritize by Impact

Issues are ranked by what they expose and how readily they can be exploited, not by scanner severity alone.

Find Out Whether Detection Works

Where detection validation is included in scope, testing can show which activities your monitoring detected, escalated, or missed.

Produce Evidence for Third Parties

The report and retest results can provide documented evidence for customers, auditors, or insurers when penetration testing is part of their requirements.

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What Types of Penetration Testing Does ITS Support?

Scope is agreed with you before any testing begins. Depending on your environment and objectives, an engagement can include the following.

External Network Testing

Testing of internet-facing systems and services for exploitable exposure from outside your perimeter.

Internal Network Testing

Testing from a foothold inside the network to establish how far an intruder could move and what they could reach.

Web Application Testing

Testing of web applications and portals against the categories described in the OWASP Web Security Testing Guide, including authentication, access control, and injection weaknesses.

Wireless Testing

Testing of wireless networks and guest separation for weak authentication, rogue access points, and configuration flaws.

Social Engineering

Agreed phishing or pretexting exercises that test how staff and processes respond, run only within the boundaries you authorize.

Reporting and Remediation Support

A findings report written for technical staff and for leadership, a remediation discussion, and retesting of fixed items where the engagement includes it.

PROGRAM, NOT EVENT

A Penetration Test Is a Program, Not an Event

A single test is out of date the day it finishes, and most of what it returns is low severity you will never action. A program establishes a baseline, then tests again each quarter against the criticals and highs, and you choose the target each time. Criticals are reported the day they are found, not at the end.

How Does an ITS Penetration Test Work?

Scope, test, report. Every engagement is bounded by a written agreement before testing begins.

  1. 01Scope and Rules of Engagement

    You and ITS agree what is in scope, what is out of bounds, when testing runs, who is informed, and how a genuine incident found mid-test would be handled. All of it is documented before anything starts.

  2. 02Test

    Testers work through reconnaissance, exploitation attempts, and where authorized post-exploitation, recording every action taken and every finding as they go.

  3. 03Report and Retest

    You receive findings ranked by impact with enough detail to reproduce each one, remediation guidance, a debrief for technical and leadership audiences, and retesting of remediated items where that is in scope.

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How Much Does a Penetration Test Cost?

Penetration testing is scoped and quoted per engagement, because cost follows scope rather than headcount. For context on the surrounding coverage, ITS cybersecurity and managed IT services typically start at $125 per user per month, and testing is scoped against the environment to be tested.

Schedule a meeting below to scope an engagement and get a quote for your environment.

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What shapes an engagement quote

  • Scope

    Which networks, applications, and locations are included, and how many external and internal targets they contain.

  • Test Type and Depth

    External, internal, application, wireless, or social engineering, and how far post-exploitation is authorized to go.

  • Testing Window

    Whether testing runs inside or outside business hours, and how much coordination with your team it requires.

  • Reporting and Retesting Needs

    Whether remediation retesting and additional reporting for auditors or insurers are included.

How ITS Works With Your Team on Testing

Two ground rules that apply to every ITS testing engagement.

Nothing Is Tested Without Written Authorization

Scope, timing, exclusions, and escalation contacts are agreed and documented before testing begins, and testers work inside those boundaries.

Findings Come With a Conversation

A report is a starting point, so ITS walks your team through the findings, the attack paths behind them, and a sensible order to address them.

See What Clients Say About ITS Cybersecurity Services

Hear from organizations that partner with ITS to protect their operations and build a stronger security posture.

I think... to not adopt some form of advanced security these days would be incredibly foolish. The biggest benefit ITS provides is the weight off my shoulders knowing that they're involved, and we've prepared ourselves as best as we could for any cyberthreats. That component is the most important to us.

JP HalversonVice President, McQuarrie Associates

We had an issue with a ransomware problem, and our previous IT partner could not resolve it. It brought us to a standstill... so we reached out to ITS and they helped us with the issue.

Mark BreauningerDirector of Operations, The Synthetic Grass Store

ITS identified an MFA hole in a large-scale EHR system that had never been caught before. Had it not been for them, we would've gone live and unknowingly increased our risk. Their insight not only protected us, [but it also] helped four other facilities that implemented the same system after us.

Doug McCoyCEO, Eastern Plumas Health Care (EPHC)

How Has ITS Helped Businesses Strengthen Cybersecurity?

Read stories from real clients who faced serious cybersecurity challenges and partnered with ITS to protect their operations.

The San Francisco Association of Realtors team

How a Realtor Association Strengthened Security by Modernizing Its IT Infrastructure

Learn how ITS helped the San Francisco Association of Realtors upgrade its firewall and wireless network, modernize aging infrastructure, and achieve its security goals.

Read the Case Study →
John R. Waters & Company office

How John R. Waters & Company Found Greater Peace of Mind After Switching MSPs

Learn how John R. Waters & Company switched MSPs and gained proactive support from ITS, helping the business resolve serious cybersecurity incidents without irreversible damage.

Read the Case Study →
Adventure Photo Tours, Las Vegas

How a Tour Company Strengthened Cybersecurity Without Hiring In-House IT

Learn how Adventure Photo Tours stopped a server hack, gained 24/7 IT monitoring, and received ongoing support at a fraction of the cost of hiring full-time IT staff.

Read the Case Study →

Learn More About Penetration Testing

These resources explain what a penetration test is and what it uncovers that other checks miss.

What is Penetration Testing (And How it Benefits Your Business)

What is Penetration Testing (How it Benefits Your Business)

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The words Penetration Testing beside a magnifying glass with data servers as background

Uncover Your Business's Vulnerabilities with Penetration Testing

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Penetration Testing: Frequently Asked Questions

What is penetration testing?

A penetration test is an authorized, scoped attempt to exploit weaknesses in your systems in order to establish what an attacker could actually achieve. NIST covers the practice in its Technical Guide to Information Security Testing and Assessment, SP 800-115.

What is the difference between a vulnerability scan and a penetration test?

A vulnerability scan is largely automated and reports potential weaknesses. A penetration test is led by a person who attempts to exploit and combine weaknesses to reach something of value, then explains the path taken and its impact. Many organizations use recurring vulnerability scanning alongside periodic penetration testing, depending on their risk and compliance requirements.

How often should we run a penetration test?

Testing is normally repeated on a defined schedule and after significant change to your environment, such as a new application, a network redesign, or a migration. Requirements differ by framework: PCI DSS from the PCI Security Standards Council sets an explicit testing requirement for organizations handling cardholder data, while other frameworks state the expectation in more general terms. ITS reviews which obligations apply to you. A single test is out of date the day it finishes, and most of what it returns is low severity you will never action. A program establishes a baseline, then tests again each quarter against the criticals and highs, and you choose the target each time. Criticals are reported the day they are found, not at the end.

Will testing disrupt our operations?

Testing is planned to avoid disruption, and the rules of engagement define what testers may and may not do, when they work, and who to contact if something unexpected happens. Denial of service activity is excluded unless you specifically request and authorize it.

Do we still need a test if we already have monitoring and endpoint protection?

Those controls reduce risk, and a test tells you how well they hold up in practice. Part of the value of an engagement is seeing which tester actions were detected, which were escalated, and which passed unnoticed.

What do we receive at the end of an engagement?

A written report with findings ranked by impact, enough detail to reproduce each finding, remediation guidance, and a summary written for leadership. Retesting of remediated items is included where the engagement scope covers it.

What Could an Attacker Reach in Your Environment?

Meet with an ITS cybersecurity expert to scope a penetration test, agree what should be in and out of bounds, and decide what evidence you need at the end of it.

Schedule a Meeting