Network Penetration Testing

Network penetration testing is a controlled security assessment of your external or internal network, including exposed services, VPNs, firewalls, Active Directory, servers, segmentation, remote access, and misconfigured infrastructure. Penva simulates real attacker behaviour to identify exploitable weaknesses such as exposed management ports, weak credentials, vulnerable services, privilege escalation paths, poor segmentation, and opportunities to move laterally through the environment.

Network penetration testing in Australia typically starts from AUD $2,000 for a focused external assessment. The final price depends on the number of IP addresses, internal subnets, VPN or wireless scope, Active Directory complexity, cloud-hosted assets, segmentation requirements, and whether testing is external, internal, or both. Penva provides a fixed-price quote after a free scoping call, with the scope clearly documented before testing begins.

Most network penetration tests take 3 to 10 business days of active testing, plus 1 to 2 days for reporting. A small external perimeter can often be assessed within a few days, while an internal network with Active Directory, multiple subnets, segmentation testing, and privilege escalation paths can take 1 to 3 weeks. Penva shares confirmed findings progressively so your team can begin remediation early.

Yes, for most organisations with internet-facing systems, internal networks, or regulated environments. ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, APRA CPS 234, and enterprise customer security reviews commonly expect evidence of vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. Penva provides audit-ready network pentest reports with evidence, risk ratings, business impact, remediation guidance, and retest validation for compliance and procurement reviews.

A vulnerability scan identifies known issues by signatures and configuration checks, but it often produces false positives and does not show how an attacker could chain weaknesses. A network penetration test manually validates exploitability, tests privilege escalation, checks segmentation, reviews remote access exposure, and demonstrates realistic attack paths. Penva focuses on confirmed, prioritised findings that matter to risk, not long scanner exports.

No. Penva delivers human-led network penetration testing. We use scanners and AI-assisted workflows only to support reconnaissance, service mapping, and coverage checks. Every finding is manually validated by a penetration tester before it is reported. This matters because real network compromise often comes from chained issues such as weak credentials, exposed services, privilege escalation, poor segmentation, and Active Directory abuse.

Penva follows NIST SP 800-115, PTES, OWASP guidance where web-facing services are in scope, and practical attacker-led network testing methodology. Our process covers scoping, asset discovery, service enumeration, vulnerability validation, credential and access control testing, exploitation, privilege escalation, lateral movement analysis, segmentation testing, reporting, and remediation retesting.

Penva plans network testing carefully to reduce risk to production systems, users, and uptime. We avoid destructive payloads unless explicitly approved, throttle scanning where required, coordinate testing windows for sensitive systems, and separate safe validation from high-risk exploitation. Where possible, internal testing is performed using approved test accounts, jump hosts, and agreed rules of engagement.

Yes. Every Penva fixed-price network penetration test includes one free retest within 60 days of the original engagement. After remediation, we re-check each finding and provide an updated report showing whether the issues are closed. This gives your team clear evidence for ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, APRA, vendor questionnaires, and internal risk acceptance.

Yes. Penva's testers hold recognised penetration testing certifications including CREST, OSCP, and HTB CPTS, with experience across external infrastructure, internal networks, Active Directory, cloud, and application testing. This helps ensure network findings are not only discovered, but also validated for real-world exploitability and business impact.

At minimum, organisations should perform network penetration testing annually and after significant changes such as new VPNs, firewall changes, cloud migrations, office moves, Active Directory changes, new internet-facing services, or major infrastructure upgrades. Businesses with regulated environments, remote access, or frequent infrastructure changes should consider more regular testing.

Penva commonly finds exposed administrative services, weak VPN or RDP configurations, missing security patches, insecure SMB or NTLM settings, weak passwords, default credentials, misconfigured firewalls, poor network segmentation, excessive internal trust, Active Directory privilege escalation paths, outdated services, and cloud-hosted infrastructure exposed to the internet. The most serious risks often come from chaining several medium issues into a full compromise path.

Penva supports SaaS companies, professional services, healthcare providers, education organisations, FinTech and payments businesses, e-commerce companies, managed service providers, and government supply-chain vendors across Australia. We work with teams in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Canberra that need network testing for compliance, cyber insurance, procurement, or risk reduction.

Yes. Penva can sign a mutual NDA before any IP ranges, network diagrams, VPN access, internal architecture, credentials, or commercial information is shared. We can also work under your MSA, supplier agreement, data-handling requirements, or enterprise procurement process.