A penetration test is a break-in you hire someone to do. With your written permission, we try to get into your network the same way a criminal would, then write down every door that opened and how we got through it. For Monterey businesses, it's the clearest answer to the question "are we actually secure?" A gap we find this month is one an attacker can't use next month.
When You Need Penetration Testing
Some offices need one because a rule says so. PCI DSS asks many card merchants to test their networks, and defense contractors working toward CMMC often need evidence that their controls hold up.
Others need one after a big change: a new office, a new firewall, a move to the cloud. And plenty of owners just want to know.
Old buildings add their own risk. In downtown Monterey and along Cannery Row, thick plaster and adobe walls kill Wi-Fi signals, so someone eventually plugs a cheap home router or extender into a back room to get coverage. Nobody locks it down. Devices like that are a common find on a test, and they can open a direct path onto the office network.
How Our Penetration Testing Works
First we agree on scope in writing: what's in bounds, what's off limits, and when testing can happen. Nothing starts until that's signed.
Then the testing. From the internet, we probe the systems anyone can reach. That usually means the firewall and the remote access login. From inside, we act like an infected laptop or a stranger who plugged into a spare network jack, and see how far that gets. Wi-Fi gets tested too if you want it.
We follow the approach in NIST's technical guide to security testing, and we schedule the noisier parts so they don't hit your busiest hours.
The report shows each thing we got into and the path we took to reach it, worst first, with the fix for each one written out. After you've made the fixes, we test again to confirm they hold.
Penetration Testing Cost in Monterey
The size of what we're testing drives the price. That means how many devices and internet-facing systems you have, how many locations, and whether the scope includes the inside network and Wi-Fi or only the outside. A retest after fixes is part of the conversation too. We set scope on a call and put the quote in writing before any testing begins.
Why Choose Us for Penetration Testing
A test is only worth what happens after it. Because we also run networks for local businesses, we can fix what we find, or hand clear steps to your own IT person.
We're local, so the on-site part of an inside test is a short drive from New Monterey, and you can sit down with the person who did the work and ask questions about anything in the report. We've been in Monterey since 2008.
A pen test is the final check on how we protect Monterey offices from cyberattacks. Call (831) 649-5050 to talk through the scope.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a penetration test crash our systems?
It's rare. We avoid tests that could knock systems over unless you approve them, and we schedule riskier steps outside business hours.
How is this different from a vulnerability scan?
A scan lists known weaknesses automatically. A penetration test has a person try to use those weaknesses, chain them together, and prove what an attacker could actually reach.
How often should we get a penetration test?
Once a year is plenty for most small offices. Test again after a big change, like a new firewall or an office move, and any time a compliance rule or a client contract asks for it.