Penetration Testing Services
We Think Like Attackers. We Test Like Experts. You Get Answers.
Penetration testing is the most direct way to understand whether your defences can withstand a real cyberattack. Pristine InfoSolutions UAE conducts full-scope, intelligence-led penetration testing across your entire attack surface — networks, applications, cloud environments, physical security, and your people — using the same tools, tactics, and techniques as advanced threat actors.
Our penetration testing methodology follows the Penetration Testing Execution Standard (PTES) and NIST SP 800-115, mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework — ensuring your test is comprehensive, realistic, and produces actionable intelligence that directly improves your security posture.
- External Network Penetration TestAttack simulation from an external adversary perspective — targeting internet-facing infrastructure, exposed services, VPN gateways, email security, and perimeter defences. The starting point for every mature security programme.
- Internal Network Penetration TestSimulate what happens after an attacker has breached the perimeter — lateral movement, privilege escalation, Active Directory attacks, credential harvesting, and data exfiltration from inside your network.
- Social Engineering & Phishing SimulationTest your organisation's most vulnerable attack surface — your people. Custom phishing campaigns, vishing (voice phishing) simulations, and physical social engineering scenarios to measure human risk.
- Red Team OperationsFull adversary simulation — covert, multi-vector, goal-based operations that test your detection and response capabilities. Your SOC and IR team face real attack scenarios without knowing in advance.
- Cloud Penetration Testing (AWS / Azure / GCP)Targeted penetration testing of cloud environments — misconfiguration exploitation, IAM privilege escalation, S3/blob storage enumeration, serverless function abuse, and container escape techniques.
- Physical Security TestingTest physical access controls, tailgating susceptibility, reception bypass, lock picking, badge cloning, and insider threat scenarios at your facilities — often the most overlooked enterprise attack vector.
⚔️ Penetration Testing Engagement Types
Scope and approach options available
External Network Pen Test✓ Available
Internal Network Pen Test✓ Available
Web Application Pen Test✓ Available
Social Engineering / Phishing✓ Available
Red Team Operations✓ Available
Cloud Pen Test (AWS/Azure/GCP)✓ Available
Physical Security Testing✓ Available
Combined / Full-Scope Testing✓ Available
Typical Engagement Duration3–21 Days
🎯 Test Types by Knowledge Level
- Black Box — No prior knowledge. Simulates an anonymous external attacker with zero information.
- Grey Box — Limited knowledge (credentials, network diagrams). Simulates a compromised insider or supply chain attack.
- White Box — Full knowledge (architecture, source code). Maximum coverage depth for compliance and comprehensive assurance.
Our Testing Methodology
PTES & MITRE ATT&CK Aligned — 6-Phase Engagement
Every Pristine penetration test follows a rigorous, documented methodology that ensures comprehensive coverage, reproducible results, and a complete chain of evidence from first reconnaissance to final debrief.
01
Pre-Engagement & Scoping
Scope definition, rules of engagement, emergency contacts, legal authorisation, and objective alignment
02
Reconnaissance & OSINT
Passive and active information gathering — OSINT, DNS enumeration, asset discovery, employee profiling, technology fingerprinting
03
Threat Modelling & Planning
Develop attack scenarios, identify high-value targets, plan attack paths based on gathered intelligence and scope objectives
04
Exploitation & Post-Exploitation
Controlled exploitation of identified vulnerabilities, lateral movement, privilege escalation, persistence simulation, and data access demonstration
05
Evidence Collection & Reporting
Complete documentation of attack chain, evidence collection, CVSS scoring, MITRE ATT&CK TTP mapping, and report production
06
Debrief & Remediation Support
Technical debrief, executive presentation, remediation roadmap, developer workshops, and free verified retest
Penetration Testing for Every Layer
From Perimeter to Application to Human — Complete Coverage
01
External Perimeter Testing
Internet-facing assets, firewalls, VPN gateways, exposed services, subdomain enumeration, email security (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), and zone transfer attempts. The external threat actor's view of your organisation.
Learn More →
02
Internal Network Testing
Active Directory attacks (Kerberoasting, AS-REP Roasting, Pass-the-Hash), lateral movement, BloodHound analysis, service account abuse, network segmentation bypass, and data exfiltration testing.
Learn More →
03
Cloud Infrastructure Testing
AWS (IAM, S3, Lambda, EC2), Azure (Entra ID, Storage, AKS), and GCP penetration testing. Cloud-native attack paths, misconfiguration exploitation, and cross-account privilege escalation.
Learn More →
04
Social Engineering & Phishing
Targeted spear phishing campaigns, credential harvesting portals, vishing attacks, pretexting scenarios, and USB drop simulations — measuring human risk across your organisation.
Learn More →
05
Red Team Operations
Covert, multi-vector, goal-based adversary simulation. Real-world attack campaigns designed to test your full detection and response capability — TIBER-EU, CBEST, and custom frameworks available.
Learn More →
06
OT/ICS/SCADA Testing
Operational technology and industrial control system penetration testing for energy, oil & gas, utilities, and manufacturing clients — network segmentation, HMI security, and protocol analysis.
Learn More →
98%
of engagements uncover at least one critical or high severity finding
3.2h
Average time to domain admin in internal network tests against unpatched environments
72%
of phishing simulations result in at least one credential submission without security training
100%
of penetration test findings include a verified retest to confirm remediation effectiveness
Penetration Testing Toolkit
Tools of the Trade
Our penetration testers are certified professionals who understand every tool in their arsenal. We combine industry-standard offensive security tools with custom exploits and scripts developed in-house.
⚔️ Metasploit Framework⚔️ Cobalt Strike⚔️ BloodHound / SharpHound⚔️ Nmap / Masscan⚔️ Impacket Suite⚔️ Responder⚔️ CrackMapExec⚔️ Burp Suite Pro⚔️ Nessus / OpenVAS⚔️ Gophish (Phishing)⚔️ PowerView / PowerSploit⚔️ Custom C2 Frameworks
Compliance Mapping
Penetration Testing for Regulatory Compliance
Many UAE and international regulations require regular penetration testing. Pristine's pen test reports are formatted to satisfy regulatory requirements and directly support your compliance programme.
- UAE NESA / NIA— Annual penetration testing required for critical infrastructure
- UAE Central Bank (CBUAE)— Regular VAPT required for licensed financial institutions
- PCI DSS v4.0— Requirement 11.4 mandates annual pen testing + segmentation testing
- ISO 27001:2022— Control A.8.8 supports pen testing as part of technical review
- GDPR / UAE PDPL— Technical security testing demonstrates Article 25/32 compliance
- SOC 2 Type II— Penetration test report supports CC6 / CC7 control evidence
Frequently Asked Questions
Penetration Testing — Common Questions
What is the difference between a vulnerability assessment and a penetration test?
A vulnerability assessment identifies and lists known vulnerabilities in your systems — it is largely automated and produces a prioritised list of weaknesses. A penetration test goes further: it actively exploits those vulnerabilities (within agreed scope) to demonstrate the real-world impact and to discover chained attack paths that automated tools miss. Think of vulnerability assessment as finding the unlocked doors, and penetration testing as actually walking through them to see what an attacker could access.
Will penetration testing disrupt our live systems or operations?
No, not when properly scoped and managed. Pristine conducts all penetration testing within a defined scope and rules of engagement agreed in advance, with emergency stop procedures and real-time communication channels. For production environments, we carefully calibrate testing intensity to avoid service disruption. Testing can be scheduled during low-traffic periods (evenings, weekends) if required. We have never caused unplanned downtime in over 500 assessments.
How frequently should we conduct penetration testing?
Best practice is annually at minimum, and after any significant changes — major application releases, infrastructure changes, new cloud migrations, or acquisitions. UAE NESA, CBUAE, and PCI DSS all mandate annual penetration testing. For high-risk environments (banking, government, critical infrastructure), quarterly or bi-annual testing is recommended. We also offer ongoing adversary simulation programmes for organisations seeking continuous security validation.
What do we receive at the end of the engagement?
Every penetration test engagement delivers: (1) Executive Summary — business risk narrative for leadership and board; (2) Technical Report — full write-up of every finding with reproduction steps, evidence, CVSS score, MITRE ATT&CK mapping, and remediation guidance; (3) Attack Narrative — a story of how we compromised the environment from initial access to objective; (4) Remediation Roadmap — prioritised fix list; (5) Compliance Mapping — evidence for NESA, PCI DSS, or ISO 27001 auditors; (6) Free Retest — verification that critical/high findings are fixed.
Is our data and proprietary information safe during a pen test?
Yes. Every engagement is governed by a strict NDA and Rules of Engagement document signed before testing begins. Any data accessed during testing is documented and never exfiltrated outside the agreed environment. Data is handled in compliance with UAE PDPL and GDPR requirements. Our team follows a strict data minimisation principle — we access only what is necessary to demonstrate impact, and all evidence is securely stored and deleted after report delivery per our data retention policy.
Start Your Security Assessment Today
Speak with a Pristine security engineer about your application, mobile, or penetration testing requirements. We scope every engagement to your specific environment, risk profile, and compliance obligations — with a proposal delivered within 24 hours.
ISO 27001 Certified · NASSCOM Member · UAE NESA Aligned · OWASP / PTES Methodology · Free Retest Included