> responder -I eth0 -wrf --lm_
Infrastructure testing checks whether your servers are secure. Network testing checks whether the roads between them are. If an attacker can poison your traffic, hop your VLANs, or bypass your firewalls — the strength of individual hosts is irrelevant.
Most organisations test their applications. The more mature ones test their infrastructure. But almost nobody tests the network itself — the protocols, the segmentation, the switching logic, the traffic flows that connect everything together. It's the digital equivalent of testing every lock in a building but never checking whether someone can crawl through the air ducts.
Network penetration testing focuses on the layer most security programmes ignore: the transport layer. We test how data moves across your environment, whether trust boundaries are actually enforced, and what happens when an attacker sits between two systems that trust each other implicitly. The answer, more often than not, is deeply uncomfortable.
Where infrastructure testing targets hosts and services, network testing targets the fabric that connects them. Protocols like ARP, DNS, DHCP, and SNMP were designed in an era when trust was assumed. Attackers exploit that assumption daily. We test whether your network lets them.
Infrastructure testing attacks hosts — servers, workstations, Active Directory, services, and operating systems. Network testing attacks the connections between them — protocols, segmentation, routing, switching, traffic flows, and wireless access. Think of it this way: infrastructure testing asks "can I break into this building?" Network testing asks "can I reroute the roads so everyone drives to my building instead?" Both matter. Together, they're devastating.
We test the network layer systematically — from physical segmentation to protocol integrity. Because attackers don't need to exploit a vulnerability when they can simply redirect your traffic.
Our network testing methodology is grounded in PTES and OSSTMM, adapted for the realities of modern switched and segmented networks. We combine passive traffic analysis with active exploitation — listening first, then striking where it matters.
Network security looks very different depending on where the attacker is standing. We test from every vantage point that matters — because a network that's secure from outside but trivially compromised from inside isn't secure at all.
| Approach | What We Simulate | What We Find |
|---|---|---|
| External | An attacker on the internet probing your perimeter. We test externally visible network services, firewall configurations, VPN endpoints, and DNS infrastructure for weaknesses exploitable without internal access. | Exposed management interfaces, firewall misconfigurations, DNS zone transfer leaks, VPN gateway vulnerabilities, and externally reachable services that shouldn't be. |
| Internal | A device plugged into your network — a compromised workstation, a rogue contractor, or a malicious IoT device. We test protocol-level attacks, credential interception, and trust exploitation from inside the wire. | LLMNR/NBT-NS poisoning opportunities, ARP spoofing paths, SNMP misconfigurations, unencrypted credentials on the wire, insecure broadcast protocols, and lateral movement via network-layer attacks. |
| Segmentation | An attacker in one network zone attempting to reach another. We validate that your segmentation boundaries hold under deliberate attack — VLAN to VLAN, zone to zone, guest to corporate. | VLAN hopping paths, overly permissive inter-zone firewall rules, routing leaks between segments, misconfigured trunk ports, and trust relationships that bypass intended isolation. |
Flat networks are an attacker's paradise — one compromised device gives access to everything. Segmented networks are the answer, but only if the segmentation actually works. We routinely find organisations that have invested heavily in network segmentation only to discover that a single misconfigured switch port or overly permissive firewall rule has rendered the entire exercise pointless. Segmentation you haven't tested is segmentation you're hoping works. Hope is not a security strategy.
A new switch port, a firewall rule change, a hastily provisioned guest network — any one of these can undo months of careful security architecture overnight. A penetration test captures your network at a single point in time. For the other 364 days, you need continuous visibility.
For ongoing network monitoring, see our SOCinaBox managed SOC service — 24/7 traffic analysis, anomaly detection, and incident response that watches your network around the clock. The pen test finds the structural weaknesses. The SOC catches the exploitation attempts in real time.
Combine annual network penetration testing with SOCinaBox for continuous threat monitoring. The pen test proves what's possible — the rogue ARP responses, the VLAN hops, the credential interceptions. The SOC detects those same patterns in real time, every day. Together, they close the gap between knowing your weaknesses and actively defending against them.
Every engagement starts with a free, no-obligation scoping call. We'll assess your network architecture, define the scope, and give you a clear quote — no surprises. The only traffic you should be worried about is the traffic you haven't inspected.