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Most organisations spend heavily defending the perimeter. Internal network penetration testing answers the question that matters after the perimeter fails: once an attacker is inside, how far can they go?
We simulate an attacker operating from inside your network — a compromised employee workstation, a phished credential, a rogue device on the office LAN, or a contractor with more access than they need. Then we show you exactly how far that foothold reaches, and how quickly.
Testing from outside the perimeter instead? See our external network penetration testing services.
Find out how far an attacker gets inside your network
Tell us your environment size and we’ll return a scoped internal pentest plan and quote within 24 hours.
An internal test assumes breach. Rather than proving an attacker can get in, it measures the blast radius once they have.
Active Directory is the single highest-value target in most internal networks, and typically the fastest path to domain compromise:
Local and domain escalation paths — unquoted service paths, weak service permissions, credential reuse across hosts, cached credentials, token impersonation, and misconfigured local admin group membership.
How an attacker pivots host to host: pass-the-hash and pass-the-ticket, remote execution via SMB, WMI and WinRM, RDP hijacking, and the flat network segments that let one compromised workstation reach a domain controller.
LLMNR, NBT-NS and mDNS poisoning, SMB relay, IPv6 attacks against DHCPv6, unsigned LDAP, and legacy protocol exposure.
Whether your VLANs, firewall rules and zero-trust controls actually contain movement — or exist only on the network diagram. We test whether a compromised user segment can reach servers, management networks, backups, and OT/ICS zones.
What an attacker with a foothold can actually reach: file shares with excessive permissions, credentials in scripts and Group Policy Preferences, unprotected databases, and backup repositories.
Whether your EDR, SIEM and SOC generated alerts for our activity — and which techniques passed silently.
1. Scoping — We define the network ranges, domains, and starting position. Most engagements begin from a standard user workstation or an unauthenticated network connection.
2. Access Provisioning — Testing is performed via a hardware or virtual implant on your network, or through VPN access. No travel required for most engagements.
3. Discovery and Enumeration — Host, service, share and directory enumeration to build a complete internal picture.
4. Exploitation and Escalation — We exploit identified weaknesses, escalate privileges, and pursue defined objectives such as Domain Admin or access to a named crown-jewel system.
5. Lateral Movement and Blast Radius Mapping — We map how far the initial foothold reaches, and document the shortest path to critical assets.
6. Reporting and Debrief — Full attack narrative, prioritised findings, and separate technical and executive walkthroughs.
For a detailed breakdown of the techniques used at each stage, see our internal network penetration testing methodology guide.
| External Network Testing | Internal Network Testing | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting position | Outside the perimeter, no access | Inside the network, assumed breach |
| Question answered | Can an attacker get in? | How far can they go once in? |
| Primary targets | Public IPs, VPN, exposed services | Active Directory, file shares, internal apps |
| Typical critical finding | Exposed service or exploitable perimeter host | Path to Domain Admin |
| Best for | Validating perimeter defences | Validating segmentation, AD hardening, detection |
Most organisations need both. If you only run external testing, you know whether the front door is locked — but nothing about what happens after someone gets through it.
Sample report available under NDA.
| Engagement Scope | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| Single site, up to ~250 hosts | $2K – $10K |
| Multi-site or ~250–1000 hosts | $10K – $15K |
| Large enterprise / multi-domain | $15K – $20K+ |
Experienced Professionals:
Tailored Assessments:
Comprehensive Reporting:
Compliance Assistance:
Ongoing Support:
Internal penetration testing focuses on identifying vulnerabilities within the organization’s network, simulating attacks that could originate from malicious insiders or compromised devices, while external testing simulates attacks from outside the network.
It is advisable to conduct internal penetration testing at least annually, or whenever significant changes are made to your internal infrastructure or user access levels.
Internal testing can reveal vulnerabilities such as misconfigured access controls, weak passwords, unpatched software, and other security gaps that could be exploited by insiders.
Usually not. Most internal tests are performed via a hardware implant we ship to you, a virtual appliance deployed in your environment, or VPN access.
It depends on the scenario. A pure assumed-breach test starts from a standard domain user account. A more realistic simulation starts unauthenticated on the network, as a rogue device would.
No. Destructive techniques are excluded by default, testing is rate-limited, and anything with availability risk requires explicit approval and a scheduled window.
If you want to test detection and response, no — leave them blind. Otherwise pre-brief one named contact so a real incident response isn’t triggered. We recommend the blind approach at least once.
Typically one to three weeks depending on network size, host count, and number of domains.
Internal penetration testing aims for broad coverage of internal weaknesses. A red team engagement is objective-based and stealth-focused, testing detection and response rather than enumerating every finding.
Download the Internal Penetration Testing Scoping Checklist — what to prepare, what to define, and the questions to answer before you engage.
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