SMEs, mid-sized organizations and structured teams
Assess resilience against scenarios such as a compromised workstation, guest access, rogue device or attacker presence on site.
Internal penetration testing
A controlled penetration test from inside the corporate network to identify realistic compromise paths to critical assets and Active Directory privileges.
In practice
Internal penetration testing starts from corporate network access to identify realistic compromise paths: infrastructure scanning, pivoting, exposed secrets, Wi-Fi when in scope, privilege escalation and Active Directory risk up to authorized Domain Admin scenarios.
Context
Internal penetration testing answers an operational question: what could an attacker do after gaining an initial foothold inside the organization’s network?
The mission goes beyond vulnerability scanning. It combines infrastructure discovery, internal service analysis, Wi-Fi review when in scope, and the search for realistic compromise paths across identities, workstations, servers and network zones.
The goal is to measure lateral movement and privilege escalation capabilities: exposed secrets, weak authentication, misconfigurations, relay or replay opportunities, Active Directory abuse and, when authorized and feasible, controlled Domain Admin compromise.
Designed for internal networks
Infrastructure and security teams
Identify segmentation, administration, authentication, hardening and monitoring weaknesses that enable internal progression.
Management and CISOs
Prioritize fixes that actually reduce major-compromise risk, especially around Active Directory and critical assets.
Framed testing to measure real internal progression
Scoping and access conditions
Network scope, sites, test windows, exploitation limits, rules of engagement, provided accounts if any and escalation contacts are agreed before testing starts.
Infrastructure discovery and scanning
Map reachable segments, hosts, ports, services, shares, directories, equipment, internal systems and initial exploitation opportunities.
Wi-Fi and local-access analysis
When included in the scope, wireless networks, authentication modes, guest isolation, captive portals and bridges to the internal network are reviewed.
Compromise-path exploitation
Controlled validation of weak passwords, sensitive shares, authentication relay or replay, delegation issues, exposed secrets, privilege escalation and pivoting scenarios.
Active Directory objective
Search for paths to elevated privileges up to Domain Admin when the rules of engagement allow it, in order to demonstrate impact and identify required break points.
Methodology focused on internal compromise
- PTES to structure reconnaissance, exploitation and post-exploitation phases
- MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise to map scenarios to observed adversary techniques
- ANSSI guidance on secure administration, Active Directory, segmentation and hardening
- CIS and Microsoft best practices for hardening endpoints, servers, identities and internal services
Deliverables designed to break attack paths
Actionable map
Readable view of network segments, services, sensitive zones, pivot paths and dependencies that increase internal risk.
Prioritized attack paths
Documented compromise chains with prerequisites, steps, impact, evidence and reproducibility conditions.
Technical findings
Vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, exposed secrets, excessive rights, Wi-Fi weaknesses and Active Directory risks explained in detail.
Break plan
Concrete recommendations to disrupt attack paths: segmentation, hardening, privilege management, identity hygiene, monitoring and procedures.
Turning findings into durable risk reduction
Critical path found
A focused retest can verify quickly that priority actions have effectively broken the compromise chain.
Active Directory exposure
A configuration or architecture audit can complement the test to address root causes such as delegation, administration, segmentation and hardening.
Continuous improvement
Recurring reviews and targeted exercises help detect regressions, new attack paths and monitoring gaps.
Contextual FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What does internal penetration testing cover?
It measures compromise paths from the internal network: discovery, pivoting, secrets, excessive rights, Active Directory and Wi-Fi when in scope.
Is Domain Admin always the objective?
No. It is pursued only when the rules of engagement allow it and when the scenario provides useful evidence without excessive risk.
Can testing disrupt production?
Testing is framed, scheduled and performed with agreed exploitation limits. Risky scenarios are validated before execution.
What deliverables do you receive?
You receive an executive summary, prioritized findings, useful evidence, impact analysis and directly actionable recommendations.
Is a retest possible after remediation?
Yes. A focused retest can confirm that priority fixes have closed the observed exploitation paths.