Penetration Testing Services in the United Kingdom
Manual penetration testing engineered for the UK regulatory landscape. From Cyber Essentials Plus baselines and ISO 27001:2022 surveillance audits to full NCSC CAF-mapped assessments for Operators of Essential Services, we deliver evidence that holds up under scrutiny.
British financial services firms, Crown Commercial Service suppliers, NHS trusts and FTSE-listed SaaS scale-ups all need penetration testing reports that speak the language of their regulator. Ours do.
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UK Compliance Frameworks We Align With
UK regulators favour outcome-based assessment over checklist compliance. Our methodology is designed to produce defensible technical evidence under each of the frameworks British assessors actually examine.
Cyber Essentials & Cyber Essentials Plus
The IASME-administered scheme is a UK government baseline often required for public-sector contracts. Cyber Essentials Plus adds hands-on technical verification — we deliver assessor-friendly internal/external test evidence and remediation guidance against the five control themes.
NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF)
Used by NIS Competent Authorities to assess Operators of Essential Services. Our testing maps findings to the four CAF objectives (A: managing security risk, B: protecting against attack, C: detecting events, D: minimising impact) at IGP outcome level.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022
Annex A controls 8.8 (vulnerability management) and 8.29 (security testing in development) expect documented technical testing. We deliver evidence suitable for UKAS-accredited certification body audits and Stage 2 / surveillance visits.
NIS Regulations 2018
Operators of Essential Services (energy, transport, water, health, digital infrastructure) and Relevant Digital Service Providers must demonstrate appropriate technical security measures — penetration testing is the standard evidence pathway against the CAF.
FCA SYSC 13 & SYSC 15A / PRA SS1/21
FCA-regulated firms operating UK financial services must manage operational resilience and ICT risk; our engagements support important business service (IBS) impact-tolerance testing and align with the FCA / PRA / BoE operational resilience policy.
UK GDPR & DPA 2018 (DPDI alignment)
Article 32 'security of processing' obligations require regular testing of technical measures. We deliver ICO-defensible documentation linking findings to personal-data exposure and to the upcoming Data Protection and Digital Information (DPDI) framework where relevant.
Industries We Serve in the United Kingdom
Our UK engagements span the City of London, Whitehall departments, NHS trusts and the country's critical national infrastructure operators.
FCA / PRA-regulated financial services
Operational resilience, important business services testing and threat-led red team engagements for City of London and Edinburgh firms.
SaaS & technology
ISO 27001:2022 surveillance support, Cyber Essentials Plus prep and multi-tenant isolation testing for UK SaaS scale-ups.
Public sector & GovTech
G-Cloud and Crown Commercial Service supplier readiness, GovAssure-aligned testing, and CAF outcome evidence for departments and ALBs.
Critical national infrastructure
Energy, water and transport operators subject to NIS Regulations — IT/OT segmentation testing, CAF-mapped engagements and tabletop drills.
Aviation, defence & space
CAA, MOD-tier supply chain (DEF STAN 05-138) and ECSS-aligned engagements for UK aerospace, defence and space sector primes.
Legal, accounting & professional services
Magic Circle and Big Four supply-chain assurance: client data protection, M&A deal-room security, and SRA / ICAEW expectations.
Most Requested Engagements in the UK
A snapshot of the services most commonly scoped by UK customers. Every engagement is led by a senior tester and aligned to the framework your certification body or regulator audits against.
External Penetration Testing
Simulate real-world attacks on internet-facing infrastructure. Manual pentests find vulnerabilities scanners miss before attackers exploit them.
Web Application Security Testing
Comprehensive web app penetration testing covering OWASP Top 10 and beyond. Find business logic flaws and auth bypasses automated tools miss.
API Security Testing
REST, GraphQL, and gRPC API penetration testing. We test authentication, authorization, and business logic to secure your endpoints.
Cloud Security Assessment
AWS, Azure, and GCP security assessments covering IAM, network configuration, and data protection. Secure your cloud infrastructure.
Active Directory Penetration Testing
Active Directory penetration testing finds domain and identity weaknesses, Kerberos attack paths, delegation abuse, and trust risks.
Red Teaming
Red teaming and AI red teaming simulate real-world adversaries to test whether your people, processes, and technology can detect and contain attacks.
Social Engineering & Phishing Simulation
Social engineering and phishing simulation identifies human vulnerabilities, process weaknesses, and security awareness gaps attackers exploit.
Why Local Coverage Matters
UK assurance is layered: a certification body audits your ISMS, a sector regulator (FCA, PRA, Ofcom, Ofgem, ICO) audits your obligations, and procurement teams audit your supply chain through SAQ packs and DDQs. A penetration testing report that doesn't map cleanly to those reviewer expectations creates rework and delays sign-off. Our reports speak directly to each audience — control mappings up front, exploitation narrative in the body, evidence appendices that survive scrutiny.
Time-zone alignment for UK delivery is straightforward: our morning stand-ups, finding triage and exec briefings run on GMT/BST. Engineering leads in London, Manchester or Edinburgh get same-day responses, not overnight queues from a region that's already gone home.
Finally, jurisdiction-aware reporting matters: findings touching UK personal data are explicitly tagged against UK GDPR Article 32 risk, NIS-relevant findings are tagged to the appropriate CAF outcome, and operational-resilience-sensitive findings are linked to Important Business Services where applicable. Your DPO, SIRO and Head of Operational Resilience get the parts of the report they need without sifting.
Built for UK Buyers
- GMT/BST business-hour coverage with same-day triage
- Reports mapped to CAF, ISO 27001 Annex A and CE+ controls
- GBP invoicing and UK GDPR Article 28 DPA ready
- Retest included to verify remediation pre-audit
- Crown Commercial Service / DDQ packs supported
Talk to a UK Penetration Tester
Tell us about the audit on the calendar, the regulator on your back, or the system you're putting into production next sprint. We'll come back with a scoped, fixed-fee proposal — typically within one business day.
Frequently Asked Questions — UK
Does OraSec hold UK-recognised penetration testing accreditations?+
Our consultants individually hold widely recognised offensive security certifications (including OSCP, OSEP and CREST-aligned credentials), and our methodology aligns with the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework, the CHECK scheme principles, and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A.8. We are happy to walk you through the team's certification matrix during scoping if your procurement function requires it.
Can OraSec penetration testing reports be used as evidence for Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 audits?+
Yes. We deliver reports structured for both schemes: Cyber Essentials Plus evidence is presented against the five technical control themes, and ISO 27001 evidence is mapped against Annex A.8.8 (vulnerability management) and A.8.29 (security testing). Your IASME or UKAS-accredited certification body can use the same report package in their audit.
How does OraSec handle UK data residency and GDPR concerns during an engagement?+
Test data, findings and reporting artefacts can be hosted within UK or EU regions on request. Our standard DPA covers UK GDPR Article 28 processor obligations, including international transfer mechanisms, sub-processor disclosure and Schedule 2 Standard Contractual Clauses where they apply. Test evidence is destroyed on a defined retention schedule unless your audit programme requires longer retention.
Do you support NIS Regulations 2018 evidence for Operators of Essential Services?+
Yes. Engagements for OES clients are scoped around the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework, with findings tagged against CAF objectives and indicators of good practice. We can deliver the resulting evidence pack in a format your designated Competent Authority will recognise during NIS audits and inspections.