CSTL-qualified penetration testing

Know where you're exposed — before anyone else does.

Internal, external and web application testing, plus Cyber Essentials certification — delivered by a Cyber Scheme Team Leader (CSTL) qualified tester. Fixed-price scoping, plain-English reports, and a process built to stay out of your way.

CSTL-led testing NCSC-recognised standard Report in 5 working days No surprise costs
Cyber Scheme Team Leader (CSTL) NCSC-recognised testing standard UK-based testers Fixed-price scoping Plain-English reports
What we do

Two ways to prove your security holds up.

Get certified to show customers you take the basics seriously — then test properly to find what a determined attacker would.

Certification

Cyber Essentials & Cyber Essentials Plus

The UK government-backed scheme that covers the five controls stopping the majority of common attacks. We get you assessment-ready, then certify — without the jargon.

  • Gap review against the current scheme
  • Hands-on help closing the gaps
  • Certification, including the hands-on Plus audit
How certification works →
Penetration test

External infrastructure

Everything an attacker can reach from the internet — your perimeter, exposed services, VPNs and cloud edges — probed the way a real adversary would.

What's covered →
Penetration test

Internal infrastructure

We model the breached laptop or rogue insider, then see how far that foothold spreads across your network, servers and Active Directory.

What's covered →
Penetration test

Web application

Authenticated, role-aware testing of your apps and APIs against the OWASP Top 10 and the logic flaws scanners simply never find.

What's covered →
A frictionless engagement

The test should be the easy part.

Security work has a reputation for being slow, opaque and full of surprises. We've built ours to be the opposite: clear scope, a fixed price up front, and a report you can actually act on.

One named tester runs your engagement end to end — so you're never re-explaining your environment to a stranger.

Start with a free scoping call
  1. Scope

    A short call to understand your environment. You leave with a fixed price and a clear plan — no obligation.

  2. Schedule

    We agree dates that suit you, including out of hours, and confirm exactly what's in and out of scope in writing.

  3. Test

    Your CSTL-qualified tester runs the assessment, keeping you posted and flagging anything critical the moment it's found.

  4. Report

    A plain-English report: an exec summary anyone can follow, plus prioritised, reproducible findings and fixes for your engineers.

  5. Aftercare

    We walk you through the findings, answer your team's questions, and re-test the fixes — at no extra cost.

Why teams choose us

Senior testing, none of the friction.

100%
Engagements led by a CSTL-qualified tester
48h
From scoping call to a fixed-price quote
5 days
Typical turnaround for your final report
£0
For remediation re-tests and aftercare
Common questions

Good to know.

What's the difference between Cyber Essentials and a penetration test?

Cyber Essentials certifies that you have five fundamental controls in place — it's a baseline and a trust signal for customers and tenders. A penetration test goes much further: a qualified tester actively tries to break in, the way a real attacker would, and tells you exactly what they found. Most organisations benefit from both.

What does “CSTL-qualified” actually mean?

CSTL stands for Cyber Scheme Team Leader — a senior, practical penetration testing qualification from The Cyber Scheme, one of the bodies whose exams are recognised by the NCSC against UK government testing standards. It's awarded at two specialisms, infrastructure (CSTL-INF) and web application (CSTL-Web App), which together cover the external, internal and web app testing we deliver.

Do you cover both internal and external infrastructure?

Yes. External testing looks at everything reachable from the internet; internal testing assumes an attacker already has a foothold and measures how far it spreads. They answer different questions, and many engagements include both alongside a web application test.

How long does it take, and will it disrupt us?

Most tests run over a few days and can be scheduled out of hours. We agree the rules of engagement in writing first, work to a careful methodology, and stay in contact throughout — so there are no surprises for your team.

Is the price really fixed?

Once we've scoped the work, the quote is fixed. Remediation re-tests and the post-report walkthrough are included. If the scope genuinely changes, we'll talk it through before any cost does.

Get a quote

Tell us what you're protecting.

A couple of details is all we need to get started. We'll come back within one working day with next steps — usually a short, no-obligation scoping call.