- CREST-Accredited Company
- Penetration Testing
- Australia
Penetration Testing Services in Australia
CREST-accredited testing for Australian organisations answering to APRA, the SOCI Act, the Privacy Act and demanding customers
Regulator-Ready Reports, Delivered Within Your Business Day
Directors and regulators across Australia want cyber resilience demonstrated, not described. ISECURION tests web applications, APIs, mobile apps, cloud estates and networks, and writes up the results in a form that risk, audit and engineering teams can all work from.
Experienced consultants run every test hands-on, with automation and AI widening what they can cover. ISECURION holds CREST accreditation for penetration testing and is CERT-In empanelled. The wider VAPT services page has more detail.
Who engages us in Australia:
- Banks, insurers and super funds answering to APRA
- Critical infrastructure operators and their suppliers
- SaaS and fintech firms selling to banks and government
- Health, education and professional services holding personal data
- Teams lifting maturity against the Essential Eight
- Companies building AI features that touch customer data
Eastern Australia is about 4.5 to 5.5 hours ahead of our Bengaluru team, so calls and readouts are booked during your working hours. Where data sits, how we connect and who is on the team are put in writing before work begins.
Request a Penetration Testing Proposal
Share the scope and your deadline. A consultant replies within one working day.
Why Australian Organisations Commission Penetration Tests
In a penetration test, a consultant is given permission to attack your systems the way a criminal would. The aim is to learn which weaknesses can truly be exploited, what they would expose, and what to repair first.
Australia has built up its cyber obligations in layers. The prudential regulator, APRA, sets information security and operational resilience standards for banks, insurers and super funds. The Security of Critical Infrastructure Act reaches energy, water, communications, health, transport and other sectors. The Privacy Act and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme apply to many organisations that hold personal information, and the Cyber Security Act 2024 added ransomware payment reporting. Customers, insurers and government buyers then add their own requirements on top.
The common thread is proof. A regulator or buyer wants to see that controls were tested by someone independent, that serious issues were fixed, and that the board knew about both. A scan export rarely does that job. A human-led penetration test with a retest does.
What CREST Accreditation Means for an Australian Buyer
CREST is an international non-profit that audits testing firms for method, client data protection and tester development. ISECURION holds CREST accreditation for penetration testing, and CREST can confirm it.
Why It Matters in a Vendor Review
- Independent scrutiny of our method - a third party has examined how we plan, run and report tests
- A credential you can verify - your procurement or risk team can confirm it with the issuing body
- A precise scope - accreditation covers penetration testing, and we describe it as granted
- Reviewed deliverables - a second tester reviews each report before release
- See it first - request a sanitised sample report
How Australian Frameworks Connect to Testing
Few of these name a penetration test outright, but each creates a reason to run one. Use the table to see which framework your test report needs to support.
| Framework | What it asks of you | How testing helps |
|---|---|---|
| APRA CPS 234 | Board accountability for information security, capability matched to threats, systematic testing of control effectiveness, third-party coverage | Independent evidence that controls work, including at suppliers that hold your data |
| APRA CPS 230 | Operational risk and resilience, critical operations, tolerance levels and oversight of material service providers, in force from 1 July 2025 | Shows technology behind critical operations can withstand attack |
| SOCI Act | Critical infrastructure risk management programme and incident reporting for covered assets | Tests the cyber hazard controls in your programme and your suppliers |
| Privacy Act (APP 11) | Reasonable steps to protect personal information and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme | Shows security safeguards were tested before an incident |
| Essential Eight and ASD Essentials | Baseline mitigation strategies and maturity ratings, with ASD Essentials introduced as an evolution | Checks whether controls hold against a real attacker, beyond a maturity score |
| ISO 27001 and SOC 2 | Evidence of vulnerability management for certification and customer assurance | Supplies the independent test results auditors ask for |
Questions a Penetration Test Answers
Executives rarely ask for a test type. They ask a question. Here are the ones we hear most often, and what we test to answer them.
Could someone reach customer data through our web app or API?
We test authentication, authorisation between users and tenants, business logic and injection across web and API layers.
If one cloud credential leaks, how far can an attacker go?
We review identities, permissions, storage and network paths across AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, then try to turn weaknesses into access.
What can an outsider see and reach from the internet?
We test external hosts, remote access, VPNs and mail, then check how an intruder with a foothold could move inside.
Is our mobile app safe in the hands of a curious customer?
We assess iOS and Android builds against OWASP MASVS, including local storage, transport security and the services behind the app.
Would our staff spot a convincing attack?
Phishing, phone and physical scenarios show how people respond and where training should focus.
Would we notice a patient, well-resourced attacker?
A red team exercise checks whether you would detect and respond to a skilled adversary across people, process and technology.
Is there a design flaw testing from outside cannot see?
Secure code review examines logic and architecture, which suits major releases, acquisitions and critical systems.
Can someone cross from guest Wi-Fi into the corporate network?
We test wireless encryption, rogue access points and segmentation, and review thick clients that store data locally.
Can our AI feature be tricked into leaking data or acting unsafely?
We test LLM applications, retrieval pipelines and MCP servers for prompt injection, tool abuse and over-broad permissions.
Test depth is your call: black box imitates an outsider with no inside knowledge, grey box adds test accounts and documentation and fits most applications, and white box adds architecture and source code for maximum depth.
How We Run an Engagement With Australian Clients
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Brief and authorise
A scoping call at a time that suits your day settles targets, test accounts, windows, contacts and data handling. You sign authorisation before anything starts.
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Test
Testers work through the agreed scope by hand with supporting tools. A critical finding is raised with your team straight away, not saved for the report.
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Report and walk through
You receive a board-level summary and a technical report with evidence, reproduction steps, CVSS-based ratings and fix guidance. A live readout lets engineers ask questions.
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Retest and close
After your team fixes the issues, we retest and update the report so every finding shows as open or closed, ready for regulators, auditors and customers.
Where AI Fits in Our Testing
We use AI where it saves time on repetitive work and leave the judgement calls to people.
Faster discovery
AI helps chart large applications, parameters and technologies so more of the surface gets covered inside the same window.
Less noise
Related scanner results are grouped and test ideas suggested, then a tester confirms or discards each one by hand.
Clearer write-ups
AI drafts evidence notes and remediation steps. A senior tester edits them and signs off the final report.
Reporting Duties at a Glance
Each regime has its own trigger and its own clock, and one incident can start several of them. Treat this as planning guidance and confirm the current rules with your advisers.
APRA-regulated entities
Notify APRA within 72 hours of a material information security incident, and within 10 business days of becoming aware of a material control weakness.
Source: CPS 234
Critical infrastructure
Report a cyber incident with significant impact within 12 hours and one with relevant impact within 72 hours, to the Australian Cyber Security Centre, with a written follow-up if the first report was oral.
Source: SOCI Act
Ransomware payments
Report a ransomware or extortion payment to ASD within 72 hours of paying or becoming aware of the payment. Applies to critical infrastructure entities and businesses above A$3 million turnover.
Source: Cyber Security Act 2024, from 30 May 2025
Eligible data breaches
Assess a suspected breach within 30 days, and notify the Information Commissioner and affected people as soon as practicable if serious harm is likely.
Source: Privacy Act, NDB scheme
Sectors We Test For in Australia
Each sector arrives with a different regulator, a different risk and a different kind of audience for the report.
APRA-regulated entities need to show that control testing is systematic and independent, and that suppliers are held to the same standard.
- Customer-facing apps, APIs and payment journeys
- Third-party and fourth-party exposure checks
- Evidence suited to CPS 234 and CPS 230 reviews
- Findings summarised for board risk committees
Operators must manage cyber hazards across enterprise and operational systems, and suppliers are pulled into the same programme.
- Internet-facing and remote access testing
- Segmentation between corporate and control environments
- Supplier and portal security checks
- Material that feeds your risk management programme
Selling to banks and agencies means long security reviews. A current, well-scoped report shortens them.
- Multi-tenant isolation and API authorisation
- AI features and MCP servers
- Pipeline and secrets review
- Support for customer and IRAP-related conversations
Large stores of personal and sensitive information make these organisations a steady target and a Privacy Act priority.
- Patient, student and client portals
- Phishing and social engineering exercises
- Cloud and file-sharing configuration review
- Breach-readiness evidence for the NDB scheme
Get the Most From Your Test
A little preparation shortens the engagement and sharpens the report.
Before kick-off
- List the systems that hold sensitive data or support critical operations
- Prepare test accounts for each user role and any API documentation
- Name an escalation contact who can pause testing if needed
- Check supplier and cloud platform testing policies
When the report lands
- Share the board summary with risk and audit committees
- Assign each finding an owner and a due date
- Book the retest while engineers still have context
- File the final report with your CPS 234, SOCI or customer evidence
Where We Work
We support organisations across every state and territory, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Hobart and Darwin. Testing is delivered remotely, and we join workshops, readouts and tabletop exercises by video.
Frequently Asked Questions: Penetration Testing in Australia
1. Is penetration testing mandatory in Australia?
2. What does APRA CPS 234 expect?
3. How does CPS 230 affect penetration testing?
4. What is happening with the Essential Eight?
5. Do we have to report a ransomware payment?
6. What does the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme require?
7. What is the difference between CREST and IRAP?
8. Can an India-based team test Australian systems?
9. What affects the duration and cost of a test?
Put Your Australian Penetration Test on the Calendar
Accredited by CREST for penetration testing, empanelled by CERT-In and certified to ISO 27001:2022. Give us your regulator, deadline and systems, and we will send back a scope and a timetable.
