OT / ICS / SCADA Penetration Testing
Industrial environments demand a careful hand. We assess OT/ICS/SCADA networks safely — IT/OT segmentation, exposed PLCs and HMIs, and insecure protocols — without touching live processes.
What is OT / ICS / SCADA Penetration Testing?
Industrial environments cannot tolerate downtime, so testing must be careful. We assess OT/ICS/SCADA networks safely — favouring passive techniques — to reveal IT/OT segmentation failures, exposed controllers and insecure protocols without touching live processes.
Industrial environments run processes that can't simply be rebooted, so testing must respect a different risk model: safety and availability first. We favour passive discovery and careful, agreed active testing on non-production assets to reveal the things that actually get industrial networks breached — a flat path between IT and OT, controllers exposed without authentication, and decades-old protocols with no integrity — without ever disturbing live operations.
OT security is also increasingly a legal obligation, not just prudence: regulations like NIS2 and sector-specific rules now expect critical-infrastructure operators to assess and manage cyber risk to industrial systems. A carefully scoped OT assessment satisfies that expectation while respecting the overriding priority of safety and uptime.
OT / ICS / SCADA Penetration Testing is a manual, exploit-driven assessment: real people attacking your target the way an adversary would, then proving each finding with a working proof of concept. It is not an automated scan with a logo on it — the point is to find and demonstrate the issues that actually put you at risk, and hand your team a clear plan to fix them.
Why it matters
Your infrastructure is probed continuously by automated adversaries. One exposed service or reused credential is often all it takes to gain a foothold — and from there, without testing, you don't know how far an attacker gets.
A ot / ics / scada penetration testing engagement replaces guesswork with evidence. Instead of hoping your controls hold, you get a ranked, reproducible picture of where they don’t — before someone hostile finds the same gaps.
Industries & use cases
OT/ICS testing is essential for manufacturing, energy and utilities, water, oil and gas, and transport — critical-infrastructure sectors where NIS2 and sector regulations increasingly mandate it.
What we test
Manual, exploit-driven coverage focused on real impact — not scanner noise.
- IT/OT segmentation and boundaries
- Exposed PLCs, HMIs and historians
- Insecure industrial protocols
- Remote-access and vendor pathways
- Weak authentication and defaults
- Passive discovery of critical assets
Signs you should run a ot / ics / scada penetration testing
If any of these apply, testing is overdue.
- You operate industrial, utility or manufacturing systems
- IT and OT networks are converging
- NIS2 or sector regulation applies to you
- You depend on vendor remote-maintenance access
- You've assumed an air gap that may not hold
Common vulnerabilities we find
The issues that show up again and again in ot / ics / scada penetration testing — and the ones that actually get exploited.
IT/OT segmentation failure
A path from the corporate network into the control environment.
Exposed PLCs & HMIs
Controllers reachable and controllable without authentication.
Insecure protocols
Modbus, DNP3 and S7 traffic without authentication or integrity.
Legacy, unpatchable systems
End-of-life controllers and workstations that can't be patched and rely entirely on isolation.
Uncontrolled remote/vendor access
Remote-maintenance paths that bypass segmentation and monitoring.
Default credentials on controllers/HMIs
Shipped defaults left in place on exposed devices.
Insecure historian and SCADA servers
Unpatched, internet-adjacent servers bridging into control.
Missing network monitoring
No visibility into anomalous OT traffic or intrusions.
Example attack chain
Real impact rarely comes from one bug — it comes from chaining several. A representative example:
Why choose webhook.press
Attacker mindset
We’re offensive security people who also build the free tools bug-bounty hunters use daily. We test the way real adversaries do — and prove it.
No scanner theatre
You get findings a human exploited and verified, ranked by real business risk — not an unfiltered tool dump padded to look thorough.
Fixed price, free retest
A clear quote after scoping, a report your team and auditors can use, and a free retest to confirm the fixes hold.
Our methodology
A structured, transparent process aligned to OWASP and PTES — with a named point of contact throughout.
Scoping & rules of engagement
We agree the exact targets, depth, timing and constraints for your ot / ics / scada penetration testing, and set clear rules of engagement so testing is safe and predictable.
Reconnaissance & mapping
We enumerate the full attack surface — endpoints, roles, technologies and trust boundaries — and threat-model where an attacker would focus.
Manual testing & exploitation
We attack by hand, verifying and chaining weaknesses into real impact. Automated tooling supports coverage; humans find the logic and authorization bugs it can’t.
Analysis & risk rating
Each finding is validated, rated by real business risk rather than raw scanner severity, and de-duplicated so you get signal, not noise.
Reporting
You receive an executive summary for leadership and a technical section with reproducible PoCs, evidence and concrete, stack-specific remediation.
Free retest
After you remediate, we re-test the closed findings to confirm they are actually fixed — at no extra cost.
What you get
Reproducible PoCs
Every finding ships with a working proof and step-by-step reproduction your engineers can replay and verify.
Risk-ranked findings
Prioritised by real business impact, so you fix what matters first instead of drowning in low-severity noise.
Actionable remediation
Concrete, stack-specific fixes and guidance — not generic “apply best practice” filler.
Free retest
We re-check the closed findings after remediation and confirm they’re resolved.
The report is written for two audiences at once: an executive summary that a non-technical stakeholder can act on, and a detailed technical section — findings, evidence, CVSS and reproduction — that your developers and auditors can use directly.
Manual testing, not just a scan
Automated scanners are fast and useful for coverage, but they only find patterns they already know, and they flood you with false positives. They cannot understand your business logic, chain several small issues into a breach, or tell you which alert actually matters. Our ot / ics / scada penetration testing is led by experienced testers who exploit findings by hand and rank them by the damage they’d really do — the difference between a 300-page tool dump and a short list of things worth fixing.
Standards & compliance
Our ot / ics / scada penetration testing reports are written to support the frameworks your auditors and customers care about — including SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, and the EU’s NIS2 and DORA. Each engagement produces clear, independent evidence of testing with scope, methodology and findings documented the way assessors expect, so the same test both hardens your systems and helps satisfy your obligations.
Frameworks we follow
Recognised methodologies, adapted to your target — never a rigid checklist.
- OWASP — Web Security Testing Guide, ASVS and the API Security Top 10
- PTES — the Penetration Testing Execution Standard
- NIST SP 800-115 — technical guide to security testing
- OSSTMM — Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual
- MITRE ATT&CK — to frame real-world adversary techniques
FAQ
Is this safe for live plants?
Yes — we prioritize passive techniques and agree strict rules of engagement; active tests only on approved, non-production assets.
Do you know ICS protocols?
Yes — Modbus, DNP3, S7, EtherNet/IP and others.
Is this safe for live production?
Yes — we prioritise passive techniques and strict rules of engagement; active testing only touches approved, non-production assets.
Do you understand industrial protocols?
Yes — Modbus, DNP3, S7, EtherNet/IP, OPC and others.
Do you test during operations?
We favour passive discovery during operations and schedule any active testing on non-production assets or maintenance windows.
Can you help with NIS2 scope?
Yes — we align the assessment to your regulatory obligations and produce suitable evidence.
How long does a ot / ics / scada penetration testing take?
Most focused engagements run one to two weeks depending on scope; we agree the exact timeline during scoping.
Is a retest included?
Yes — after you remediate, we re-check the closed findings to confirm they’re fixed, at no extra cost.
How do you price it?
Per engagement, based on scope and depth — you get a fixed quote after a short scoping call. No cookie-cutter packages.
Why teams trust our ot / ics / scada penetration testing
Aligned to recognised standards
Testing follows OWASP, PTES, NIST SP 800-115 and MITRE ATT&CK, and reports support SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, NIS2 and DORA.
Every engagement includes
Reproducible PoCs, risk-ranked findings, concrete remediation, a named point of contact, a free retest, and a summary letter of attestation.
Confidential by default
Work is covered by an NDA, scoped with clear rules of engagement, and data is handled with care throughout — including residency requirements.
Sample report available on request — see our reporting format and depth before you commit. Ask for a sample →
Get a quote for OT / ICS / SCADA Penetration Testing
Tell us about the target — we’ll come back with scope and a fixed price. Manual, exploit-driven testing with reproducible proof and a free retest.