Penetration Testing Services: Free External Network Test
The free assessment is a remote external penetration test, limited to the information available to NetSys and the external scope we agree with you. You receive findings from that agreed scope. Tier 2 source code testing is a separate engagement: give us your code under NDA and we test it in an isolated sandbox.
The short answer
Penetration testing proves what an attacker could actually reach, rather than listing possible flaws. NetSys testing is AI-driven, and an engineer verifies every finding. There are two tiers: a free remote external test, limited to available information and an agreed external scope, and source code testing in an isolated sandbox, quoted per codebase. Internal and onsite testing is scoped separately.
Closest related page: Web application penetration testing. That page covers the Tier 2 test of your application's code and running build; this one covers the free external network test and how the two tiers compare.
Two tiers. Start with the free one.
Start by defining the question and scope. Tier 1 reviews external exposure using information available to NetSys. Tier 2 tests an application and its source code in a separately scoped engagement.
Free External Penetration Test
Remote external testing based on available information and an agreed scope.
- Agreed domains and public-facing systems within the authorized external scope
- Public information available to NetSys that is relevant to the agreed scope
- Exposure indicators supported by the available information, with limitations stated
- A prioritized fix list in plain English, yours to keep
- Delivered remotely; internal and onsite reviews are scoped separately
Source Code Penetration Test
Give us your code. We put it in a sandbox and try to break it.
- Your application and its source code, under NDA, built and run in an isolated NetSys sandbox
- Static code review plus dynamic testing of the running app and its APIs
- Dependency, secret and configuration scanning: the supply-chain paths attackers use
- Findings with severity, reproduction steps and the specific fix, then a retest
- Never touches your production systems; code is deleted when the engagement closes
The free assessment is a remote external penetration test, limited to the information available to NetSys and the external scope we agree with you. The report describes external findings and the limits of what could be assessed. Use it to decide which questions need a more detailed review.
The source code tier answers the question software-dependent businesses have and rarely get an honest quote for: if a motivated attacker had our code, what would they break? We find out in a sandbox, on our infrastructure, before anyone finds out in production.
Engineers Break Things. Scanners List Things.
Useful findings explain the evidence, the affected system and the next step. For the free remote test, that evidence is limited to available information and agreed external scope. A separate source code engagement can examine authentication flows, application behavior and business logic inside the sandbox. We distinguish demonstrated findings from areas that were not tested.
The Two Tiers, In Detail
Tier 1: Free External Penetration Test
Remote external testing limited to available information and agreed scope.
- Agreed public-facing systems and domains within the authorized scope
- Relevant public information available to NetSys within the agreed scope
- Exposure indicators supported by available information; no assumption that staff or internal controls were tested
- Internal networks, Wi-Fi, physical access and onsite visits are outside the free offer
Tier 2: Source Code Penetration Test
Give us your code. We put it in a sandbox and try to break it.
- Code received under NDA, built and run in an isolated NetSys sandbox with no path to your production
- Static review for injection, authentication and authorization flaws, and business-logic weaknesses
- Dynamic testing of the running application and its APIs, plus dependency, secret and configuration scanning
- Findings with reproduction steps and fixes, a retest after patching, and code deleted at close
The Report, Both Tiers
A prioritized fix list your leadership and your IT or developers can both act on.
- Findings ranked by real-world risk, not CVE count
- What we found, what an attacker could do with it, the specific step that closes it
- Quick wins separated from the projects that need budget and a maintenance window
- Yours to keep, with no obligation to engage us for the fixes
How It Runs, and What It Isn't
Authorized, scoped and safe, and honest about what was not tested.
- Written authorization and agreed scope before anything starts; no production data touched
- Tier 1 delivered remotely, limited to available information and agreed external scope
- Tier 2 delivered from our sandbox to businesses anywhere in the U.S.
- Not a weeks-long red-team engagement or a compliance certification audit; deeper work is scoped separately
Why Businesses Choose NetSys for Penetration Testing
Fifteen minutes with a NetSys engineer, not a salesperson, and you will know where your penetration testing stands and what it would take to fix it. Call 845-203-3914 or request a call to discuss the scope and next steps.
Who does the work: meet the NetSys team on our About page.
- A clearly bounded free remote external test and separately scoped source code testing
- Findings distinguish the evidence observed from systems and controls that were not tested
- External exposure observations are limited to what the available information supports
- Source code never leaves the sandbox: NDA, isolated infrastructure, no production access, deleted at close
- A prioritized fix list in priority order, yours whether or not you hire us
- The report states its scope and limitations so you can assess whether it addresses a specific evidence request
- Run by a firm defending business networks since 1998, with a 100% ransomware recovery record
Measured results from our case studies
Tier 1 and Tier 2, side by side
The honest version of a pricing page. What each tier tests, what you hand over, where it runs, and what you get back:
| Tier 1: Free external test | Tier 2: Source code test | |
|---|---|---|
| What we test | Agreed external systems and relevant information available to NetSys; internal controls are outside the free scope | Your application and its source code: static review, dynamic testing of the running app and APIs, dependency and secret scanning |
| What you give us | Written authorization and your domains (no credentials, no production access) | Your code under NDA (a repository grant or archive) and a short technical call to scope it |
| Where it runs | Remotely, within an agreed external scope; onsite work is scoped separately | An isolated NetSys sandbox with no path to your production systems, customers or data |
| What you get | Findings, recommended next steps and limitations based on the agreed external scope | Findings with severity, reproduction steps and the specific fix, then a retest after you patch |
| Price | Free, no obligation, no sales pressure | Quoted per codebase after the scoping call; no rate card |
| Timeline | Scope and timing agreed before testing | Scoped per codebase and put in writing before we start |
| Afterward | Fix it yourself, with your IT provider, or with us (month to month if it's us) | Code and sandbox deleted at close; findings go to you and nobody else |
Tier 2 in detail: web application penetration testing from the source code up.
Neither tier is a weeks-long red-team engagement or a compliance certification audit. If your situation needs one of those, the scoping call is where we say so and point you to the right kind of firm.
Which tier, in thirty seconds
The rule we give callers before any scoping conversation:
- You want an external starting point based on available information → request Tier 1 and agree the authorized scope.
- You build software, run a customer-facing application, or a client's security questionnaire asks about application testing → Tier 2, scoped per codebase.
- You are not sure → discuss the question with an engineer before choosing the scope.
- An insurer, auditor or enterprise client wants a formal certification-grade assessment → neither; we will say so and refer you.
Network penetration testing: external and internal
A network penetration test has two halves, and each answers a different question. How each one works, and where it sits at NetSys:
| Network test | What it answers | What is tested | How NetSys handles it |
|---|---|---|---|
| External network test | What can someone on the internet reach through the systems you expose? | Your public IP addresses, exposed services, remote access and logins, tested from the internet with no credentials | Tier 1: free and remote, within the external scope agreed in writing |
| Internal network test | How far could a phished laptop, a rogue device or a contractor's account move once inside? | The office network, servers and the paths between systems, starting from a foothold inside | Scoped separately as an internal security assessment |
Scope the next step: internal security assessments · web application penetration testing.
Web applications are a separate test: the Tier 2 engagement reviews the code and attacks a running build in our sandbox.
Which kind of test answers which question
Buyers compare four common kinds of penetration test. What each one tells you, and where it sits at NetSys:
| Test type | The question it answers | How NetSys handles it |
|---|---|---|
| External network | What can someone on the internet reach through the systems you expose? | Tier 1: free and remote, within the external scope agreed in writing |
| Web application | Can an attacker break your application, its logins or its APIs? | Tier 2: code review plus dynamic tests of the running app in our sandbox, quoted per codebase |
| Internal network | Once inside, how far could an attacker or a careless insider get? | Not part of either tier; scoped separately as an internal security assessment |
| Phishing and social engineering | Would staff click a lure or hand over a password? | Measured through simulated phishing in our security awareness training, scoped separately |
Asked for a red team exercise instead? Red team vs penetration testing: what each one proves.
NIST SP 800-115 describes external testing as the view from outside your perimeter and internal testing as the view of a trusted insider or an attacker already inside. When both are planned, the external test usually runs first.
What one finding looks like in the report
An illustration of the format, written for this page. It is not a finding from a client report:
| Field | What it tells you | Illustrative example |
|---|---|---|
| Finding | What was found, in one line | Remote desktop reachable from the internet on a public address |
| Severity | How urgent it is, ranked by real-world risk rather than CVE count | High |
| Evidence | What the test observed, so your team can check it | The service answered on the agreed address during the authorized test window |
| Attacker impact | What someone could do with it, in business terms | Try stolen or guessed passwords against a login that sits outside your MFA |
| Fix | The specific step that closes it | Close the port and require VPN with MFA for remote access |
| Retest | Whether the fix was confirmed | Included in Tier 2 after you patch |
Every report also states what was in scope, the information available and what was not tested, so nobody reads more into it than the test supports.
Where we deliver Penetration Testing
Penetration Testing in Brooklyn, NY · Penetration Testing in New York City · Penetration Testing in Westchester County · Penetration Testing in Fairfield County · Penetration Testing in Nassau County, NY · Penetration Testing in Great Neck, NY · Penetration Testing in Philadelphia. We also support clients remotely wherever their systems run. See all locations and service areas.
Penetration Testing FAQs
What is penetration testing?
Penetration testing is an authorized, controlled attack on your own business: the test attempts to get into your systems, accounts and applications the way a real attacker would, then documents exactly what worked. At NetSys the testing is AI-driven, and an engineer verifies every finding before it is reported. Where a vulnerability scan lists known weaknesses automatically, a penetration test proves what an attacker can reach: a phishable account, an exposed service, a login on a forgotten subdomain, an input in your application that leaks data. The deliverable is a prioritized fix list built from demonstrated entry points, not theoretical ones.
How is a penetration test done?
In four phases, the ones NIST SP 800-115 describes: planning, discovery, attack and reporting. Planning settles the written authorization, the systems in scope, the testing window and the goals, and no testing happens until it is signed. Discovery gathers information about what is reachable and checks it for known weaknesses. The attack phase tries to exploit what discovery found to prove which weaknesses are real and how far each one leads; at NetSys that testing is AI-driven and an engineer verifies every finding. Reporting turns the verified findings into a prioritized fix list with the scope and its limits stated.
What does a network penetration test include?
A network penetration test has two halves. An external test starts from the internet with no credentials and checks what your public IP addresses, exposed services, remote access and logins let an attacker reach; at NetSys that is the free Tier 1 test, run remotely within an agreed scope. An internal test starts from a foothold inside, such as a phished laptop or a contractor's account, and measures how far it could move; we scope that separately as an internal security assessment.
What is the difference between the two tiers?
The free assessment is a remote external penetration test, limited to the information available to NetSys and the external scope we agree with you. Tier 2 is a separately scoped source code test in an isolated sandbox. The free test does not include internal access, a Microsoft 365 tenant review, onsite work or a full compliance assessment.
How much does a penetration test cost?
The NetSys remote external offer is free within its agreed scope and the information available to us. Broader testing and source-code review are quoted separately; a source code test is priced per codebase after a short technical call, and the size of the repository, the number of applications and APIs in scope and the deployment model move the quote. A useful comparison identifies the authorized assets, access provided, testing methods, exclusions, report detail and whether remediation retesting is included. A free external report should not be assumed to satisfy a requirement for an internal, authenticated or compliance-specific test.
What does the free external test include?
The free assessment is a remote external penetration test, limited to the information available to NetSys and the external scope we agree with you. We agree the authorized domains or systems before testing and describe the findings and limits in the report. The test does not establish how your internal controls are configured or how staff will respond to phishing. Internal systems, tenant configuration, onsite work and broader security or compliance reviews are scoped separately.
How does source code testing work, and is our code safe with you?
You provide the code under a signed NDA, as a repository grant or an archive. We build and run it in an isolated NetSys sandbox that has no connection to your production systems, customers or data. Then we attack it: static review for the vulnerability classes that matter (injection, broken authentication and authorization, insecure deserialization, business-logic flaws), dynamic testing of the running application and its APIs, and dependency, secret and configuration scanning. Findings come with severity, reproduction steps and the specific fix; we retest once you have patched. When the engagement closes, the code and sandbox are deleted, and the findings go to you and nobody else.
What languages and platforms can you test?
Any codebase we can build and run: web applications, APIs, mobile backends, integrations and internal tools across the common stacks. If your platform is unusual, the scoping call is where we say so honestly; we would rather decline a test than fake one. Bring the repository structure and the deployment model to that call and we will tell you within the hour whether it is a fit.
What is the difference between a penetration test and a vulnerability assessment?
A vulnerability assessment or scan is software listing everything it thinks might be wrong: often hundreds of items, most of them noise, none of them proven. A penetration test proves what an attacker could do in your specific environment: which path works, how far it goes, what it reaches. Scans produce inventory. Tests produce evidence. If a provider hands you a scanner export and calls it a penetration test, it is not one, and the same applies to a code test that is just a static-analysis report with the vendor's logo on it.
What is in the penetration testing report?
The report describes what was assessed, the available information, findings supported by the test and recommended next steps. Its conclusions apply only to the agreed scope; an external test does not establish the state of unseen internal controls. Source code testing also includes reproduction steps for the findings in its separate scope.
Who fixes the findings after the test?
You decide. The report is written so your own IT team, your current provider or NetSys can act on it, and it separates quick wins from the fixes that need budget and a maintenance window. If NetSys does the work, it is quoted as a project or handled inside a month-to-month agreement. A source code test includes a retest once you have patched, so each fix is confirmed rather than assumed.
How long does a penetration test take?
Tier 1 runs remotely. The scope, available information and timing are agreed before testing; it does not include an onsite visit. Tier 2 timing is scoped per codebase and put in writing before work starts.
Is the free penetration test really free, and is it safe?
The free remote external test costs nothing. Testing requires authorization and an agreed external scope and is limited to information available to NetSys. We discuss the permitted testing and its limitations before starting. Internal access, onsite testing and broader assessments require separate scope.
How often should we run penetration testing?
At minimum after anything that changes your attack surface: an office move, a new location, a network rebuild, a Microsoft 365 migration, a new public-facing application or a major release of one you already run. Businesses under insurer, client or regulator scrutiny often settle into an annual external test, with source code testing tied to release cycles. Raise it during the engagement and we will scope what makes sense for you.
Can we use the results for cyber insurance or a client security questionnaire?
The report may help answer questions about the external systems tested. Ask the requesting organization what scope, methodology and evidence it requires before commissioning the work. The free test cannot establish the state of internal systems or controls it cannot see, and acceptance of a report is the requesting organization’s decision.
Do you do penetration testing in New York City?
Yes. Businesses in New York City can request the free remote external penetration test, limited to information available to NetSys and agreed external scope. Our Brooklyn location does not make an onsite visit part of the free offer. Source code testing and other onsite or internal work are scoped separately.
Do you do penetration testing in New Jersey and Connecticut?
Yes. Businesses in New Jersey and Connecticut can request the free remote external penetration test, limited to information available to NetSys and the external scope we agree with you. Internal and on-site testing are scoped separately. Our engineers work on site across North Jersey and Fairfield County, CT; visits elsewhere in either state are arranged in advance.
Do you offer penetration testing as a service (PTaaS)?
Not as a subscription platform. PTaaS usually means a portal with testing on demand or on a schedule. We run scoped engagements instead: the free external test and per-codebase source code testing, repeated after changes such as a new office, a migration or a major release. Engineers write the findings, not a dashboard.
Sources and technical references
Guides on this topic
- Web application penetration testing: the Tier 2 code and running-app test
- Penetration testing tools, and how AI-driven findings get verified
- Scope a broader internal or tenant security assessment
- Discuss a separately scoped source code security review
- Check the evidence your insurer actually requests
- Dark Web Monitoring: Where the Leaked Credentials Come From
- Business Email Compromise: How Small Businesses Get Hit
- Small Business Cybersecurity: Controls That Stop Attacks
- Free Cybersecurity Self-Assessment: 7 Questions
- IT & Cybersecurity in Brooklyn & New York City
- managed IT services in Jericho
- managed IT and cybersecurity across North Jersey
- Westport, CT managed IT and cybersecurity
- What a penetration test costs, and how to compare quotes
- Penetration testing vs vulnerability scanning for a small business
- Simulated phishing through security awareness training
- Vulnerability assessment tools for a small business, and what they miss
Start with written authorization and clear external boundaries.
The free offer is a remote external penetration test, limited to the information available to NetSys and the external scope we agree with you. Internal, onsite and broader reviews are scoped separately.