Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing (VAPT) South Africa

Most organisations don’t know where they’re exposed until it’s too late. Beyond Cyber’s VAPT service gives you an honest, evidence-based picture of your security weaknesses — and a clear plan to fix the ones that matter most. Whether you need a broad vulnerability scan or a full simulated attack, we scope the right engagement for your environment.

Know Your Weaknesses Before the Attackers Do

Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing for South African Organisations

Two Disciplines. One Clear Picture.

Vulnerability Assessment

What weaknesses exist in my environment?

A systematic scan of your systems, networks, and applications. Every finding catalogued, scored by severity, and delivered with a prioritised remediation plan. Broad by design — the goal is full coverage.

Best for: establishing your baseline, ongoing scanning, compliance

Penetration Testing

Could an attacker actually use these against me?

Our testers actively attempt to exploit vulnerabilities exactly as a real attacker would — escalating privileges, moving laterally, and accessing sensitive data. Deeper, targeted, and proof-based.

Best for:validating real-world risk, board-level reporting, pre-audit assurance

Our recommendation: Start with a Vulnerability Assessment to establish your baseline. Follow with Penetration Testing to validate whether your critical findings represent real, exploitable risk. Used together, they give you the most complete picture of your security posture.

Security Assessment

Choosing the Right Methodology

Black Box Testing

Tester knowledge: None

Our testers approach your environment exactly as an external attacker would — no prior information, starting from zero. Reconnaissance, attack surface mapping, probing for entry points. The most realistic simulation of an opportunistic or targeted external threat.

Best used for: external threat simulation, perimeter stress-testing

Grey Box Testing

Tester knowledge: Partial

Testers are given limited information — user credentials, a network diagram, or basic application documentation — simulating an insider, a contractor, or an attacker who has already gained a foothold. Efficient and highly effective for authenticated attack paths.

Best used for: web applications, internal systems, insider risk scenarios

White Box Testing

Tester knowledge: Full Complete visibility: source code, architecture diagrams, network topology, admin credentials.

The most thorough assessment possible — uncovering vulnerabilities invisible to an outside attacker but present in your configuration or codebase.

Best used for: development teams, compliance assessments, maximum coverage

Where Does the Threat Come From?

External Testing

Focuses on everything visible from the internet — web apps, VPN gateways, email infrastructure, cloud-hosted assets, exposed admin interfaces. Simulates an attacker with no prior access trying to break in.

Internal Testing

Simulates a threat already inside your network — malicious insider, compromised endpoint, contractor with access. Tests lateral movement, privilege escalation, Active Directory exposure, and segmentation between network zones.

Not sure which you need? Most organisations benefit from both. We typically recommend starting with external testing to address public-facing exposure, then internal testing to validate your defences from the inside.

Every Engagement Includes

$

Executive Summary

Board-ready findings with business context, no jargon
$

Technical Report

Full vulnerability detail with proof-of-concept evidence
$

Remediation Guidance

Prioritised, actionable fixes for every finding
$

Debrief Session

Walk-through with your team to clarify findings and next steps

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long does a penetration test take?
A: Scope-dependent, but most engagements run between 3 and 10 business days for the active testing phase, with a reporting period of 3–5 days afterwards. We’ll give you a precise timeline during scoping.
Q: Will a penetration test disrupt our operations?
A: We design every engagement to minimise disruption. Testing windows, exclusions, and emergency stop procedures are agreed upfront. For production environments we recommend scheduling intensive testing outside business hours.
Q: How often should we run VAPT?
A: Vulnerability Assessments are best run continuously or at least quarterly. Penetration Testing is typically annual for most organisations, or after any significant infrastructure change, new application launch, or ahead of a compliance audit.
Q: Do you provide POPIA or ISO 27001 aligned reports?
A: Yes. Our reports are structured to provide usable evidence for POPIA compliance reviews, ISO 27001 audits, and other regulatory frameworks relevant to South African organisations.
Q: What's the difference between VAPT and a red team exercise?
A: A penetration test is scoped and time-bound — we test defined systems against defined objectives. A red team exercise is broader, longer, and simulates a full adversarial campaign including physical access, social engineering, and persistence. We offer both; we can advise which is appropriate for your maturity level.
Q: We've never done this before — where do we start?
A: A Vulnerability Assessment is the right starting point. It gives you a full picture of your current exposure without the complexity of a full pentest. Contact us and we’ll walk you through what a first engagement looks like.

Ready to Test Your Defences?

Our certified consultants bring real-world adversarial experience to every engagement. Tell us a little about your environment and we’ll come back with a tailored proposal — no obligation.

Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing (VAPT) South Africa

What prompted this enquiry?