Network Penetration Testing for Financial Services in Atlanta (GA)

 

Financial institutions in Atlanta and across Georgia are prime targets for cybercriminals. Banks, credit unions, payment processors, wealth managers, and fintech firms all hold high-value data: customer PII, account details, wire instructions, cardholder data, and trading or lending systems. Threat actors use malware, phishing, password attacks, SQL injection, ransomware, and insider abuse to gain access to this information and disrupt operations.

The financial impact of a successful breach is substantial. In 2021, the median reported cost of a data breach reached $4.24M — and that excludes unreported incidents, regulatory penalties, class actions, or reputational damage with customers and investors. For regulated financial services in Georgia, the risk extends to compliance failures, supervisory scrutiny, and loss of client trust.

To stay ahead of evolving threats, Atlanta-based financial services companies need to regularly review, test, and strengthen their cybersecurity controls. One of the most effective ways to do this is through professional network penetration testing.

 

What is Network Penetration Testing for Financial Institutions?

 

Network penetration testing (net-pen testing) is a controlled, ethical hacking exercise that simulates real-world cyberattacks against your IT and cloud infrastructure. The goal is straightforward: identify security weaknesses before criminals do, then provide clear, prioritized remediation guidance.

For financial services organizations in Atlanta, this typically includes testing:

• Internal networks in branches, data centers, and headquarters
• External networks, including internet-facing banking portals and APIs
• Remote access solutions (VPNs, secure access gateways, vendor connections)
• Cloud environments supporting digital banking, payments, and trading platforms

The outcomes of a professional penetration test help executives and directors:

• Manage vulnerabilities and reduce the likelihood of breaches and ransomware
• Validate security controls such as firewalls, EDR, MFA, and segmentation
• Support regulatory expectations for ongoing IT security assessment and testing
• Demonstrate due diligence to regulators, auditors, and business partners

 

Atlanta & Georgia Financial Services Penetration Testing Experience

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing services to financial services companies in Atlanta and throughout Georgia. Our team has significant experience in IT risk advisory, cybersecurity consulting, and security assessments for:

• Banks and credit unions
• Investment and wealth management firms
• Insurance providers
• Fintech and payment processors

We combine hands-on offensive security skills (Red Team style testing) with a clear understanding of your regulatory and business environment. This includes the expectations of FDIC, OCC, NCUA, FINRA, SEC, PCI DSS, SOC examinations, and state-level regulators.

The result is a practical penetration test that not only identifies misconfigurations, exploitable vulnerabilities, and insider threat risks, but also delivers actionable remediation steps tailored to financial services operations, risk appetite, and budget.

 

Network Penetration Testing Methodology

 

OCD Tech follows a structured and repeatable penetration testing methodology aligned with industry best practices. While each engagement is tailored to your environment and risk profile, our testing typically includes:

• Passive Reconnaissance – Quietly gathering public and open-source intelligence on your organization, domains, and infrastructure.
• Active Reconnaissance – Scanning and probing networks to identify live hosts, open ports, services, and potential entry points.
• Social Engineering (where in-scope) – Testing user awareness and controls through carefully scoped phishing or pretext scenarios, especially for high-risk financial operations (wire, treasury, trading).
• Exploitation – Attempting to exploit identified weaknesses to gain unauthorized access, using the same tactics as real attackers — but under strict rules of engagement.
• Post-Exploitation – Assessing what an attacker could do after initial compromise: data access, movement, and impact to critical banking or payment systems.
• Privilege Escalation – Attempting to move from standard user access to administrative or domain-level control.
• Lateral Movement – Testing segmentation and access controls by moving between systems, branches, and environments (e.g., from office networks toward core banking or payment systems).
• Maintaining Access – Demonstrating how attackers could persist in the environment if not detected and removed.
• Covering Tracks – Evaluating log integrity and your Blue Team’s ability to detect and respond to malicious activity.
• Reporting – Delivering a clear, executive-friendly report and a detailed technical breakdown with prioritized remediation steps and improvement recommendations.

This approach gives Atlanta financial institutions a realistic view of their security posture, supporting both tactical fixes and longer-term security strategy, including Red/Blue/Purple Team exercises.

 

National Reach with Local Focus

 

While we maintain a strong presence in Atlanta and Georgia, OCD Tech also provides network penetration testing services to financial and enterprise clients across the U.S., including:

• Boston (MA)
• New York City (NY)
• Washington DC
• Philadelphia (PA)
• Dallas (TX)
• Los Angeles (CA)
• Chicago (IL)
• Baltimore (MD)

Wherever your branches, data centers, or cloud workloads are located, we can deliver a consistent, high-quality IT security assessment aligned with your enterprise security program.

 

Contact Our Atlanta Network Penetration Testing Consultants

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing and cybersecurity consulting to financial services businesses and organizations in Atlanta and across Georgia. If you would like to discuss a penetration test, security assessment, or an assumed-compromise style engagement, please complete the form below. A member of our team will contact you to review your environment, objectives, and timeline.