Network Penetration Testing for HR Companies in Baltimore (MD)

 

HR and staffing firms in Baltimore and across Maryland hold exactly what cybercriminals want most: detailed employee records, Social Security numbers, payroll data, background checks, drug-test results, and healthcare information. Attackers use malware, phishing emails, password attacks, SQL injections, and ransomware to get into HR systems, applicant tracking systems (ATS), and payroll/benefits platforms.

The financial impact of a breach is severe. In 2021, the median cost of a data breach reached $4.24M (source)—and that only covers incidents that were voluntarily reported. For HR organizations, the real cost also includes reputational damage with clients, candidates, and employees, as well as potential issues with regulators and state privacy laws.

To stay ahead of these threats, HR companies in Maryland need to regularly review, test, and upgrade their cybersecurity controls. That includes validating the security of VPNs for remote recruiters, cloud-based HR platforms, background screening vendors, and any system handling personally identifiable information (PII).

 

What Is Network Penetration Testing for HR Firms?

 

Network penetration testing (often called “net-pen testing” or simply “pentest”) is a controlled, ethical hacking exercise where security specialists simulate real-world cyberattacks against your HR network and systems. The objective is straightforward: identify vulnerabilities before an attacker does, prove how far those vulnerabilities can be taken, and provide clear remediation guidance.

For Baltimore-based HR, staffing, and recruiting companies, this typically includes testing:

• Internal corporate networks used by HR teams and recruiters
• Remote access solutions (VPN, remote desktops, cloud portals) for hybrid and remote staff
• HRIS, payroll, benefits, and timekeeping systems
• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and candidate portals
• Cloud environments hosting employee or candidate data
• Email and collaboration platforms frequently targeted by phishing campaigns

The results of a professional penetration test give leadership a clear picture of:

• Which weaknesses could lead to loss of HR and payroll data
• Whether current IT security controls work as expected in a real attack
• How prepared the organization is from a compliance and risk standpoint

 

Maryland Network Penetration Testing Experience

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing services to HR companies and people-centric organizations in Baltimore and across Maryland, including staffing agencies, executive search firms, PEOs, and in-house HR departments. Our consultants bring a combination of IT risk advisory, cybersecurity consulting, and hands-on ethical hacking experience across multiple regulated industries.

For HR, we focus on practical, business-aligned outcomes:

• Protecting employee, contractor, and candidate data
• Reducing the likelihood and impact of ransomware and account takeover attacks
• Strengthening insider threat detection and access control around sensitive records
• Supporting compliance needs for HR-related regulations, contracts, and client requirements

You receive a clear, prioritized remediation plan, not just a technical report—so your internal IT team, outsourced provider, or Managed Service Provider (MSP) knows exactly what to fix first.

 

Our Network Penetration Testing Methodology

 

OCD Tech uses a proven, repeatable penetration testing methodology tailored to HR companies in the Baltimore area. We follow a structured process that mirrors how real attackers operate, but under strict rules of engagement and with full authorization.

Typical activities include:

• Passive reconnaissance – Quietly gathering information about your HR environment from public sources, such as exposed subdomains, HR portals, or misconfigured services.
• Active reconnaissance – Scanning and mapping your HR network, cloud services, and external-facing systems to identify live hosts, open ports, and potential attack paths.
• Social engineering (where authorized) – Testing how staff respond to realistic phishing or pretexting attempts targeting HR workflows, such as fake candidate resumes or “urgent” payroll changes.
• Exploitation – Safely exploiting identified vulnerabilities to demonstrate real business impact, such as access to HRIS data, ATS records, or internal file shares.
• Post-exploitation – Assessing what an attacker could do after the initial compromise, including data access and pivoting to other HR-related systems.
• Privilege escalation – Attempting to gain higher-level access (for example, HR admin, domain admin, or payroll administrator) from a standard user account.
• Lateral movement – Moving between systems to test segmentation between HR, finance, and general corporate networks.
• Maintaining access – Demonstrating how an attacker could persist inside the network if not detected by your Blue Team or monitoring tools.
• Covering tracks – Showing where logging, alerting, and monitoring are insufficient to detect or investigate malicious activity.
• Reporting and executive briefing – Delivering a detailed report and plain-language summary for leadership, including risk ratings, technical detail for IT, and practical next steps.

This approach gives HR organizations a realistic picture of how a Red Team-style attack would play out against their networks and how well their Blue Team or security operations would respond—all without the chaos of an actual breach.

 

National Reach

 

While we have a strong presence in Baltimore and Maryland, OCD Tech provides network penetration testing and broader cybersecurity services to HR and people-focused companies nationwide, including:

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

 

Contact Our Baltimore Network Penetration Testing Consultants

 

OCD Tech delivers network penetration testing and cybersecurity consulting to HR companies, staffing firms, and in-house HR departments in Baltimore and across Maryland. If you want to understand how vulnerable your HR systems really are—and how to fix it before someone else finds out—complete the form below and a team member will contact you shortly.