Network Penetration Testing for MSPs in Burlington, Vermont

 

Managed Services Providers (MSPs) in Burlington and across Vermont are under constant pressure to protect their clients’ networks and sensitive data from increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals. Attacks such as malware, phishing, password attacks, SQL injection, and ransomware are routinely used to compromise MSPs and then pivot into customer environments. When this happens, the financial and reputational impact can be severe. In 2021, the median cost of a data breach reached $4.24 million—and that only reflects voluntarily reported incidents.

For MSPs serving businesses in Vermont—healthcare practices on Pine Street, manufacturers in Chittenden County, local governments, schools, and professional services firms—the message is simple: security controls cannot be “set and forget.” They need to be regularly reviewed, tested, and upgraded to ensure they actually work under real-world attack conditions.

 

What Is Network Penetration Testing for MSPs?

 

Network penetration testing (net-pen testing) is a controlled, ethical hacking exercise where security professionals simulate real cyberattacks against your MSP’s infrastructure and, where in scope, representative client environments. The goal is to identify and safely exploit vulnerabilities before a criminal does.

For Burlington MSPs, a well-executed penetration test helps to:

• Uncover weaknesses in firewalls, VPNs, remote management tools (RMM), backups, and cloud configurations.

• Validate existing IT security controls and confirm they behave as expected under attack.

• Support compliance efforts for frameworks and regulations commonly seen in Vermont, such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GLBA, CJIS, and cybersecurity clauses in client contracts.

• Reduce business risk by demonstrating how an attacker could move from a single compromised account to full environment compromise.

 

Vermont Network Penetration Testing Experience for MSPs

 

OCD Tech provides specialized network penetration testing services for MSPs in Burlington and across Vermont. Our team combines IT Risk Advisory and cybersecurity consulting experience with hands-on offensive security skills, allowing us to test the systems MSPs actually live and die by: remote access, cloud platforms, identity providers, RMM tools, backup solutions, and client connectivity.

We focus on producing outcomes that are useful to business leaders and technical teams alike. A typical engagement delivers:

• Clear, prioritized findings that highlight which vulnerabilities represent real business risk.

• Actionable remediation guidance tailored to MSP environments, including configuration hardening, identity and access management improvements, and segmentation strategies between your core and client networks.

• Evidence for your clients that you are proactively investing in security controls, testing, and continuous improvement.

 

Our Network Penetration Testing Methodology

 

OCD Tech follows a structured, repeatable methodology that mirrors how real attackers target MSPs. While every engagement is tailored to your environment and risk profile, core activities typically include:

• Passive Reconnaissance – Quietly gathering public and open-source information about your MSP, domains, exposed services, and technologies without touching your systems.

• Active Reconnaissance – Safely scanning and probing your in-scope networks and applications to identify open ports, services, and potential misconfigurations.

• Social Engineering – Where authorized, testing employee awareness through techniques such as phishing or pretexting to evaluate exposure to human-focused attacks.

• Exploitation – Attempting to leverage identified weaknesses (e.g., unpatched systems, weak passwords, poor configurations) to gain unauthorized access.

• Post-Exploitation – Assessing what an attacker could do once inside, such as accessing client data, RMM tools, or privileged accounts.

• Privilege Escalation – Trying to move from standard user rights to administrative or domain-level control to simulate worst-case scenarios.

• Lateral Movement – Evaluating whether an attacker can pivot from your MSP network into client environments or other internal systems.

• Maintaining Access – Demonstrating how persistent backdoors or misconfigurations could allow long-term unauthorized access (without leaving anything behind).

• Covering Tracks – Assessing the effectiveness of your logging, monitoring, and detection capabilities against realistic attacker behavior.

• Reporting – Delivering a clear, executive-ready report and a technical remediation roadmap, including a debrief session with your leadership and engineering teams.

 

National Reach, Local Focus

 

While OCD Tech maintains a strong presence in Vermont, we also deliver network penetration testing and IT security assessments to MSPs and other organizations across the U.S., including:

• Boston (MA)

• New York City (NY)

• Washington DC

• Philadelphia (PA)

• Dallas (TX)

• Los Angeles (CA)

• Chicago (IL)

• Baltimore (MD)

 

Contact Our Vermont Network Penetration Testing Team

 

OCD Tech provides penetration testing and cybersecurity consulting for MSPs and their clients in Burlington and throughout Vermont. If you would like to discuss a network penetration test, IT security assessment, or ongoing security program support, please complete the form below and a member of our team will follow up with you shortly.