Network Penetration Testing for Biotech Companies in Cincinnati

 

Biotech organizations in Cincinnati and across Ohio handle some of the most sensitive data in the state — from clinical trial results and intellectual property to patient and genomic information. That makes them a prime target for ransomware groups, insider threats, and financially motivated cybercriminals looking to steal or disrupt research.

Common attacks such as phishing, malware, password guessing, SQL injection, and targeted ransomware are all designed to gain a foothold in your network and move toward high‑value systems: lab information systems, research data repositories, and cloud environments used for bioinformatics and drug discovery.

The financial impact is substantial. In 2021, the median reported cost of a data breach reached $4.24M (source) — and that figure does not include unreported incidents, lost IP, or delayed FDA submissions. For Cincinnati biotech companies competing in a global market, a serious breach can stall trials, disrupt partnerships with UC, Cincinnati Children’s, and local health systems, and damage investor confidence.

To stay ahead of these threats, organizations need to regularly review, test, and strengthen their cybersecurity controls — not just at headquarters, but also across research sites, contract labs, and cloud platforms. This is where network penetration testing becomes essential.

Network penetration testing (often called a pentest) is a controlled, ethical hacking exercise that simulates how an attacker would target your IT and OT environments. For biotech, this can include on‑premise networks, VPNs, cloud workloads, lab networks, and systems used to manage clinical and research data. The goal is simple: identify and safely exploit weaknesses before an attacker does, then give leadership a clear, prioritized plan to fix them.

A well‑executed penetration test helps Cincinnati biotech leaders to:

• Understand real-world risk to research data, IP, and regulated information.

• Validate existing security controls, such as MFA, EDR, network segmentation, and backup strategies.

• Support compliance efforts related to HIPAA, FDA expectations, contractual security requirements, and third‑party risk assessments from partners and investors.

• Improve internal readiness across IT, security (Blue Team), and incident response processes.

 

Ohio Network Penetration Testing Expertise for Biotech

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing and IT security assessments to biotech and life sciences organizations in Cincinnati and across Ohio. Our team combines red team experience (ethical hacking, adversary simulation) with practical knowledge of regulated and research environments, including:

• Research and development networks supporting drug discovery and medical device design.

• Lab environments with instrument controllers, LIMS, and specialized scientific applications.

• Cloud environments used for genomics, bioinformatics, and data analytics.

• Corporate IT, remote access, and third‑party integrations with CROs and partners.

Our approach is straightforward: test your defenses the way a motivated attacker would, but with the discipline, documentation, and control required for a regulated biotech organization. The result is not just a list of vulnerabilities; you receive clear, prioritized remediation guidance aligned with your risk tolerance, budget, and operational realities.

 

Network Penetration Testing Methodology

 

OCD Tech follows a structured, repeatable methodology tailored to biotech environments in Cincinnati, focusing on both external and internal threats, including assumed‑compromise scenarios. Typical activities include:

• Passive reconnaissance – Collecting publicly available information about your organization, staff, and technology footprint without touching your systems.

• Active reconnaissance – Safely scanning networks and services to identify live hosts, open ports, and misconfigurations in corporate, lab, and cloud environments.

• Social engineering – Where in scope, testing phishing resilience and user awareness to see how easily initial access could be gained.

• Exploitation – Attempting to exploit identified weaknesses, such as missing patches, weak credentials, or insecure remote access.

• Post‑exploitation – Assessing what an attacker could do after gaining a foothold, particularly around research data, IP, and regulated information.

• Privilege escalation – Attempting to gain higher‑level access, including domain admin, cloud admin, or access to key lab and research systems.

• Lateral movement – Testing how far an attacker could pivot across your environment, including between corporate IT and lab networks.

• Maintaining access – Demonstrating how persistent access could be established, while keeping all actions controlled and fully documented.

• Covering tracks – Assessing how easily an attacker could evade standard logging and monitoring (and how your Blue Team can improve detection).

• Reporting and executive briefing – Delivering a clear, evidence‑based report and walkthrough: what we did, what we found, what it means for your business, and how to fix it.

 

National Reach

 

While we work closely with biotech companies in Cincinnati and Ohio, OCD Tech also provides network penetration testing and cybersecurity consulting across the U.S., including Boston (MA), New York City (NY), Washington DC, Philadelphia (PA), Dallas (TX), Los Angeles (CA), Chicago (IL), and Baltimore (MD).

 

Contact Our Cincinnati Network Penetration Testing Consultants

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing, configuration reviews, and broader cybersecurity assessments to biotech and life sciences organizations in Cincinnati and across Ohio. If you would like to discuss a targeted penetration test, an assumed‑compromise exercise, or a broader IT security assessment for your biotech environment, please complete the form below and a team member will follow up with you shortly.