Network Penetration Testing for Biotech Companies in Columbia, SC

 

Biotech organizations in Columbia and across South Carolina handle some of the most sensitive data in the state: clinical trial information, genomic datasets, intellectual property, and proprietary R&D. This makes local biotech labs, CROs, manufacturers, and research institutions a high‑value target for cybercriminals, competitors, and nation‑state actors.

Common attacks against biotech companies include phishing campaigns, ransomware, malware, credential theft, and targeted attacks on laboratory networks and cloud research platforms. These attacks aim to disrupt operations, steal scientific findings, or quietly manipulate data used in research and regulatory submissions.

The global average cost of a data breach reached $4.24M in 2021 (source), and biotech incidents often exceed that because of regulatory exposure, IP loss, and downtime in sensitive environments like cleanrooms and GxP systems. Many incidents are never publicly reported, so the real cost is higher.

For biotech organizations in the Columbia area—whether you operate in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, or life sciences research—regular, independent security testing is now a basic operational requirement, not a “nice to have.”

 

What Is Network Penetration Testing for Biotech?

 

Network penetration testing (often called a pentest) is a controlled, ethical hacking engagement where specialists simulate real‑world cyberattacks against your corporate network, lab networks, and cloud environments. The goal is simple: find the weaknesses in your security before someone with less friendly intentions does.

For biotech companies in South Carolina, this typically includes:

• Corporate IT networks – offices, remote access, identity systems, email, VPNs
• Laboratory networks – LIMS, ELN, lab instruments, OT/IoT devices, sequencing platforms
• Cloud and collaboration platforms – research data stores, code repositories, collaboration tools

The outcome of a network penetration test is a clear, prioritized view of:

• How an attacker could move from an external foothold to critical biotech systems
• Which vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and access paths pose the highest risk
• How effective your existing security controls, monitoring, and incident response really are
• What you need to change—now vs. later—to reduce the chance and impact of a breach

For regulated biotech organizations, penetration testing also supports compliance and due diligence expectations under frameworks such as FDA expectations for computer systems, HIPAA for PHI, and contractual security requirements from sponsors and partners.

 

Biotech-Focused Network Penetration Testing in Columbia and South Carolina

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing and IT security assessments to biotech and life sciences companies in Columbia and throughout South Carolina. Our team combines hands‑on penetration testing expertise with experience in environments that matter to biotech, including:

• Pre‑clinical and clinical research organizations
• Pharmaceutical and biologics manufacturers
• Medical device and diagnostics companies
• Academic and private research institutions

We understand the operational realities of biotech in the region: shared lab spaces, outsourced IT, rapid growth, legacy lab equipment, and the need to keep GxP systems and research environments online while still testing security thoroughly.

Each engagement is tailored to your risk profile and business priorities. The result is not just a list of vulnerabilities, but actionable, risk‑based recommendations that leadership, IT, and security teams can all understand and implement.

 

Our Network Penetration Testing Methodology

 

OCD Tech follows a structured, repeatable methodology that mirrors how real attackers operate, but in a controlled and documented way. A typical biotech‑focused network penetration test includes:

• Passive reconnaissance – Quietly identifying public information about your biotech organization, systems, and personnel without direct interaction.
• Active reconnaissance – Carefully probing your external and internal networks to identify live systems, exposed services, and potential entry points.
• Social engineering (where in scope) – Testing user awareness and processes through controlled phishing or other scenarios targeting high‑risk roles (e.g., research, finance, IT, executive leadership).
• Exploitation – Safely exploiting identified weaknesses to demonstrate realistic impact, such as unauthorized access to R&D data or internal systems.
• Post‑exploitation – Assessing what an attacker could do after gaining access, such as extracting lab data, code, or sensitive documentation.
• Privilege escalation – Attempting to move from basic access to administrative or domain‑level control, as a real attacker would.
• Lateral movement – Testing how far we can move across your environment, especially towards critical biotech systems and data repositories.
• Maintaining access – Demonstrating how an attacker could persist inside your environment while remaining hard to remove.
• Covering tracks – Evaluating whether malicious activity would be logged, detected, and correlated by your monitoring and incident response processes.
• Reporting and executive briefing – Delivering clear documentation of findings, business impact, and remediation steps, including a non‑technical summary for executives and board members.

Where appropriate, we can align testing with red team / blue team / purple team exercises, working with your internal security or IT staff to improve detection and response capabilities over time.

 

National Reach, Local Focus

 

Although we work closely with biotech organizations in Columbia and across South Carolina, OCD Tech also provides network penetration testing services across the U.S., including in:

• Boston (MA)
• Chicago (IL)
• New York City (NY)
• Los Angeles (CA)
• Dallas (TX)
• Philadelphia (PA)
• Detroit (MI)
• Memphis (TN)

This national experience allows us to bring best practices from leading biotech hubs back to organizations in South Carolina, while still respecting local constraints, budgets, and regulatory expectations.

 

Contact Our Columbia Network Penetration Testing Team

 

OCD Tech delivers network penetration testing, IT security assessments, and cybersecurity consulting to biotech and life sciences organizations in Columbia and throughout South Carolina.

If you would like to discuss how a network penetration test can help protect your research, intellectual property, and operations, please complete the form below. A member of our team will contact you to review your environment, objectives, and the most appropriate testing approach for your organization.