Colleges and universities in Indianapolis and across Indiana are attractive targets for cybercriminals. Student records, research data, financial information, and intellectual property are all valuable assets that can be stolen, sold, or held for ransom. Common attack methods include malware, phishing emails, password attacks, SQL injection, and ransomware—all designed to gain unauthorized access to campus networks and systems.

The financial impact of a data breach is significant. In 2021, the median cost per breach reached $4.24M (source), and that figure only reflects voluntarily reported incidents. For higher education institutions operating on tight budgets and under public scrutiny, a serious breach can rapidly become both a financial and reputational crisis.

To reduce this risk, regular cybersecurity testing and improvement are essential. One of the most effective tools is a network penetration test (pentest)—a controlled, ethical hacking engagement where security specialists simulate real-world attacks against your IT infrastructure. For colleges and universities, this typically includes campus networks, data centers, cloud services, VPNs, Wi‑Fi, and remote access used by faculty, staff, and students.

A well-executed penetration test helps institutional leadership:

• Identify and verify vulnerabilities before attackers do
• Validate existing security controls, including firewalls, access controls, and monitoring tools
• Support compliance efforts with regulations and frameworks commonly impacting higher education (e.g., FERPA, HIPAA for health programs, and various grant or sponsor security expectations)
• Prioritize remediation based on real-world risk rather than guesswork

 

Indianapolis Network Penetration Testing for Higher Education

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing services to colleges and universities in Indianapolis and throughout Indiana. Our team has extensive experience delivering IT security assessments and cybersecurity consulting to educational institutions as well as other regulated industries.

We understand the unique challenges of higher education in Indiana: open academic environments, large student populations, distributed campuses, legacy systems mixed with cloud services, and constrained IT security teams. Our approach is designed to be realistic, minimally disruptive, and aligned with your academic calendar to avoid unnecessary downtime during critical periods such as enrollment or exams.

The outcome of each engagement is not just a list of issues, but clear, prioritized remediation guidance tailored to your campus environment, governance structure, and resource constraints. The goal is straightforward: reduce the likelihood and impact of a successful cyberattack on your institution.

 

Network Penetration Testing Methodology

 

OCD Tech follows a structured, repeatable methodology that mirrors how real attackers operate, while maintaining strict rules of engagement and documentation. A typical college or university network penetration test may include:

• Passive Reconnaissance – Quietly gathering information about your institution’s public footprint, such as domains, IP ranges, and publicly exposed services.
• Active Reconnaissance – Scanning and probing systems and networks to identify open ports, services, and potential entry points.
• Social Engineering (where in scope) – Testing susceptibility of staff or faculty to phishing and related attacks that could lead to credential theft or unauthorized access.
• Exploitation – Attempting to safely exploit discovered vulnerabilities to demonstrate real impact (for example, accessing internal systems or sensitive data).
• Post-Exploitation – Assessing how far an attacker could move after gaining an initial foothold, such as accessing student records or research repositories.
• Privilege Escalation – Testing whether low-level access can be escalated to administrative or domain-wide control.
• Lateral Movement – Evaluating how easily an attacker could move between systems, departments, or campuses within the network.
• Maintaining Access – Demonstrating techniques an attacker could use to persist in the environment if not detected.
• Covering Tracks – Showing how logs and evidence might be altered or removed, highlighting gaps in monitoring and incident detection capabilities.
• Reporting and Executive Briefing – Delivering a clear, non-technical summary for leadership, a detailed technical report for IT and security teams, and prioritized remediation recommendations.

This methodology can be adapted for internal networks, external exposure, wireless networks, VPN access, and cloud-based services commonly used in higher education. It can also support broader Red Team / Blue Team / Purple Team exercises if your institution wants to test detection and response capabilities in addition to prevention.

 

National Reach with Local Focus

 

Although we are deeply familiar with the Indianapolis and Indiana higher education landscape, OCD Tech provides network penetration testing services nationwide, including:

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

Whether you are a community college, private university, or large public institution, our team can tailor the scope of work to match your risk profile, regulatory requirements, and available resources.

 

Contact Our Indianapolis Penetration Testing Team

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing and cybersecurity consulting to colleges and universities in Indianapolis and across Indiana. If you would like to discuss how a targeted penetration test or broader IT security assessment could strengthen your institution’s defenses, please complete the form below. A member of our team will follow up to review your environment, objectives, and possible engagement options.