Network Penetration Testing for Financial Services in Indianapolis

 

Financial institutions in Indianapolis and across Indiana—including banks, credit unions, investment firms, insurance carriers, and fintech providers—remain prime targets for cybercriminals. Attackers use methods such as malware, phishing, password attacks, SQL injection, and ransomware to gain access to customer data, payment information, trading systems, and internal banking platforms.

The financial impact is significant. In 2021, the median reported cost of a data breach reached $4.24 million per incident—and that figure excludes unreported events and near-misses. For regulated financial services organizations in Indiana, a breach also brings regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage, and potential loss of client trust.

To manage this risk, financial institutions need to regularly review, test, and upgrade their cybersecurity controls. One of the most effective ways to do this is through network penetration testing (pen testing)—a controlled, ethical hacking exercise that simulates real-world attacks against your IT infrastructure. The objective is to identify vulnerabilities before criminals do, validate the effectiveness of your existing controls, and support compliance with requirements from regulators, auditors, and cyber insurers.

 

Indianapolis Financial Services Pen Testing Expertise

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing services to financial services companies in Indianapolis and throughout Indiana. Our team delivers IT security assessments and cybersecurity consulting for:

• Banks and community banks subject to FFIEC, FDIC, and OCC guidance

• Credit unions regulated by NCUA and state examiners

• Investment and wealth management firms operating under SEC and FINRA rules

• Insurance companies and agencies managing large volumes of sensitive policyholder data

• Fintech and payment providers handling PCI-related and transactional data

Our consultants combine hands-on penetration testing experience with a clear understanding of Midwest financial regulatory expectations. The outcome is not just a list of technical issues, but a prioritized, plain‑language remediation plan that executives, risk committees, and IT teams can all act on.

 

Network Penetration Testing Methodology

 

OCD Tech follows a structured, repeatable methodology aligned with industry best practices for ethical hacking and financial-sector security assessments. A typical network penetration test for a financial institution includes:

• Passive reconnaissance – Quietly gathering information about your organization from public sources to understand your attack surface without touching your systems.

• Active reconnaissance – Safely scanning and probing your internal and external networks to identify systems, services, and potential entry points.

• Social engineering (where in scope) – Testing how susceptible staff may be to phishing or other manipulation techniques used to gain credentials or access.

• Exploitation – Attempting to exploit discovered vulnerabilities to demonstrate realistic paths an attacker could use to compromise your environment.

• Post‑exploitation – Assessing what an attacker could do after gaining access, such as viewing sensitive data or pivoting further into critical banking or trading systems.

• Privilege escalation – Testing whether an attacker can move from basic user access to administrative or domain‑level control.

• Lateral movement – Evaluating how easily an attacker could move between systems, business units, or network segments (for example, from a user workstation toward payment or core banking platforms).

• Maintaining access – Determining whether long‑term, covert access could be established, simulating an advanced persistent threat within your environment.

• Covering tracks – Assessing logging and monitoring effectiveness by evaluating how easily an attacker could attempt to hide their activity.

• Reporting and executive briefing – Delivering a clear, prioritized report that maps technical findings to business and regulatory impact, with specific guidance for remediation and ongoing IT security improvement.

This methodology supports not only traditional penetration tests, but also red team exercises, configuration reviews, insider‑threat scenarios, and assumed‑compromise assessments tailored to the needs of Indiana financial institutions.

 

National Penetration Testing Reach

 

While we work closely with financial services companies in Indianapolis and the broader Indiana market, 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 Indianapolis Penetration Testing Team

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing, ethical hacking, and cybersecurity consulting to financial services organizations in Indianapolis and across Indiana. If you would like to discuss a penetration test, IT security assessment, or red team engagement for your bank, credit union, investment firm, insurer, or fintech company, please complete the form below and a member of our team will contact you shortly.