Network Penetration Testing for HR Companies in Wilmington, DE

 

HR and staffing firms in Wilmington and across Delaware sit on exactly the data cybercriminals want most: Social Security numbers, payroll details, background checks, I‑9 documentation, health benefit information, and executive compensation records. A single compromise can expose thousands of candidates and employees, damage your reputation with local employers, and trigger investigations from regulators and attorneys general.

Modern attacks go far beyond simple viruses. HR organizations in Wilmington are now routinely targeted with phishing campaigns, payroll-diversion schemes, business email compromise (BEC), malware, password attacks, SQL injection against applicant tracking systems (ATS), and ransomware. These attacks are designed to quietly gain access, move laterally, and extract or encrypt sensitive HR data.

The cost of a breach is not theoretical. In 2021, the median reported cost of a data breach reached $4.24M (source)—and that only reflects incidents that were actually disclosed. For HR firms operating in Delaware’s tightly connected business community, the reputational impact can be even more damaging than the direct financial loss.

To stay ahead of these threats, HR providers need more than firewalls and antivirus. Network penetration testing (often called a pentest) is a controlled, ethical hacking engagement where security professionals simulate real-world cyberattacks against your IT environment. For HR companies, this typically includes:

• Corporate networks in Wilmington offices and remote branches
• HRIS, payroll, and benefits platforms, whether on-premises or cloud-based
• Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and client portals used by employers and candidates
• Remote access used by recruiters, HR business partners, and third-party vendors

The objective is simple: find the security gaps before an attacker does, show how far they can be pushed, and give you a clear, prioritized remediation plan. This helps HR leadership demonstrate due diligence, protect PII, and maintain compliance with obligations related to privacy, background checks, fair employment practices, and data retention.

 

Wilmington Network Penetration Testing Expertise for HR Firms

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing services for HR, recruiting, staffing, and payroll companies in Wilmington and across Delaware. Our team works with organizations that manage:

• High‑volume recruiting and staffing operations
• Specialized executive search and boutique HR advisory
• PEO, payroll, and HR outsourcing services
• Unions, non-profits, and public-sector HR departments

We combine practical offensive security experience with a clear understanding of HR processes and legal exposure. That means we don’t just list vulnerabilities; we map them to specific business risks, such as:

• Unauthorized access to candidate and employee records
• Manipulation of payroll or direct-deposit details
• Compromise of hiring manager or recruiter email accounts
• Abuse of vendor or background-check integrations

The result is a focused security assessment that shows how an attacker could move from a single compromised workstation or cloud account to full control of HR systems—and exactly what to do to stop that from happening.

 

Network Penetration Testing Methodology

 

OCD Tech follows a structured, repeatable methodology tailored to Wilmington-based HR organizations. While we adjust tactics to match your environment, a typical engagement includes:

• Passive Reconnaissance – Quietly gathering information about your HR infrastructure, public-facing portals, email configuration, and exposed services without direct interaction.
• Active Reconnaissance – Safely scanning networks and applications to identify open ports, misconfigurations, and potential entry points into HR systems.
• Social Engineering – Testing how easily attackers could trick recruiters, HR coordinators, or payroll staff through targeted phishing or pretexting (within agreed rules of engagement).
• Exploitation – Attempting to exploit identified weaknesses to gain initial access to your environment, such as an internal HR application or file share.
• Post-Exploitation – Determining what an attacker could do after gaining access, including viewing or extracting HR-related data.
• Privilege Escalation – Testing how quickly low-level access (for example, a recruiter’s account) can be turned into administrative control over HR platforms or domain infrastructure.
• Lateral Movement – Simulating how an attacker might move from one compromised system to others, such as from a workstation to your HRIS, ATS, or payroll environment.
• Maintaining Access – Evaluating whether long-term, stealthy access could be maintained to observe or exfiltrate HR data without detection.
• Covering Tracks – Demonstrating how real attackers attempt to evade logs and monitoring, helping you strengthen detection and response capabilities.
• Reporting and Executive Briefing – Delivering a clear, non-technical summary for HR and executive leadership, along with a detailed technical report for IT and security teams, including prioritized remediation steps.

Throughout the engagement, we operate under strict rules of engagement to protect production HR operations and avoid disruption to recruiting, onboarding, and payroll cycles.

 

National Reach with a Wilmington Focus

 

Although we have deep experience with Wilmington’s HR and professional services ecosystem, OCD Tech provides network penetration testing and IT security assessment services nationwide, including:

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

This broader exposure to different HR technology stacks and regulatory environments allows us to bring best practices from larger markets directly into Wilmington’s HR community.

 

Contact Our Wilmington Network Penetration Testing Consultants

 

OCD Tech provides network penetration testing, IT security assessments, and cybersecurity consulting to HR, staffing, and payroll organizations in Wilmington and across Delaware. If you want to understand how an attacker would target your HR systems—and how to stop them—complete the form below and a team member will follow up with you shortly.