Penetration
Testing Services
Mata365 provides penetration testing services for Irish SMEs, simulating real-world cyberattacks against your Microsoft 365 environment, web applications, and network infrastructure to find and fix vulnerabilities before they are used against you. We are based in Dublin and work with Irish and UK businesses across every sector.
How Penetration Testing
Strengthens Your Security
Penetration testing helps uncover hidden vulnerabilities by simulating real attacks, allowing you to fix weaknesses before they are exploited.
Ethical Hacking
Simulate real-world cyberattacks against your Irish business systems using the same techniques and tools actual attackers use, revealing how far a breach could go before defences stop it.
Vulnerability Exploitation
Go beyond identifying weaknesses by safely exploiting them to validate their real-world impact, giving your Irish business clear evidence of which vulnerabilities pose genuine operational risk.
Security Strengthening
Translate penetration test findings into a practical, prioritised remediation plan that strengthens your Irish business defences based on evidence from actual attack scenarios, not theoretical risk models.
Our Penetration
Testing Solutions
Comprehensive penetration testing services to identify, test, and secure your systems against real-world threats.
Our Penetration
Testing Process
A structured approach to simulate attacks, identify vulnerabilities, and improve your security posture.
Discover & Plan
Define the scope of the penetration test, agreeing with your Irish business which systems, applications, and environments are in scope, the testing methodology to be used, the rules of engagement, and the schedule for testing activity to avoid disruption to live operations.
01.
02.
Design & Configure
Design the testing approach for your specific Irish business environment, selecting the right combination of external testing, internal testing, web application testing, and cloud security testing based on the agreed scope, and configuring the testing tools and access required before any active testing begins.
Deploy & Optimise
Execute the penetration test against agreed targets, conducting reconnaissance, vulnerability scanning, exploitation attempts, and post-exploitation analysis, then compile all findings into a clear report with severity ratings, exploitation evidence, business impact descriptions, and prioritised remediation guidance for your Irish business.
03.
04.
Train & Support
Present penetration test findings to your Irish business leadership and technical team, walk through the remediation priorities, provide technical guidance on implementing fixes, and conduct a retest after the agreed remediation period to verify that identified vulnerabilities have been successfully addressed.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Common questions about penetration testing services, answered for Irish businesses looking to identify exploitable vulnerabilities, meet GDPR and NIS2 security requirements, and test their defences before attackers do.
What is penetration testing and why does an Irish business need it?
Penetration testing, also known as pen testing or ethical hacking, is an authorised simulation of a real cyberattack against your business systems, applications, and network. Unlike a vulnerability scan, which identifies potential weaknesses, penetration testing attempts to actually exploit those weaknesses to confirm their real-world impact and show exactly how far an attacker could get. For Irish businesses, penetration testing is increasingly required by cyber insurance policies, client contracts, and regulatory frameworks including NIS2. Beyond compliance, it provides something a vulnerability assessment alone cannot: confirmed evidence of which weaknesses are genuinely exploitable in your specific environment, rather than a theoretical list of potential issues. Mata365 conducts penetration testing for Irish businesses across Microsoft 365, Azure, web applications, and network infrastructure.
What is the difference between a penetration test and a vulnerability assessment for an Irish business?
A vulnerability assessment scans your Irish business systems and identifies potential security weaknesses, producing a list of known vulnerabilities and their theoretical severity ratings. It does not attempt to exploit those vulnerabilities to confirm whether they are genuinely exploitable in your specific environment. A penetration test goes further — it takes the identified weaknesses and attempts to exploit them using real attacker techniques, confirming which vulnerabilities are actually exploitable, how far an attacker could move through your systems, and what data or systems they could reach. For Irish businesses that need to understand their real-world risk exposure rather than just a list of potential issues, penetration testing provides the confirmed evidence that a vulnerability assessment alone cannot. Most mature security programmes use both in combination.
What systems does Mata365 test in a penetration test for an Irish business?
The scope of a Mata365 penetration test is agreed with your Irish business before testing begins and can cover any combination of the following areas. External network testing targets internet-facing systems including websites, web portals, remote access services, and email infrastructure. Internal network testing simulates an attacker who has already gained a foothold inside your network, testing for lateral movement paths, privilege escalation opportunities, and access to sensitive data. Web application testing targets your Irish business web applications, Power Pages portals, and any other browser-based tools, testing for injection vulnerabilities, authentication weaknesses, and broken access controls. Cloud security testing targets your Microsoft 365 tenant and Azure environment, testing for misconfigured access controls, over-permissioned accounts, and cloud-specific attack paths. Microsoft 365 testing specifically targets your tenant configuration, including email security, identity management, and data access controls.
Is penetration testing required for GDPR or NIS2 compliance in Ireland?
GDPR Article 32 requires Irish businesses to implement appropriate technical security measures to protect personal data, and specifically mentions testing and evaluation of security measures as part of maintaining that protection. Regular penetration testing is widely recognised as a technical measure that demonstrates appropriate security diligence under Article 32. NIS2, enforceable in Ireland from 2025, requires covered organisations to implement risk management measures that include testing and assessment of security controls. For Irish businesses in NIS2-covered sectors, penetration testing on a regular basis is not just good practice but a formal requirement. Mata365 structures penetration test reports for Irish businesses to map findings directly against Article 32 and NIS2 requirements so the report serves as compliance documentation as well as a security improvement roadmap.
How long does a penetration test take for an Irish SME?
For most Irish SMEs, a focused penetration test covering Microsoft 365, a web application, and network perimeter typically takes between five and ten business days from kick-off to final report delivery. Scoping and planning takes one to two days. Active testing takes two to five days depending on the agreed scope and number of target systems. Report writing and finding validation takes two to three days. The active testing phase causes no disruption to your Irish business operations as testing is conducted carefully within agreed rules of engagement. The scope, timeline, and agreed methodology are all confirmed with your Irish business before any active testing begins so there are no surprises during the engagement.
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