Methodology

How a Nomad Security engagement runs.

The same six phases on every penetration test, aligned to PTES, OWASP and NIST SP 800-115, so you know what happens and when before you sign.

1

Scoping

A 20-minute call with an operator: what you need to prove, to whom, and by when. We size the work by assets, roles and depth, then send a fixed-price quote.

2

Rules of engagement

A signed document covering in-scope and out-of-scope assets, test windows, source IPs, accounts, emergency contacts and anything fragile we must avoid. Nothing is tested without it.

3

Reconnaissance and mapping

We learn the target before we attack it: asset discovery, content and parameter discovery, role and tenant mapping, and a threat model of the paths most worth testing.

4

Exploitation

Automated tooling sets the floor. Senior operators then do the work scanners can't: authorization and business-logic abuse, chained attacks and lateral movement. Critical findings are reported immediately following confirmation.

5

Reporting and readout

An executive summary leadership can read in five minutes, an attack narrative showing how issues chained together, CVSS-scored findings with reproduction steps and evidence, and fixes written for the team that owns the code. A debrief with key stakeholders follows delivery.

6

Retest and attestation

Free retest of every fixed finding within 90 days, then a signed attestation letter summarizing scope, dates and remediation status for auditors, boards and customers.

What you receive

Executive summary

Risk in business terms, readable in five minutes.

Technical findings

CVSS-scored, with reproduction steps, evidence and a specific fix.

Live readout

A walkthrough for engineering and leadership, questions answered.

Free retest for 90 days

Every fixed finding verified again at no cost.

Signed attestation letter

Scope, dates and remediation status for auditors and customers.

Standards we follow

  • PTES
  • OWASP WSTG
  • OWASP ASVS
  • OWASP API Top 10
  • NIST SP 800-115
  • MITRE ATT&CK

Reports map findings to PCI DSS 11.4, SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO 27001 and NIST CSF when the test supports an audit.

Methodology by Service

The phases behind each type of engagement

Independent access vectors (external infrastructure, social engineering, physical and wireless) are pursued to a foothold, then through discovery, privilege escalation and lateral movement to the objective. Every scanner result is verified by hand before it reaches the report.

  1. Network discovery and enumeration
  2. Vulnerability scanning and analysis
  3. Exploitation and privilege escalation
  4. Post-exploitation analysis
  5. Persistence and exfiltration
  6. Documentation and reporting
Related service

Aligned with OWASP: we learn the architecture first, then test authentication, input handling, business logic, APIs and configuration, and finish with developer-focused fix guidance.

  1. Information gathering and reconnaissance
  2. Authentication and session management
  3. Input validation and sanitization
  4. Business logic testing
  5. API security assessment
  6. Security configuration review
Related service

One engagement in two stages. A covert stage measures what your defenders catch unprompted; the same operators then work alongside your SOC, announcing each technique so gaps are diagnosed, fixed and re-tested before we leave. Delivered with a detection scorecard mapped to MITRE ATT&CK.

  1. Rules of engagement and trusted agent selection
  2. Covert adversarial simulation
  3. Transition to collaborative operations
  4. Paired execution and detection testing
  5. Post-exploitation and structural assessment
  6. Tabletop exercise and post-mortem
  7. Reporting and detection scorecard
Related service

Planned attack scenarios that mirror real adversary tactics, measured on detection and response: time to detect, what the SOC saw, and where controls failed.

  1. Planning and preparation
  2. Simulation and execution
  3. Analysis and reporting
  4. Post-incident response review
  5. Continuous improvement roadmap
Related service

Phishing, vishing, pretexting and physical campaigns built from public research on your organization, run inside agreed safeguards and reported with statistics your awareness program can use.

  1. Scope definition and planning
  2. Target research and profiling
  3. Attack vector development
  4. Campaign execution
  5. Analysis and documentation
  6. Reporting and training recommendations
Related service

Whether an unauthorized person can enter, reach sensitive areas and turn that into a network compromise. Evidence is photographed, never removed.

  1. Reconnaissance and site survey
  2. Perimeter and access control assessment
  3. Tailgating and pretext entry
  4. Sensitive area access
  5. Physical-to-digital pivot
  6. Documentation and reporting
Related service

Whether the wireless estate gives an attacker network access, traffic interception or a way around segmentation, including from the parking lot.

  1. Wireless reconnaissance and SSID enumeration
  2. Authentication and encryption review
  3. Rogue access point and impersonation testing
  4. Client-side and man-in-the-middle attacks
  5. Segmentation and lateral movement validation
  6. Documentation and reporting
Related service

Configuration review against provider baselines, CIS benchmarks and real attacker tradecraft, with identity treated as the primary control plane. Exposure is confirmed, not assumed.

  1. Tenant and subscription enumeration
  2. Identity and access management review
  3. Data storage and exposure assessment
  4. Network and service configuration review
  5. Logging, monitoring and detection coverage
  6. Documentation and reporting
Related service

A supervised, bounded exercise: an agent under our control attempts what a hostile one would, while we measure whether your detections still fire at machine speed. Guardrails are enforced in tooling, and a consultant can stop it at any moment.

  1. Scenario definition and guardrails
  2. Agent tasking and supervision model
  3. Automated reconnaissance and target selection
  4. Supervised exploitation and privilege escalation
  5. Detection and response measurement at machine speed
  6. Containment, teardown and evidence handling
  7. Documentation and reporting
Related service

Our open source intelligence framework characterizes your external footprint without sending a single packet to your infrastructure. Every finding traces to a public source, and attribution rests on two independent evidence chains.

  1. Scoping and domain footprinting
  2. Subdomain and attack surface enumeration
  3. Infrastructure and certificate mapping
  4. Email, identity and personnel intelligence
  5. Exposure, secret and breach assessment
  6. Correlation, attribution and reporting
Related service

Broad coverage with human verification: automated discovery and scanning, then manual confirmation and risk-based prioritization so the list you receive is real.

  1. Planning and scope definition
  2. Asset discovery and enumeration
  3. Vulnerability scanning
  4. Manual verification
  5. Risk analysis and prioritization
  6. Documentation and reporting
Related service

A gap assessment against the framework that fits your industry (NIST, ISO 27001 or a sector regulation) ending in a prioritized, funded remediation plan.

  1. Define scope and objectives
  2. Select a framework
  3. Gather data
  4. Identify the desired state
  5. Compare current state to desired state
  6. Risk analysis
  7. Prioritize remediation actions
  8. Implement and monitor
Related service

Safety and Data Handling

How we protect your systems and your findings

No destructive testing without consent

Denial-of-service, data modification and production load tests happen only when written into the rules of engagement.

Encrypted delivery

Reports and evidence are shared encrypted, never as plain email attachments, and only with the contacts you name.

Credentials destroyed at close

Exfiltration is limited to proof-of-concept samples, never bulk production data. Every credential captured is reported to you and securely destroyed when the engagement completes.

See the Methodology in a Real Report

The sample report shows every phase above as it lands on your desk.

Book a Scoping Call See a Sample Report