Penetration Testing.

The Missing Link's penetration testing services will accurately simulate attacks against your systems and applications to identify then help you close any security gaps

Test, detect, refine, improve and protect your infrastructure

The Missing Link’s expert penetration testing team can improve and harden your security posture, and prepare your organisation against attacks.

The risks of cyber-attack have risen exponentially thanks to an increasingly mobile workforce, cloud computing, big data, and changes to the concept of identity. This makes penetration testing critical to protecting your infrastructure from attacks and preparing your team to manage any unauthorised access attempts.

When you engage The Missing Link, our highly certified pen testers will undertake a thorough vulnerability assessment of your security controls. We specifically focus on one area, component, or system within the business and identify any potential vulnerabilities within its infrastructure or processes, adding context to how it fits and aligns with the business's overall desired security posture.

Depending on your organisation's security testing requirements, we will tailor-make a testing approach that fits your needs, which can range from web application penetration testing to external and internal network and infrastructure, all the way to social engineering and mobile applications.

Although testing usually starts with a vulnerability scan, our team will spend the majority of the engagement using their skills and years of experience to manually identify and contextualise security vulnerabilities, ensuring issues such as business logic security vulnerabilities are identified where automated testing would fail. We'll also deliver a roadmap to ensure your organisation meets industry best practice standards and its security goal for the future.

The Missing Link is a CREST-approved organisation, so you can be assured that we take a professional and ethical approach to security testing, enabling us to work with any customer, from small businesses to the largest government/defence global organisations. Our penetration testing team form one of Australia's strongest offensive security teams. Among them are Offensive Security Certified Professionals, Offensive Security Certified Experts, and an Offensive Security Exploitation Expert - the highest level of Offensive Security certification.

Impressively, The Missing Link's team of security experts has discovered CVEs (zero days) in multiple commonly used products, and we regularly compete in and win "Capture the Flag" events, including Canberra's BSides'18, BSides'19 and events such as SpectreOps Red Team Operations Training.

Minimise risks, maximise protection against unauthorised attackers

The Missing Link's award-winning security testing experts use targeted penetration testing tools to conduct ethical hacking exercises that help identify vulnerabilities so you can strengthen your security posture.

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Awarded penetration test services for information security

Minimise risks, maximise protection against unauthorised attackers

The Missing Link’s ethical hackers will identify vulnerabilities in your network, applications and devices so that you can strengthen your security posture.

A ethical hacker you know you can trust

Highly awarded and one of few Australian IT businesses to have ISO27001:2013 certification, The Missing Link follows global best practice to manage all information security risks effectively.

Globally recognised penetration testers

We pride ourselves on being a company other can learn from with our security team regularly talk at specialist training courses, including BlackHat and Auscert.

Security intelligence to take your business forward

Certified in industry-leading practices and methodologies, your security assessment will be successfully delivered with expert guidance to reduce your attack surface and improve your security posture.

A fully customised security assessment

Our pen test team will work with you to define your security goals and prepare a penetration testing service to meet your needs, timeline and budget.


The Missing Link is a CVE (zero day) numbering authority.

1 of only 3 in Australia authorised to publish zero-day vulnerabilities and the only Cyber Security company.

Becoming a CVE numbering authority highlights the exceptional capabilities of our testers who are highly qualified and possess OSCP, OSCE, OSWE & OSEE certs.

Our team have discovered 50+ CVEs, with more pending approval whilst conducting pen tests for our clients.
 
Would you like to know if there’s one lingering in your environment?

 

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FAQs

  • What is penetration testing?

    Penetration testing is a controlled, simulated cyber attack designed to identify exploitable vulnerabilities in your systems, applications or networks.

    Unlike automated vulnerability scanning, penetration testing uses manual techniques to validate how weaknesses could be exploited in real-world scenarios.

    The Missing Link delivers CREST-accredited penetration testing across Australia, providing detailed technical findings and executive-ready remediation guidance.

  • Why is penetration testing important for businesses?

    Penetration testing validates whether your security controls can withstand real-world attack techniques.

    With increasing regulatory pressure in Australia, including Essential Eight and ISO 27001 requirements, organisations must demonstrate that controls are effective, not just documented.

    The Missing Link’s penetration testing services provide measurable insights that reduce risk exposure and strengthen audit readiness.

  • What are the types of penetration tests?

    Penetration testing can target specific areas of your environment depending on risk and compliance requirements.

    Common types include web application testing, internal and external network testing, cloud infrastructure testing, mobile application testing, and social engineering assessments.

    The Missing Link tailors each engagement to your organisation’s risk profile, industry obligations, and business objectives.

  • What are the 5 stages of penetration testing?

    Penetration testing typically follows five structured stages: reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, post-exploitation analysis and reporting.

    These phases simulate attacker methodology while maintaining strict ethical and scope boundaries.

    The Missing Link follows industry-recognised frameworks to ensure each stage delivers actionable insights and measurable security improvements.

  • What tools are used for penetration testing?

    Penetration testing combines automated scanning tools with advanced manual exploitation techniques.

    While industry-standard vulnerability scanners help identify potential weaknesses, meaningful findings come from experienced ethical hackers who manually validate, exploit, and contextualise risks in real-world scenarios.

    The Missing Link’s CREST-accredited penetration testers use a tailored mix of commercial and open-source tooling aligned to recognised methodologies, ensuring vulnerabilities are verified, business logic flaws are uncovered, and findings are translated into actionable remediation guidance.

  • What qualifications do you need to be a penetration tester?

    The Missing Link is a CREST-approved organisation and a recognised CVE Numbering Authority in Australia.

    Our penetration testers hold advanced certifications, including OSCP, OSCE, OSWE, and OSEE, and have discovered over 50 CVEs in widely used products.

    This ensures testing is performed to international standards with deep technical expertise and responsible disclosure practices.

Perfect Partner Experience

We recently engaged The Missing Link to conduct a penetration test for our web application and I must say we’ve been highly impressed. From start to finish, The Missing Link have been consistent, professional and very timely. The level of detail provided has given me full confidence in their capability, and they have met every milestone, from providing a quote to completing penetration testing, and delivering the final report. With clear recommendations for next steps, the report was easily understandable. I honestly feel confident that this is just the start for a long-term relationship, just as we had wished for.

Michael Doherty | Product Manager, Everperform

A Red Team engagement consists of many little battles, some won, some lost, and that’s when you start to appreciate what you do well, and what needs improvement. Importantly, the team at The Missing Link are incredibly skilled and 100% emotionally invested in the challenge. We know we will be tested, and we know that The Missing Link team will beat us several times along the way, and that’s great – we learn, and we don’t make the same mistake twice. The whole exercise is really a lot of fun. A key benefit for us is it allows us to test the response of our other digital security vendors. It’s almost impossible to validate the ROI for most of these products without subjecting them to very thorough testing. The Red team exercises are brilliant, the IT team love the experience, and it raises their level of engagement. We’re really looking forward to the next exercise.

Hugo Evans | IT Security and Platforms Manager, Sparke Helmore Lawyers

Since engaging The Missing Link, we’ve worked on some significant projects, including security audits, maturity assessments and penetration testing exercises. The Missing Link is very proactive when it comes to identifying, analysing and alerting us to any threats. Importantly, I get to benefit from the most current advice on best practice across a number of industries. To help us in our security journey, we needed flexibility, attention to detail and a willingness to provide a bespoke solution to meet our needs and they’ve delivered every time on these fronts. Even with quick turnarounds they are always accommodating our needs, and helping us achieve our desired results. By leveraging their expertise, it helps us in our decision-making and I truly see them as an extension of our team. 

Carl Rowley | Cyber Security Manager, ENGIE

From the very beginning, I found The Missing Link very responsive to our needs. They were highly organised when it came to proposing, planning and implementing the web application pen testing project. Their professionalism and ability to communicate complex, technical information is brilliant, and they provided us with the perfect balance of impactful findings in a simple yet detailed report. Everyone I’ve dealt with were highly knowledgeable, and they love their job, which was very refreshing to see. I’d highly recommend The Missing Link to anyone looking for bespoke cyber security solutions and services.

Annabel O’Neill | General Manager, Marketing & Engagement, Greenfleet

We engaged The Missing Link to do penetration testing for our front-page portal. As a school, we always joke that we have more uptime than a bank - our staff, students, and parents demand access to our apps 24/7 - so minimising disruption during this process was imperative. The Missing Link was highly professional and systematic in its approach. The preparation and testing went smoothly, and indeed, they identified a critical issue with the app that the vendor had been unaware of. The Missing Link immediately notified us of the issue in an interim report, then liaised directly with the vendor to have it resolved.  I have only worked with The Missing Link for a short engagement, however, I have already put them in the category of a trusted consulting service. I would have no hesitation in engaging them for further IT infrastructure and security projects.

Peter Yeates | Information Communication Technology Services Manager, Padua College.

We selected The Missing Link to do penetration testing of our web apps based on their skills and experience, and most importantly, their CREST accreditation. They didn’t let us down – they provided absolute value for money.  Perhaps what impressed me most was their flexibility. Our requirements changed after the scope of work was defined and signed off, which added to The Missing Link’s workload. Mitch and the team went above and beyond to provide answers to the additional question we asked. To me, that was a differentiator – in the current market, many providers will stick to the scope of work or provide a revised contract. Instead, The Missing Link went ahead and provided the answers. There was no drama at all.

Sam Mannix | Digital Strategy & Innovation Manager, RSM Australia