WorkNest Secure
Threat-Led Penetration Testing
Test your organisation’s defences against the adversary tactics most likely to target you.
Our Threat‑Led Penetration Testing uses sector‑specific threat intelligence to design realistic attack scenarios built around your organisation’s unique threat landscape and security posture.
Our Threat‑Led Penetration Testing uses sector‑specific threat intelligence to design realistic attack scenarios built around your organisation’s unique threat landscape and security posture.
Our Threat‑Led Penetration Testing uses sector‑specific threat intelligence to design realistic attack scenarios built around your organisation’s unique threat landscape and security posture.
Aligned with frameworks such as TIBER-EU, DORA, and STAR, we simulate the tactics most likely to target you and assess your ability to detect, respond and recover.
Aligned with frameworks such as TIBER-EU, DORA, and STAR, we simulate the tactics most likely to target you and assess your ability to detect, respond and recover.
What is Threat-Led Penetration Testing?
What is Threat-Led Penetration Testing?
What is Threat-Led Penetration Testing?
Threat-Led Penetration Testing is a structured, intelligence-driven assessment that simulates realistic cyber-attacks based on known threat actors. Rather than generic penetration tests, it focuses on threats most relevant to your organisation.
Testing showcases your ability to detect, respond to, and recover from attacks. By replicating the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of real threat actors, they provide a high-fidelity evaluation of your organisation's resilience against likely threats.
Why WorkNest for Threat-Led Penetration Testing?
Using bespoke threat intelligence and structured methodologies, we assess your ability to detect, respond to, and recover from realistic attack scenarios.
CREST accredited
Proven high-quality testing methodologies and ethical standards.
Threat intelligence-led
Engagements are built using bespoke threat intelligence, modelling the specific adversaries, tactics, and attack paths relevant to your organisation.
Experienced team
Our experienced operators have years of experience replicating real attacker techniques to simulate genuine attack scenarios.
Regulated experience
Experience delivering TIBER-EU and DORA-aligned assessments across financial, retail, media and CNI sectors.
Complete transparency
Clear success criteria, detailed reporting, and full visibility of attack paths, detection gaps, and response performance.
Post-engagement support
We help you interpret results, prioritise remediation and strengthen your defences with actionable guidance.
Why should you choose Threat-Led Penetration Testing?
Why should you choose Threat-Led Penetration Testing?
Why should you choose Threat-Led Penetration Testing?
Prepare for the specific risks your organisation actually faces.
Identify how threats could impact your organisation, where gaps exist, and how to close them.
Scenarios are adapted to your current security posture — ensuring relevance without unnecessary complexity.
Simulates the behaviours of real attackers to uncover blind spots and ineffective processes.
Prepare for the specific risks your organisation actually faces.
Identify how threats could impact your organisation, where gaps exist, and how to close them.
Scenarios are adapted to your current security posture — ensuring relevance without unnecessary complexity.
Simulates the behaviours of real attackers to uncover blind spots and ineffective processes.
What to expect
Each engagement is relevant, evidence-based, and delivers measurable insights into your organisation’s resilience.
Key features
Threat intelligence-driven scenarios
Industry-aligned methodologies
Specific threat actor simulation
Clear success/failure criteria
Outcomes
Threat-specific defence evaluation
Compliance requirements fulfilment
Detailed scenario analysis
Strategic defence recommendations
Threat intelligence insights
How we work
We follow regulated frameworks such as TIBER EU and DORA, ensuring compliance with methodology, governance and documentation standards.
For organisations outside formal regulation, we apply the CREST STAR methodology, mirroring regulated practices.
Each engagement will differ depending on factors such as your goals, the scope and the framework, but will typically look something like this:
We coordinate with your internal control group to define engagement scope, critical assets/functions, and test objectives for targeted, safe testing aligned with operational priorities and regulations.
Our threat intelligence partners analyse your organisation, industry, and threat landscape to identify likely attack vectors and threat actors.
Our team develops scenarios based on threat intelligence, focusing on likely compromise paths, considering architecture, user behaviour, and defensive posture.
We execute covert scenarios using manual tradecraft, custom tools, and commercial frameworks. Techniques include social engineering, endpoint compromise, lateral movement, persistence, and exfiltration.
We provide reports that include technical and strategic findings, threat intelligence, engagement timelines, detection/response observations, exploited vulnerabilities, attack paths, and remediation guidance.
Conduct an intelligence-driven simulation based on your organisation’s unique threat landscape.
FAQs
Threat-Led Testing is formalised, intelligence-driven, and aligned with regulatory frameworks like TIBER-EU and STAR. It has defined success criteria, control group oversight, and structured reporting requirements.
Engagements typically span multiple months, depending on scope, including planning, threat intelligence, execution, and closure phases. Active testing phases usually last around 12 weeks.
Threat-Led Testing is formalised, intelligence-driven, and aligned with regulatory frameworks like TIBER-EU and STAR. It has defined success criteria, control group oversight, and structured reporting requirements.
Engagements typically span multiple months, depending on scope, including planning, threat intelligence, execution, and closure phases. Active testing phases usually last around 12 weeks.
What our clients say
We’ve always been very impressed with the cyber security services WorkNest provide us. Their professional approach, knowledge and flexibility have ensured they have become a key trusted partner in our supply chain.
Paymentsense
Founder
WorkNest Secure delivered a highly professional and thorough incident response service. Their team’s technical knowledge, attention to detail, and clear communication throughout the process made a complex area easy to navigate. The quality of the analysis and final reporting gave us real assurance and added value to our internal security efforts, minimising the impact to the business.
Shoezone
Head of IT
We provide a broader suite of services designed to strengthen your security posture, support compliance, and build long-term organisational confidence.
Engage in an ongoing engagement designed to monitor and assess your organisation's external attack surface in real-time.
Simulate a real-world breach to prove your organisation’s detection and response capabilities under pressure.
Assess the effectiveness of your endpoint detection and response (EDR) or extended detection and response (XDR) platforms.
Combine real‑world Attack Simulation with live defender collaboration to improve your detection, response, and security operations.
