Penetration Testing for Banks & Financial Services
Independent banking penetration testing across apps, APIs, cloud, and networks. Get audit-ready evidence your risk, audit, and compliance teams can use.
100+
Penetration Testing Projects
30+
Certified VAPT Professionals
Our Cyber Security Services
Web Application Penetration Testing
Manual, scenario-based testing of banking portals and customer journeys (auth, authorization, injections, data exposure) aligned to OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) best practices.
Cloud Services Penetration Testing
Assessment of identity paths, misconfigurations, and data exposure across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform - validating controls relevant to PCI/FFIEC/DORA.
API Penetration Testing
Open-banking, partner, and internal APIs: authentication and authorization flaws, rate limiting, injection, and sensitive-data leakage across microservices.
Internal Network & Active Directory
Simulated insider attack paths - lateral movement, privilege escalation, and CDE/segment boundary validation.
Mobile Application Penetration Testing
Banking apps tested against OWASP MASVS (Mobile Application Security Verification Standard): local storage, tamper/jailbreak, certificate pinning, API communication.
Third-Party & Fintech Integrations
Risk across vendors and payment service providers - token handling, secrets management, and least-privilege enforcement.
What Security Challenges Are Unique to Finance Today?
- Third-party & open-banking APIs expand your attack surface
- Legacy + cloud creates hidden privilege paths
- Payment/CDE (Card Data Environment) segmentation drift
- Audit pressure (PCI, FFIEC, DORA) to show real-world resilience
- Real-time fraud and account takeover targeting login and payment flows
Among Our Security Competences
Why Financial Institutions Choose Accedia
Executive & technical report within 5 business days
Complimentary retest to verify closure
Findings mapped to PCI/FFIEC/DORA control families
Cybersecurity-first AI software for finance, with compliance built in
Senior Engineering Manager & Cybersecurity Lead
Yordan Yordanov
Yordan Yordanov is a Senior Engineering Manager & Cybersecurity Lead at Accedia, focused on practical, dependable security for high-impact projects. He aligns risk and ROI, protecting critical operations while businesses scales.
How Does the Penetration Testing Process Work?
1
Prioritize scope and threat model
Focus the test on CDE, payment flows, and likely attacker paths to match risk.
2
Define rules of engagement and rollback
Set test windows and communications, with change/rollback plans to limit production risk.
3
Execute manual-first testing
Chain real-world exploits end-to-end; use tools for breadth and coverage.
4
Deliver executive and technical reporting
Provide an exec summary, detailed findings with prioritized fixes, and a live remediation workshop.
5
Retest and package auditor evidence
Verify closure of fixes and deliver auditor-ready artifacts for PCI, FFIEC, and DORA.
Penetration Test of a Multi-Tenant Trading Portal
As the portal prepared to onboard new investment firms, we performed a penetration test simulating real-world attacks across sign-in flows, data paths, and role permissions. We prevented exposure of user and directory information, identified and helped fix SQL injection vulnerabilities, and stopped unauthorized access, protecting orders, positions, and regulatory reports.
Web Application Security Optimizations
Before an upcoming audit, a banking platform engaged us to assess security across its web application and Azure resources. We found SQL and CSV injection risks, paths for privilege escalation, and weak API authorization. Our team implemented parameterized queries, secured server-side role management, strengthened API authorization and multi-factor authentication, and restricted public storage and database authentication settings.
Accedia's Penetration Testing Success Stories
Penetration Test of a Multi-Tenant Trading Portal
As the portal prepared to onboard new investment firms, we performed a penetration test simulating real-world attacks across sign-in flows, data paths, and role permissions. We prevented exposure of user and directory information, identified and helped fix SQL injection vulnerabilities, and stopped unauthorized access, protecting orders, positions, and regulatory reports.
Web Application Security Optimizations
Before an upcoming audit, a banking platform engaged us to assess security across its web application and Azure resources. We found SQL and CSV injection risks, paths for privilege escalation, and weak API authorization. Our team implemented parameterized queries, secured server-side role management, strengthened API authorization and multi-factor authentication, and restricted public storage and database authentication settings.
A How-to Guide to Penetration Testing in Finance
A practical guide for banking teams to plan, execute, and operationalize penetration testing. We’ve included an 8-step process, scoping checklist, common attack paths, and a reporting template designed for auditors and engineers. Includes a concise case example showing how issues like enumeration, injection, and token handling were found, fixed, and verified.
Read the Full WhitepaperNeed Cybersecurity Support Beyond Penetration Testing?
Banks and fintechs need security that reduces fraud exposure, protects customer data, and keeps services available. Our modern program aligns cloud controls, identity, and secure software delivery and turns fixes into measurable outcomes your board can track.
Get Personalized Penetration Testing
Share your scope, deadlines, and compliance needs, and we’ll deliver a tailored banking penetration test plan and fixed quote.
Penetration Testing in Finance FAQs
What does a penetration test for banks include?
Typical scope covers internet-facing and internal networks, web and mobile banking applications, APIs (including open banking), and cloud configurations. Deliverables include an executive summary, technical findings with evidence, prioritized remediation, and a retest.
How often should banks run penetration testing?
At minimum, annually and after significant changes (major releases, open-banking/third-party onboarding, cloud re-architecture, new payment flows). We include a retest to verify that high-risk findings are fully remediated and to provide audit-ready evidence.
Will penetration testing disrupt online banking or payments?
We plan testing with a rules-of-engagement agreement, maintenance windows, and safe payloads. Tests are rate-limited, coordinated with your teams, and designed to avoid service impact; production testing is only performed where agreed and monitored.
How long does a typical banking penetration test take?
For a focused scope (e.g., an application, API, and cloud review), plan 2–4 weeks from kickoff to initial report, followed by 1–2 weeks for remediation verification and retest. Larger, multi-system scopes can extend accordingly. (Exact timelines depend on scope size, environments, and test windows.)
How are vulnerabilities prioritized and what recommendations are provided?
We score findings, weighted by business impact on payments, exploitability, exposure, and chaining. Each item includes evidence, compliance mapping, and step-by-step fixes (quick containment + code/configuration changes); we also create tickets and verify closure with a retest.
What frameworks and methodologies Accedia uses for comprehensive testing?
We follow NIST SP 800-115/PTES for test phases; OWASP ASVS/API Security Top 10 for web/API; MASVS for mobile. Cloud reviews align to CIS Benchmarks and provider baselines, we emulate MITRE ATT&CK techniques, and reporting maps.
