Question 1

What is the difference between external and internal network testing?

Accepted Answer

External testing targets the internet-facing surface an attacker reaches first — public IPs, VPN and remote-access endpoints. Internal testing assumes a foothold and looks at lateral movement, privilege escalation and Active Directory weaknesses. Most engagements scope both.

Question 2

How much does a network penetration test cost in India?

Accepted Answer

Combined network + web VAPT for a mid-size environment typically runs ₹5–15 lakh (USD 6,000–18,000) in the Indian market, while a focused web application test alone is usually ₹1.5–4 lakh (USD 2,000–5,000). Network engagements are consulting-led and quoted on host count, segmentation and depth; Infronest application engagements start at ₹36,750 per application per year, or ₹42,000 one-time — scope yours on a demo call.

Question 3

How long does a network penetration test take?

Accepted Answer

Typical industry ranges: an external-only test on a small IP range often runs one to two weeks, while combined external + internal engagements for a mid-size network run two to four weeks including reporting. Active-Directory-heavy internal scopes trend longer; a scoped web application test, for comparison, is typically one to three weeks.

Question 4

How much of the network test is automated versus done by a person?

Accepted Answer

Discovery and service enumeration are automated (nmap-based scanning, port and TLS checks, risky-service flagging). Exploitation, pivoting and privilege escalation are performed by a human tester under agreed rules — the platform does not autonomously attack your network.

Question 5

Do you actually exploit and pivot, or only scan?

Accepted Answer

Within the written rules of engagement, yes — a tester validates findings and attempts controlled exploitation and lateral movement, and every exploited issue is backed by proof-of-concept evidence rather than a scanner guess.

Question 6

What are the rules of engagement and do you need our approval?

Accepted Answer

Nothing runs without your signed authorisation. The rules of engagement fix the in-scope IPs, testing windows, off-limits systems and escalation contacts up front, following PTES and NIST SP 800-115.

Question 7

Could the test disrupt production systems?

Accepted Answer

We design to avoid it — timing windows, throttled scanning and agreed exclusions. Higher-risk actions are only attempted with explicit sign-off, and fragile production systems can be tested in a maintenance window or against a mirror.

Network penetration testing, internal and external

What is the difference between external and internal network testing?

Already live in the product

Included in the Infronest workspace

What you get

What teams can do here

How it works

Agree scope and rules of engagement

Discover and enumerate

Exploit and pivot (human-led)

Report and re-test

A worked example

Frequently asked questions

See what an attacker reaches from your perimeter — and after it

Network penetration testing, internal and external

What is the difference between external and internal network testing?

Already live in the product

Included in the Infronest workspace

What you get

What teams can do here

How it works

Agree scope and rules of engagement

Discover and enumerate

Exploit and pivot (human-led)

Report and re-test

A worked example

Frequently asked questions

All VAPT services

Web application vulnerability assessment & penetration testing

Mobile application security testing (APK / IPA)

API penetration testing for REST, GraphQL & microservices

Cloud penetration testing for AWS, Azure and GCP

Continuous security scanning on every commit and deploy

Remediation support and retests that prove fixes held

Explore connected offerings

Security and VAPT for IT teams

Web application vulnerability assessment & penetration testing

RMM: agent inventory, patch, and discovery in one feed

See what an attacker reaches from your perimeter — and after it