SOC 2 Penetration Testing Providers

SOC 2 Type II Service Organization Control · North America

SOC 2 is an auditing framework developed by the AICPA that evaluates a service organisation's controls relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy (the Trust Services Criteria). SOC 2 Type II reports are increasingly required by enterprise customers evaluating SaaS vendors, cloud service providers, and managed service providers.

Penetration testing is a critical component of demonstrating compliance with the Common Criteria (CC) 4.1, which requires organisations to evaluate and test the design and operating effectiveness of controls. Regular penetration testing provides evidence that security controls are working as intended and helps identify gaps before they are found during the SOC 2 audit.

Many SOC 2 auditors specifically look for annual penetration testing as evidence of a mature security programme. Testing should cover the systems and services described in the SOC 2 report scope, including infrastructure, applications, APIs, and access controls.

25 providers
Best UK ProviderBest for EnterpriseResearch Leaders
NCC Group logo

NCC Group

Global cybersecurity consultancy with CREST, CHECK, and CBEST accreditation, renowned for deep technical research and comprehensive penetration testing services.

75
Score
LOCManchester, United Kingdom
Web ApplicationNetworkMobile App+13
CRESTCHECKCBEST+6
Best for Mid-MarketBest for Financial Services
NetSPI logo

NetSPI

Leading penetration testing firm with the Resolve platform for continuous attack surface management, trusted by nine of the top ten US banks.

60
Score
LOCMinneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkCloud+8
SOC 2ISO 27001CREST
Trustwave logo

Trustwave

Global managed security provider with the elite SpiderLabs penetration testing team and deep PCI DSS compliance expertise.

57
Score
LOCChicago, Illinois, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkMobile App+7
PCI QSAISO 27001SOC 2+1
Pentest People logo

Pentest People

CREST and CHECK-accredited UK penetration testing firm with an innovative SecurePortal platform and transparent pricing for mid-market organizations.

55
Score
LOCLeeds, United Kingdom
Web ApplicationNetworkMobile App+7
CRESTCHECKCyber Essentials Plus+1
Mandiant logo

Mandiant

World-renowned cybersecurity firm now part of Google Cloud, delivering threat intelligence-led penetration testing and red teaming informed by front-line incident response experience.

53
Score
LOCReston, Virginia, United States
Red TeamingPurple TeamingNetwork+6
SOC 2ISO 27001FedRAMP 3PAO
Best OverallElite TestersResearch Pioneers
Bishop Fox logo

Bishop Fox

Premier US-based offensive security firm known for elite penetration testers, cutting-edge research, and the Cosmos continuous attack surface management platform.

50
Score
LOCTempe, Arizona, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkMobile App+8
SOC 2OSCP Employer
Rapid7 logo

Rapid7

Creators of Metasploit offering enterprise penetration testing integrated with their comprehensive vulnerability management and security operations platform.

50
Score
LOCBoston, Massachusetts, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkMobile App+7
SOC 2ISO 27001
Coalfire logo

Coalfire

Compliance-focused cybersecurity advisory firm and FedRAMP 3PAO specializing in penetration testing that meets stringent regulatory requirements.

50
Score
LOCWestminster, Colorado, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkCloud+5
SOC 2FedRAMP 3PAOPCI QSA+1
WithSecure logo

WithSecure

Leading European cybersecurity firm offering penetration testing with deep expertise in EU regulatory compliance including GDPR, NIS 2, and TIBER-EU.

49
Score
LOCHelsinki, Finland
Web ApplicationNetworkCloud+7
CRESTISO 27001
Claranet logo

Claranet

CREST and CHECK-accredited European managed services provider delivering penetration testing with deep infrastructure and cloud hosting expertise.

48
Score
LOCLondon, United Kingdom
Web ApplicationNetworkMobile App+5
CRESTCHECKISO 27001+1
HackerOne logo

HackerOne

World's largest ethical hacker platform with over one million researchers, offering bug bounties and structured penetration testing to the US DoD and Fortune 500.

47
Score
LOCSan Francisco, California, United States
Web ApplicationAPIMobile App+3
SOC 2ISO 27001FedRAMP 3PAO
Integrity360 logo

Integrity360

CREST-accredited pan-European cybersecurity services provider delivering penetration testing and managed security from Dublin with a strong UK and Ireland presence.

44
Score
LOCDublin, Ireland
Web ApplicationNetworkMobile App+6
CRESTISO 27001SOC 2
Black Hills Information Security logo

Black Hills Information Security

Community-driven penetration testing firm known for free security education, open-source tools, Wild West Hackin' Fest, and practical offensive security services.

44
Score
LOCSpearfish, South Dakota, United States
NetworkWeb ApplicationSocial Engineering+5
SOC 2
CrowdStrike logo

CrowdStrike

Global cybersecurity leader leveraging world-class threat intelligence from the Falcon platform to deliver intelligence-led penetration testing and red teaming.

43
Score
LOCAustin, Texas, United States
Red TeamingNetworkWeb Application+5
SOC 2ISO 27001
Secureworks logo

Secureworks

Dell Technologies-backed cybersecurity firm with elite Counter Threat Unit intelligence informing enterprise penetration testing and adversary simulation.

41
Score
LOCAtlanta, Georgia, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkCloud+7
SOC 2ISO 27001
Trail of Bits logo

Trail of Bits

Elite security research firm specializing in source code review, blockchain auditing, and building industry-standard open-source security tools.

41
Score
LOCNew York, New York, United States
Source Code ReviewWeb ApplicationAPI+3
OSCP Employer
Rhino Security Labs logo

Rhino Security Labs

Cloud security penetration testing specialists known for the Pacu AWS exploitation framework and deep expertise across AWS, Azure, and GCP environments.

41
Score
LOCSeattle, Washington, United States
CloudWeb ApplicationNetwork+4
SOC 2
Praetorian logo

Praetorian

Offensive security firm founded by former DoD professionals, offering elite penetration testing and the Chariot continuous attack surface management platform.

40
Score
LOCAustin, Texas, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkCloud+7
SOC 2
Offensive Security logo

Offensive Security

Creators of OSCP, Kali Linux, and Exploit-DB, offering elite penetration testing services from the team that trains the world's ethical hackers.

40
Score
LOCNew York, New York, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkRed Teaming+5
OSCP Employer
Bugcrowd logo

Bugcrowd

Leading crowdsourced security platform offering managed bug bounty programs and crowd-powered penetration testing with hundreds of thousands of ethical hackers.

40
Score
LOCSan Francisco, California, United States
Web ApplicationAPIMobile App+3
SOC 2ISO 27001
Synack logo

Synack

FedRAMP-authorized crowdsourced penetration testing platform combining vetted elite hackers with AI-powered Hydra technology for continuous security testing.

39
Score
LOCRedwood City, California, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkAPI+4
FedRAMP 3PAOSOC 2
Aon Cyber Solutions logo

Aon Cyber Solutions

Cybersecurity consulting division of global insurance leader Aon, uniquely combining penetration testing with cyber risk quantification and insurance expertise.

36
Score
LOCLondon, United Kingdom
Web ApplicationNetworkCloud+5
ISO 27001SOC 2
Securin logo

Securin

Vulnerability intelligence-driven penetration testing firm providing contextual security assessments informed by threat actor exploitation data and ransomware tracking.

34
Score
LOCAlbuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkAPI+3
SOC 2
BreachLock logo

BreachLock

Cloud-based Penetration Testing as a Service platform combining AI-driven automation with expert manual testing at accessible price points.

33
Score
LOCNew York, New York, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkAPI+4
SOC 2ISO 27001
Cobalt logo

Cobalt

Pioneer of Pentest as a Service, delivering fast, platform-based penetration testing with a vetted global community of security researchers.

29
Score
LOCSan Francisco, California, United States
Web ApplicationNetworkAPI+2
SOC 2

SOC 2 FAQs

Is penetration testing required for SOC 2?+

While not explicitly required by the Trust Services Criteria, penetration testing is strongly expected by most auditors as evidence of meeting CC4.1 (monitoring of controls) and CC7.1 (identification and response to security incidents).

What types of pen testing support SOC 2 compliance?+

Web application, network, and API penetration testing are most relevant. The scope should align with the systems and services covered in your SOC 2 report.

How recent should pen test results be for SOC 2 audit?+

Pen test results should be within the audit period (typically 12 months). Most organisations schedule annual pen tests to coincide with their SOC 2 audit cycle.