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Strike’s Manual Pentesting: Scope and Approach

Security assessments by access level and asset type

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Written by Strike Team
Updated over a week ago

At Strike, we conduct high-impact manual pentests designed to simulate real-world attack scenarios and uncover vulnerabilities that pose real business risks. Each engagement is tailored based on the access level (Black-box, Gray-box, White-box) and asset type (Web Service, On-premise / Cloud Infrastructure, Mobile).

Our assessments align with industry-recognized methodologies such as OWASP Top 10 (Web, API, Mobile), NIST 800-115, CIS Benchmarks, CSA, and OWASP MASVS, among others.

Below is a breakdown of key activities per testing type:

Black-box (no prior access)

Simulates an external attacker with no prior knowledge, enabling realistic evaluation of exposure and the effectiveness of perimeter defenses.

Web Service

  • Passive reconnaissance

  • Attack surface mapping

  • Endpoint discovery and enumeration

  • Dynamic analysis of APIs and web services

  • Authentication, injection, and basic business logic testing

  • Discovery of exposed attack vectors

    Methodologies: OWASP Top 10 Web / API, NIST 800-115

On-premise / Cloud Infrastructure

  • Host discovery

  • Port and service fingerprinting

  • Firewall, WAF, and perimeter security configuration analysis

  • Identification of exposed cloud vectors (IPs, subdomains, buckets, resources)

  • Environment segregation validation

    Methodologies: NIST 800-115, CIS Benchmarks, CSA guidelines

Mobile

  • Initial reverse engineering of APK/IPA

  • Detection of hardcoded secrets

  • Basic permission review

  • Analysis of backend/API communication

  • Validation of unauthenticated exposed functions

    Methodologies: OWASP Top 10 Mobile


Gray-box (partial access: credentials, documentation, user roles)

Simulates a limited-access attacker or insider. This approach balances realism and technical depth, enabling effective analysis of internal controls and business-critical workflows.

Web Service

  • Authenticated testing across different roles

  • Horizontal and vertical access control validation

  • Deep dynamic API analysis

  • Authorization mechanism validation

  • Privilege escalation

  • Business logic testing in critical flows

    Methodologies: OWASP Top 10 Web / API, NIST 800-115

On-premise / Cloud Infrastructure

  • Internal attacker simulation with limited access

  • Lateral movement and privilege escalation testing

  • Network segmentation validation

  • Security policy review

  • Exposure and IAM configuration assessment in cloud environments

    Methodologies: NIST 800-115, CIS Benchmarks, CSA guidelines

Mobile

  • Authenticated testing with different user profiles

  • Dynamic application analysis

  • Local storage and communication encryption validation

  • Access control between modules and APIs

  • Backend interaction and sensitive data handling verification

    Methodologies: OWASP Top 10 Mobile, OWASP MASVS


White-box (full access: source code, architecture, credentials)

Enables in-depth analysis through full access to internal information, maximizing technical coverage and uncovering complex flaws and hardening opportunities.

Web Service

  • Source code review for vulnerabilities, bad practices, and backdoors

  • Combined static and dynamic analysis

  • Security architecture assessment

  • Input validation, data flow, and authentication mechanism testing

    Methodologies: OWASP Top 10 Web / API, NIST 800-115, OWASP ASVS

On-premise / Cloud Infrastructure

  • Deep configuration and policy analysis (firewalls, IAM, ACLs)

  • Internal attack scenario simulation

  • Monitoring, alerting, and incident response validation

  • Environment segregation and critical resource permission analysis

    Methodologies: NIST 800-115, CIS Benchmarks, CSA guidelines

Mobile

  • Full static source code analysis

  • Third-party dependency and library review

  • Advanced dynamic testing (communication, secure storage, sensitive data management)

  • Validation of protection mechanisms (certificate pinning, root/jailbreak detection, etc.)

    Methodologies: OWASP Top 10 Mobile, OWASP MASVS


Our differentiator

Our manual pentests are conducted by a team of senior offensive hackers focused on real-world exploitation. We combine dynamic and static techniques according to the access level and asset type, ensuring maximum technical coverage and business impact across your most critical systems.

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