External penetration test
Testing performed from the internet against everything you expose publicly.
It answers what someone with no access and no credentials can achieve against your perimeter: the firewall, the VPN portal, the mail gateway, the web applications, and anything that was published and forgotten.
It is the natural starting point because it mirrors the position of the overwhelming majority of attackers.
Where this comes up
External penetration test sits inside our penetration testing work. If you are trying to work out what this means for your own environment rather than in the abstract, that is the page worth reading next, and a short call will get you a straight answer faster than either.
Related terms
Internal penetration test Testing from inside the network, simulating an attacker who has already gained a foothold. Attack surface Everything about your organization that an attacker could potentially reach and attempt to exploit. Reconnaissance Gathering information about a target before attempting anything against it. Penetration test An authorized simulated attack against your systems to find and demonstrate exploitable weaknesses before a real attacker does.