Regulatory testing
Threat-led testing that satisfies your regulator and strengthens your real-world resilience. Built for organizations operating across domestic and international obligations.
CovertSwarm named in the Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Security Operations, 2026
Less audit.
More adversary.
Full regulatory rigor.
Full attacker intent.
Regulators expect you to test your defenses against realistic adversaries. Most organizations treat that as a box to tick. The scenarios are predictable, the attack paths are narrow, and the findings confirm what everyone already knew.
Real attackers do not follow your testing schedule. They chain weaknesses across technology, people, and suppliers. They adapt when a route closes. A threat-led engagement tests your organization against that intent, not against a framework checklist.
Meet the requirement, but demand more from the test with Constant Cyber Attack.
Give your regulators the evidence they expect.
Threat-led engagements built around your regulatory, industry and assurance requirements.
Our operators simulate the adversaries most likely to target your sector, using current threat intelligence and executing across your full attack surface.
Your engagement is scoped against the frameworks that apply to you. NYDFS Part 500 for covered entities subject to annual penetration testing obligations. PCI DSS for organizations handling cardholder data. DORA threat-led penetration testing for EU financial entities selected by their competent authorities, including relevant EU entities in US-headquartered groups.
Across all of them, the approach is the same. We chain attack paths rather than test systems in isolation, execute across digital, physical, and social vectors, and deliver findings structured for your regulator, your board, and your technical team in one report.
Turn attacker pressure into boardroom confidence.
What would an attacker target in your business? Talk to our team about what you need to protect and what you want to prove.
Together, we’ll explore the objectives, scope and approach for a realistic compliance exercise.
Want the attack to keep going after the report lands? Explore Constant Cyber Attack
How it works
Your engagement starts with a clear objective: what matters most to your business, and how an attacker might reach it.
Together, we agree the scope, timeframe and rules before putting your defenses to the test.
1
Threat intelligence scoping
We identify the adversaries most relevant to your organization and select credible TTPs against your specific assets and business objectives.
2
Rules of engagement
Scope, targets, permitted techniques, and stop conditions are formally agreed and signed off before any activity begins.
3
Threat-led execution
Our operators execute across digital, physical, and social vectors, adapting as the engagement unfolds to reflect how a real adversary would operate.
4
Multi-level reporting
Findings are structured for your regulator, your board, and your technical team. Evidence, narrative, and prioritized remediation in one report.
Don’t just test your compliance.
Prove it works.
Clear accountability.
Know who leads your engagement and who to contact. Before the attack begins, agree how decisions are made, how concerns are escalated and who can pause the exercise.
Agreed guardrails.
Set the scope, permitted activity and exclusions upfront. Rules of engagement define how the team operates around your production systems, sensitive data and business priorities.
Expert operators.
Work with the people conducting the attack. Understand their decisions, challenge their findings and get clear answers about what the evidence means for your business.
Evidence you can understand and act on.
See results presented for all your audiences: regulators, executives, practitioners. Know which objectives were achieved, where defenses held and how your team responded.
An attack narrative and prioritized recommendations give technical teams and leadership a clear basis for action.
Meet requirements across borders.
Your business operates internationally. Your security testing needs to account for that. We work with US organizations to scope testing around domestic requirements and obligations arising from their UK and EU operations.
From penetration testing supporting NYDFS Part 500 to CBEST and STAR-FS engagements in the UK and testing aligned with applicable EU requirements, we bring the relevant objectives, scope and evidence into a clear engagement plan.
CREST accreditation and ISO-certified management systems give you additional assurance in the team delivering the work.
PRICING
Starting at $2,395/day.
Your regulatory and compliance engagement is priced around the objectives, scope and work involved. Tell us what you need to prove, any specific requirements and your preferred timing. We’ll develop a proposal that sets out the approach, deliverables and cost.
Agreed objectives
Rules of engagement
Named engagement lead
Debrief and retest
What affects your quote
- Objectives and scope: what we’re trying to achieve and what’s involved.
- Attack scenarios: the technical, social and physical activities agreed.
- Duration and complexity: the time, preparation and expertise required.
- Deliverables and follow-up: reporting, debriefing and any agreed retesting.
Frequently Asked Questions
These requirements aren’t all the same kind. Some regulations require testing for the entities they cover, such as NYDFS Part 500 for entities subject to §500.5 and DORA TLPT for EU financial entities their regulator identifies. PCI DSS is an industry standard, and it includes penetration testing for the payment card environments it covers. SEC cybersecurity rules are about disclosure. Public companies must report material incidents and describe how they manage cyber risk, but the rules don’t prescribe testing. Your compliance team confirms which requirements apply, and we design the engagement around them.
If you’re a covered entity subject to §500.5, Part 500 requires a penetration test at least once a year. A qualified internal or external party must run it, from both inside and outside your information systems. Some covered entities are exempt from §500.5 under §500.19. CovertSwarm delivers Part 500 aligned testing with validated findings and evidence structured for your compliance submission.
DORA is an EU regulation. It applies to the EU financial entities it lists, including those in US-headquartered groups. Whether it applies to you depends on your EU entities and how they’re regulated. An EU financial entity that its regulator identifies must run TLPT, normally at least every three years. Many regulators use the TIBER-EU framework for this, but DORA doesn’t require it by name. CovertSwarm delivers DORA-aligned TLPT engagements and scopes applicable US and EU obligations together.
Yes. CovertSwarm operates in the US, UK, and EU and is CREST-accredited to deliver CBEST and STAR-FS engagements for organizations with UK financial services operations. We scope domestic and international testing requirements together to avoid duplication and reduce engagement overhead.
SOC 2 does not explicitly require a penetration test, but many auditors expect one as evidence that your controls work, and enterprise customers frequently request it during security reviews. A CovertSwarm pen test report gives you validated findings and remediation evidence you can share with your auditor and customers.
Looking for something specific?
Talk to us. We’d love to hear from you.
Stop testing.
Start knowing.
You’ll know exactly where you stand, and you’ll be able to prove it. To your board, your regulator, and yourself.
Transform to a proactive, continuous offensive security program
Your budget is aimed at the risk that matters, not the one you were handed
You show the board what security prevented, not a request for more
Security clears the way for the business to move faster
You enter the boardroom in command
It starts with a 30-minute Attack Discovery call.
No access to your systems required.