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Hire an ethical hacker with practical certifications for example CEH, OSCP, GPEN or CompTIA PenTest+.)
Ensure you ask for a sample report, professional insurance, and clear testing scope. Always confirm written authorisation and ensure full post-test remediation support.
Hackers are getting smarter and stealthier. Nearly half of all data breaches now involve zero-day vulnerabilities, which evade traditional cybersecurity tools and IT monitoring.
Ethical hackers (also known as “white hats”) find those same weaknesses before criminals can exploit them.
Hackers are fast becoming increasingly sophisticated, often employing zero-day techniques that can evade cybersecurity tools and IT professionals.
In fact, research shows that nearly 30% of data breaches involve previously unknown vulnerabilities.
That’s why having a certified ethical hacker (CEH) assess your systems can make the difference between prevention and disaster.
Criminal hackers or “Black hat” hackers can break into your organisation’s systems without permission to steal data, cause disruption, or sell your sensitive information. Their motives range from financial gain to causing your business chaos just because they can.
These activities are illegal and punishable by law under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 but that doesn’t stop them.
This is where our ethical hacking services come into play. By using the same skills in a responsible way we can help to improve your business security posture by learning from the results from a test hack that does not negatively impact your business.
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Ethical hacking, or white-hat hacking, is an authorised practice of testing computer systems, networks, and/or applications to uncover any security vulnerabilities before a hacker has a chance to act and exploit your untested security gaps.
Ethical hackers use the same techniques as cybercriminals, scanning, probing, and attempting to gain access, but with one crucial difference, they do it with permission and a signed contract.
We provide this service both managed IT Support clients and non-clients to help strengthen your defences and help you close these gaps before anyone else finds them.
When planning to complete an ethical hack, many businesses naturally turn to their existing IT provider. After all, your IT team already understands your systems and security setup but is that always the best approach?
Convenience: Everything happens in one place from setup to reporting.
Familiarity: Your provider already knows your infrastructure, reducing the time spent on onboarding and access.
Trust: You’re working with a team that already handles sensitive information and understands your compliance requirements.
Potential bias: When the same company responsible for maintaining your systems performs the test, there’s a risk even if unintentional of playing down any weaknesses or overlooking deeper issues.
Limited perspective: External ethical hackers bring a fresh, attacker-minded viewpoint that in-house teams often lack. (if using an inhouse IT team without dedicated cybersecurity experts)
Accountability and validation: An independent assessment provides an unbiased report the “blanket truth” you can share with management or use to verify that your IT provider is delivering the security level promised.
Many organisations choose a hybrid model with their IT provider managing remediation and ongoing security, while an independent ethical hacking team conducts the penetration test. This ensures complete transparency, objectivity, and continuous improvement of your cyber defences.
We’re offering a free external penetration test for a limited time.
You’ll receive:
Offer available for qualifying businesses. Written consent and scope approval required before testing.
If your business holds sensitive data like employee details, financial information, and client records, any breach could cause reputational damage, operational downtime, and financial penalties.
By simulating real-world attacks, ethical hackers can:
According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report, early detection and ethical hacking can cut breach costs by over 25%.
Absolutely, when you choose a certified ethical hacker that follow strict codes of conduct.
These ethics ensure that vulnerabilities stay private and cannot be exploited by malicious actors.
We offer a free cybersecurity review for UK businesses with 10+ employees, in this meeting we will review your current cybersecurity posture offering advice and guidsnce for improvment. Within this assessment we can help you determine quick wins and offer a project scope for a full network penetration test (ethical hack) upon request.
Any device on your network can be a target but one weak device can compromise all others.
With remote and hybrid work now the norm, each endpoint must be secured and regularly tested.
Automotive Cybersecurity (2015):
Ethical hackers remotely took control of a Jeep Cherokee’s steering and brakes, prompting a recall of 1.4 million vehicles and an industry-wide reassessment of vehicle cybersecurity.
Airport Security Testing (2019):
At Heathrow Airport, ethical hackers discovered major vulnerabilities in data storage and physical systems, leading to upgraded airport security protocols.
These examples show the value of authorised hacking in preventing catastrophic breaches.
When choosing an ethical hacker, certifications can be used to prove credibility and competence. Look for one or more of the following:
Before hiring, confirm the following:
1. Credentials & Proof
Ask for active certifications, sample (redacted) reports, and client references.
2. Methodology
They should follow recognised standards such as OWASP, PTES, or NIST SP 800-115.
3. Insurance & Liability
Ensure they have professional indemnity insurance and provide written authorisation forms.
4. Deliverables
A professional pentest report should include:
5. Communication
Ethical hackers should communicate clearly, respect your scope boundaries, and erase traces after testing.
We’re offering a free external penetration test for a limited time.
You’ll receive:
Offer available for qualifying businesses. Written consent and scope approval required before testing.
CEH focuses on theory and broad concepts where as OSCP is a hands-on, practical certification involving live exploitation in a controlled environment.
Small tests may take 2–5 days, larger corporate assessments can run several weeks depending on scope and complexity.
This timeline should be outlined within the proposal of the ethical hack.
Ask for certifications, insurance proof, sample reports, scope of work, and remediation support details.
Reputable ethical hackers carry professional indemnity and cyber liability insurance to cover testing risks.
Costs vary widely based on scope for businesses you can expect anywhere dependant on size and complexity from £2,000 for a small external test to £15,000+ for full infrastructure and web application testing.
Anne-Marie Blazdell is a Marketing & Communications Manager with expertise in digital marketing, content creation, and IT solutions. With a strong foundation in graphic design, she trained at Farnborough College of Technology and Southampton Solent University before advancing into marketing and business IT support.
Since joining Syn-Star in 2022, Anne-Marie has specialised in crafting SEO-optimised website content, managing social media, and helping businesses navigate the complexities of IT. Her work bridges the gap between technology and business, making IT more accessible and effective.
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You and your team are able to see where they are using their time and how productive they are actually being. Also they are able to clock in and out, so really good for flexi-working.
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If you would like to know what your team is doing and how productive they are being, we are able to monitor them and create screenshots of what they are working on. This can be run in normal or stealth mode.
Book a FREE fact finding session to discuss the different options.
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Protecting your digital data is crucial for every business and this can start with the industry-leading security we offer. The Syn-Star specialists can help with identifying any vulnerabilities within your IT systems and act accordingly to ensure cyber-attacks and data breaches are mitigated.
Your business will never fall behind with its technology when you work with Syn-Star.
We understand IT and Telecoms for your business is an investment, but it’s important to use the best resources available to enable the growth of your business. Our IT Consultancy and Virtual IT Director Services are available to support you with how you use your business technology for years to come.
Syn-Star can conduct quick and easy phishing exercises to identify people within your team who need to improve on their knowledge around fraudulent emails and how they can be alerted to these threats.
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