Cloud testing that follows the permissions, not just the ports.
Most cloud incidents aren't exotic exploits. They're roles granted too broadly, storage left open and keys that never expired. We test for exactly those failures.
- Moving to the cloud:
- find the risks before the migration locks them in.
- Running on AWS, Azure or GCP:
- one engagement, one normalised report.
- AWS, Azure and GCP in one engagement
- Effective permissions mapped, escalation paths proved
- Findings mapped to CIS benchmarks
- Retest included, report reissued
What is a cloud penetration test?
A cloud penetration test attacks your cloud account the way an intruder with a foothold would: through identity and permissions, storage, network configuration and workloads. A benchmark scan tells you which settings deviate from a standard. A test shows which of those deviations can be chained into access to your data.
What we test
- Identity and roles
- Object storage
- Security groups and networks
- Compute and containers
- Logging and alerting
- Secrets and keys
What you get back
- Findings mapped to CIS
- Escalation paths between identities
- Fixes as policy snippets
- Proof of what you'd detect
- A retest of the fixes
- One report across providers
CLOUD
A short, urgent list instead of a long one
A scan lists every deviation. A test finds the ones that can be chained to your data: a much shorter and more urgent list.
You learn not just what was exploitable, but whether you would have seen it happen.
Six areas every cloud test covers
Identity and access
Over-permissive roles, escalation paths and cross-account trust.
Storage exposure
Public access, permissions and encryption at rest.
Network configuration
Security groups, peering and unintended internet exposure.
Compute and workloads
Metadata access, container escape and function permissions.
Logging and detection
Whether our activity was logged and noticed.
Where cloud testing matters most
- SaaS platforms
- Fintech
- Health platforms
- AI workloads
- E-commerce
- Managed services
The trigger is usually a cloud migration, a customer security review of your hosting, a compliance audit, or a new account structure with many teams.
Browse plain-language security guides in the Resources libraryWhat sits in scope of a cloud test?
Three layers: the identities that act in your cloud, the resources they reach, and the monitoring that should notice. Scope names the accounts, subscriptions and projects.
01 · Identities
Users, roles and keys
- Human users
- Service roles
- Access keys
- Cross-account trust
Cloud compromise usually runs through permissions.
02 · Resources
Storage, network and compute
- Object storage
- Security groups
- Containers and functions
- Secrets
What an identity can reach, and what it can change.
03 · Monitoring
Logs and alerts
- Audit logging
- Retention
- Alert rules
Whether the activity we generate would have been noticed.
If many people or services hold cloud permissions, or data sits in object storage, effective access is probably wider than anyone intended.
The cloud provider's own platform is their responsibility. Your configuration, identities and workloads are yours, and that's what we test.
How a cloud penetration test runs
Six steps, each with a named output and a clear ask of your team. Identity analysis is the core, because that's where cloud breaches usually run.
- Scope
Scoping
We agree accounts, subscriptions and projects in scope, plus the provider's testing policy and any notification needs.
- Accounts and projects
- Provider policy
- Notifications
- Rules of engagement
- You get
- A written scope and rules of engagement.
- You provide
- A read-only audit role and a technical contact.
- Review
Configuration review
We assess the environment against provider benchmarks and CIS guidance, using read-only access.
- CIS benchmarks
- Provider guidance
- Storage settings
- Network settings
- You get
- Configuration findings mapped to CIS.
- You provide
- Nothing beyond the read-only role.
- Identity
Identity analysis
We map effective permissions and find escalation paths between identities.
- Effective permissions
- Escalation paths
- Unused credentials
- Cross-account trust
- You get
- A map of who can reach what.
- You provide
- Answers about intended roles.
- Exploit
Exploitation
We prove the escalation paths and exposures are real, within the agreed rules of engagement.
- Proof of escalation
- Exposure checks
- Impact
- Severity rating
- You get
- Evidence for each proved path.
- You provide
- Any extra access for proofs, agreed and scoped tightly first.
- Detect
Detection assessment
We check whether our activity surfaced in your logging and alerting.
- Audit logs
- Retention
- Alerting
- Response gaps
- You get
- A view of what you would have seen.
- You provide
- Access to your log views, or a contact who can check.
- Report
Report & retest
You get findings with infrastructure-as-code or policy fixes where possible, a walkthrough, and a retest.
- Findings report
- Policy snippets
- Retest
- Attestation letter
- You get
- A report, a walkthrough and a reissued report after retest.
- You provide
- Engineers on the walkthrough, and the fixes to retest.
There's no one-size timeline: it depends on the number of accounts, providers and workloads in scope. You get a firm estimate in writing during scoping.
What you receive
The engagement ends in one test file. Each item is paired with the question a reviewer or an auditor asks about it.
Each finding comes with the specific fix, often as a policy change, and a retest that verifies it, so the evidence that it is closed exists before anyone asks.
A cloud penetration test isn't a certificate; it's evidence. Auditors and customers judge it by how reproducible the findings are and whether fixes were verified.
01, Report phase: Cloud risk summary
Written for non-technical stakeholders.
02, Scope phase: Scope and accounts tested
Accounts, projects and limits, as agreed.
03, Review phase: Configuration findings
Findings mapped to CIS benchmarks.
04, Identity phase: Permission map
Effective permissions and escalation paths.
05, Exploit phase: Proved escalation paths
Evidence within the rules of engagement.
06, Detect phase: Detection findings
What was logged and alerted, and what was not.
07, Report phase: Remediation guidance
Policy snippets where practical, not prose.
08, Report phase: Retest report
Every fix verified, report reissued.
Illustrative example, not client data
What one escalation path looks like
- Start
- A developer role with broad read access
- Step
- Role can pass a stronger role to a new function
- Result
- Function runs with administrator permissions
- Impact
- Full read access to storage holding customer data
- Severity
- High (CVSS scored)
- Fix
- Limit who can pass roles; tighten the developer role
Four common cloud testing misconceptions
Each one is common, reasonable, and the reason a cloud account stays exposed.
Assumption 01
Assumption: Our provider secures the cloud for us.
What testing actually shows
The provider secures the platform. Your configuration, identities and workloads are yours.
Assumption 02
Assumption: A benchmark scan covers it.
What testing actually shows
A scan says which settings deviate. A test shows which can be chained into access to your data.
Assumption 03
Assumption: We need the provider's permission first.
What testing actually shows
Major providers permit testing of your own resources under published policies. We confirm current rules during scoping.
Assumption 04
Assumption: Storage is private unless we make it public.
What testing actually shows
Permissions and policies stack, and a broad rule can expose data nobody meant to share.
Heard one of these from your team? A scoped cloud test shows where you really stand.
Get a cloud test scopedWhat you can hold us to.
We don't publish client logos next to findings; we keep our clients' security posture private. These are the commitments we make instead.
Our commitments
Senior testers on the work
Every engagement is led by experienced practitioners, not handed to a junior running a scanner.
Peer-reviewed reports
Every report is peer-reviewed before it reaches you.
Written scope and rules
You know what is tested, when, and what happens if scope changes, before work starts.
Retesting included
We verify your fixes and reissue the report, so closure can be shown.
The Cloud Penetration Testing service by Auditify Security gave us the peace of mind we needed to move forward with our cloud migration. They helped us identify risks that we wouldn't have found on our own.
Want to speak to a client? Ask for a reference while we scope your work and we'll arrange it directly.
Ask for a referenceCloud testing questions buyers ask
Do we need permission from our cloud provider?
Usually no advance notice, but we confirm the rules.
The major providers permit customer penetration testing of your own resources under published policies, and most no longer require advance notice. Some services still have restrictions, so we confirm the current rules for your provider during scoping.
See how far a stolen key would go.
Send the basics
What you want tested (accounts, providers and workloads), who uses it, and any deadline such as a customer review or an audit.
We scope the work
We respond within 24 hours, then agree targets, access and rules of engagement in writing.
Your test, then your retest
You get a reproducible report, a walkthrough with your engineers, and a retest of the fixes.
- Moving to the cloud:
- find the risks before the migration locks them in.
- Running on AWS, Azure or GCP:
- one engagement, one normalised report.
We test and report. We don't change your cloud account; fixes are made by your team, and we verify them.