This engagement focuses on exactly those flaws, on the systems that hold personal data, and produces documentation that supports your accountability obligations if a regulator ever asks what you did to protect it.
Type to search across the blog, guides, tools, and services.
GDPR does not hand you a checklist of controls. Article 32 asks for appropriate technical and organizational measures to secure personal data, judged against the state of the art and the risk. A penetration test is how you demonstrate that judgement in practice: independent evidence that you actively look for the flaws that would expose personal data, and fix them.
This engagement focuses on exactly those flaws, on the systems that hold personal data, and produces documentation that supports your accountability obligations if a regulator ever asks what you did to protect it.
Article 32 requires appropriate security measures and, importantly, a process for regularly testing and evaluating their effectiveness. A penetration test is the most direct way to satisfy the testing-and-evaluating part, and the accountability principle means you must be able to show what you did, not merely assert that you are secure.
The financial stakes are unusually high. GDPR penalties reach into the tens of millions of euros or a percentage of global turnover, and regulators weigh the technical measures you had in place when deciding on a fine after a breach. A documented programme of independent testing is strong evidence of diligence.
Most GDPR-relevant breaches come down to personal data being accessible to the wrong person: a broken access-control flaw, an exposed database, an API returning more than it should. These are precisely the issues a penetration test is designed to surface before an attacker or a curious user finds them.
Whether users can reach personal data belonging to others by manipulating identifiers or bypassing authorization, the most common route to a reportable breach.
APIs and pages that return more personal data than necessary, and personal data leaking into logs, URLs, error messages, or third-party requests.
Login, password reset, and session handling, since account takeover is a direct compromise of the affected person's data.
Personal data transmitted or stored without appropriate encryption, which weighs directly on the Article 32 assessment.
The report supports your accountability obligations and guides remediation. It contains:
An endpoint that returns another person's profile, order, or message when an id is changed, a textbook GDPR-reportable exposure.
Endpoints returning fields the client never uses, contradicting data minimization and widening exposure if intercepted.
Identifiers or sensitive fields leaking into analytics, logs, or referrer headers where they were never meant to go.
Weak password reset or session handling that lets an attacker seize an account and, with it, all the personal data inside.
Not by name, but Article 32 requires appropriate technical measures and a process for regularly testing and evaluating their effectiveness. A penetration test is the standard way to meet the testing obligation and to evidence accountability if a regulator asks.
Regulators consider the technical measures you had in place when deciding on enforcement. A documented programme of independent testing, with a remediation trail, is strong evidence that you took security seriously, which can materially affect the outcome.
Anything that identifies a person, directly or indirectly: names, emails, identifiers, location, and more. We focus testing on the systems and endpoints that handle this data, since that is where GDPR risk concentrates.
At least annually and after significant changes to systems handling personal data. GDPR frames it as regular testing, so a consistent cadence with documentation is what demonstrates compliance.
Book a free 30-minute scoping call. We agree the scope, timeline, and a fixed price up front — no obligation, and no surprises for your deadline.