Financial Services & Bank Penetration Testing
Real skill leaves evidence. Your examiner will know the difference.
Financial Sector Threat Data
What Breaches Cost, and How They Start
Financial institutions are the most targeted sector and the most examined. The breach data says where the paths in are: a vulnerability nobody patched, a vendor nobody tested. We follow those paths by hand and show you what they reach.
- Average Financial Services Breach Cost
- $6.3M
-
Second only to healthcare, and well above the $4.99M average across all industries.
Source: IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2026
- Breaches That Start With an Exploited Vulnerability
- 31%
-
Now the most common way in, ahead of stolen credentials.
Source: Verizon DBIR 2026
- Breaches Involving a Third Party
- 48%
-
Up 60% in a year. Core processors, fintech integrations, and SaaS vendors are part of your attack surface.
Source: Verizon DBIR 2026
Scans Sold as Pentests
A scanner report won’t satisfy an FFIEC examiner, and it won’t find the chained exploits, business logic flaws, and transaction manipulation paths real attackers use. A Raxis engineer tests by hand, the way an adversary would, and the report shows the path.
Untested Banking Channels
Online banking portals, mobile apps, payment APIs, and wire transfer systems handle customer NPI, and network-only testing misses the application-layer flaws where breaches happen. We test the full transaction path, from authentication to fund movement.
Unproven Segmentation
Segmentation between core banking systems, corporate networks, branch infrastructure, and customer-facing environments only matters if it holds under attack. If nobody attempts lateral movement, you don’t know that it does. We attempt it.
Regulatory Mandates Expand
The FTC Safeguards Rule under GLBA mandates annual penetration testing and semi-annual vulnerability assessments for non-bank institutions, NYDFS Part 500 requires annual internal and external testing, and FFIEC and NCUA examiners expect risk-based testing regardless.
What Your Regulator Expects from Penetration Testing
Every financial regulator asks for testing differently.
| Regulator / Rule | Who It Covers | What It Requires |
|---|---|---|
| FTC Safeguards Rule (GLBA, 16 CFR 314.4) | Non-bank financial institutions: mortgage and auto lenders, brokers, advisors, tax preparers | Annual penetration testing and semi-annual vulnerability assessments, unless you run continuous monitoring |
| NYDFS Part 500 (500.5, amended November 2023) | NY-licensed banking, insurance, and financial services entities | Annual internal and external penetration testing by a qualified party, plus automated vulnerability scanning |
| FFIEC guidance | Banks and thrifts examined by OCC, FDIC, and the Federal Reserve | Risk-based internal and external penetration testing, including social engineering. Since the CAT retired in August 2025, examiners look to NIST CSF 2.0 and the CRI Cyber Profile |
| NCUA (Part 748 / ISE) | Credit unions | Scales by asset size: SCUEP, CORE, and CORE+, with CORE+ covering penetration testing of wireless, applications, and firewall rules |
| PCI DSS v4.0.1 (11.4) | Anyone handling cardholder data | Annual internal and external penetration testing, segmentation testing, and retesting of fixes (PCI penetration testing page) |
One Raxis engagement produces evidence mapped to every row that applies to you. The examiner gets the path, the proof, and the fix, not a control checklist with our logo on it.
SCUEP, CORE, and CORE+
SCUEP (under $50M) needs documented testing fundamentals, CORE expects internal and external vulnerability scanning and penetration testing, and CORE+ adds wireless testing, application testing, firewall rule review, and core conversion testing. We scope to your ISE tier.
Member Data Is NPI
Account records, loan applications, and share draft data are Nonpublic Personal Information under GLBA and Part 748. We test every path to it: member-facing online banking, third-party core processors, branch networks, and the segmentation between them.
Why Raxis for Financial Services Penetration Testing
It Takes More Than Tools
Senior, OSCP-certified engineers attack your systems by hand, the way a real crew would. Tools speed the reconnaissance. The engineer finds the path and proves it.
One Engagement, Every Regulator
Evidence mapped to GLBA, FFIEC, NYDFS Part 500, PCI DSS, and SOX in a single report your examiner can follow.
The Full Banking Surface
Online banking portals, mobile apps, payment APIs, wire transfer and ACH systems, ATM environments, SWIFT-connected infrastructure, and third-party fintech integrations, tested end to end.
Findings You Can Act On
Proof-of-concept exploits, business impact, and prioritized remediation in Raxis One, written by the engineer who found them. No 200-page scanner dumps.
Proven Segmentation
Lateral movement and privilege escalation show whether a compromised branch workstation can reach core banking systems, customer NPI, or transaction infrastructure. When we get there, we show you the path.
Coverage Between Exams
Annual testing is the minimum. Raxis Attack PTaaS keeps testing as releases, vendors, and integrations change, with real-time results and retesting of every fix.
FAQ: Financial Penetration Testing
What is penetration testing for financial institutions?
A hands-on attack on your banking systems, digital platforms, internal networks, and supporting infrastructure, done by a senior engineer the way an adversary would do it. It finds the exploitable paths before an attacker does and produces the evidence GLBA, FFIEC, NYDFS, and PCI DSS examiners expect.
What systems does Raxis test for financial services clients?
Online banking platforms, mobile banking applications, payment APIs, wire transfer and ACH systems, ATM environments, internal and external networks, core banking system boundaries, wireless infrastructure, branch network segmentation, and third-party fintech integrations.
What regulatory frameworks does Raxis testing support?
The GLBA / FTC Safeguards Rule, FFIEC IT Examination Handbook guidance, NYDFS Part 500 Cybersecurity Regulation, PCI DSS v4.0.1, and SOX internal control requirements. With the FFIEC CAT retired, findings also map to NIST CSF 2.0, CISA's Cybersecurity Performance Goals, or the Cyber Risk Institute's Cyber Profile.
How often should financial institutions perform penetration testing?
The FTC Safeguards Rule and NYDFS Part 500 require annual testing. Banks and credit unions follow the Interagency Guidelines, FFIEC guidance, and NCUA requirements: risk-based testing at least annually and after significant changes. Many use Raxis Attack for continuous coverage between exams.
Will testing disrupt banking operations or customer transactions?
We work inside rules of engagement built for financial environments: agreed testing windows, no destructive testing against production transaction systems, and a stop-work contact on both sides. Live testing is never zero risk, so we won't tell you it is. We will tell you exactly what we plan to do before we do it, and we stop when you say stop.
What certifications do Raxis penetration testers hold?
OSCP, OSWE, OSEP, GPEN, CISSP, and more, listed on our certifications page.