BANK PENETRATION TESTING

Bank pentesting.
Prove the
boundaries.

A bank’s security depends on the boundaries between customer channels, service identities and payment authority. We test those boundaries through controlled scenarios and evidence your teams can act on.

Download sample bank pentest report Discuss your scope

Controlled executionTechnical evidenceRemediation validation

BANKING RESILIENCE, TESTED IN DETAILBy Atlant Security

01 / THE ENGAGEMENTRetail banks, commercial banks and banking technology teams

Test the path.
Understand
the consequence.

Establish what a compromised channel or service identity can actually change, where independent controls stop it and which fixes need priority.

Payment integrity needs more than a successful API call. We distinguish a changed draft, an accepted approval and a denied release, and record the controls that remain effective.

A support application can become an entry point to CI credentials and an overprivileged payment identity. A separate signing service may still prevent release. A useful assessment explains each transition instead of turning one vulnerable host into a claim that the entire bank was compromised.

Inside the engagement

DEFINE THE BOUNDARYWhat should the test include?APPOINT WITH CONFIDENCEWhat should you ask a provider?INSPECT THE EVIDENCEWhat should the report prove?

02 / TESTING SCOPE

Follow the trust boundaries.

Plan your scope

01 / BANK

Digital banking & API penetration testing

Test customer, staff and service permissions across the banking application boundary.

Account and customer object-level authorisation · Session lifecycle, recovery and staff role transitions

02 / BANK

Bank network & privileged identity testing

Connect external entry points to the internal trust paths that matter.

Perimeter services and approved internal paths · CI/CD secrets and workload credential lifetimes

03 / BANK

Payment workflow & authorisation testing

Verify who can draft, change, approve and release a payment.

Beneficiary and transaction field authorisation · Maker-checker separation across human and service roles

03 / OUR APPROACH

From a testable question
to a defensible answer.

Explore the methodology

A controlled process.
Evidence at every step.

Agree the boundary

Define systems, identities, objectives, permissions and operating constraints.

Model the path

Connect relevant attack scenarios to the services and data you need to protect.

Test under control

Use seeded payments and synthetic customers with settlement disabled. Agree independent stop authority, transaction reconciliation, named system owners and permission for third-party services. Separate demonstrated draft changes from unperformed fund transfers.

Document the result

Record actions, responses, effective controls and the limits of access gained.

Verify the repair

Prioritise findings, assign ownership and retest agreed acceptance criteria.

THE REQUIREMENTS IN CONTEXTRead the framework guidance

Useful evidence.
Clear limits.

A test should inform your security decisions.

DORA applies to covered financial entities, while statutory TLPT is a specific advanced-testing process for identified entities. A bank penetration test can support the broader testing programme without being a DORA TLPT. PCI DSS may be relevant to cardholder-data scope; GDPR and supervisory expectations require separate consideration.

INSIDE THE SAMPLE REPORT