Best Penetration Testing Companies in North Carolina (Charlotte, Raleigh, 2026)
A penetration testing company attacks your systems with your permission and reports what it found and how to fix it. North Carolina buyers mostly need one for GLBA, SOC 2, HIPAA or CMMC evidence. This page compares 12 firms that serve Charlotte, Raleigh and the rest of the state on facts each firm publishes itself. No reviews, no star ratings, no guesses.
How we ranked these firms
Every firm gets a score out of 10 on five criteria. Only things a firm states on its own website count. Reputation, reviews and size are not scored, because none can be verified from the outside.
- Certifications stated. 2 points for offensive-security credentials named on the site (OSCP, OSWE, CEH, CREST CRT) or a CREST firm accreditation. 1 point for general security credentials only (CISSP, CISA, QSA). 0 for none.
- Published pricing. 2 points for prices on the site. 1 for a starting rate only. 0 for quote-only.
- Booking and turnaround. 1 point if you can scope or book online without a sales call. 1 point if the site states when testing starts or when the report arrives.
- Delivery model. 2 points if the site says plainly whether work is remote or on site, and from where. 1 for a partial statement such as "across the U.S." 0 if not stated.
- Audit-report fit. 2 points if the site names the frameworks its pentest reports serve (GLBA, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, CMMC). 1 for one framework. 0 for none.
Ties are listed alphabetically. A firm whose site blocked our check is listed unscored. The state's own National Guard programme is listed last because it is not a vendor. A North Carolina office is recorded as a fact but not scored.
The list
1. Budget Security (score 10/10)
Published by us, so read this entry with that in mind. HQ: The Hague, Netherlands. No US office. All testing is remote, during US business hours. Price: $985 per tester-day for US clients (€849 per day for EU clients), published. Testers: OSCP-certified. You scope the test yourself in the dashboard, testing starts within 7 days of booking, and the report lands in the dashboard within 48 hours after the test ends. You pay after the report is delivered. Reports map to SOC 2, GLBA, PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001 and CMMC. We score 10 because the criteria reward published prices and online booking, which is what we built the company around. If you need a tester who can walk into your Charlotte or Raleigh office, we are not it. Seven firms below are based in the state. Local detail is on our Charlotte penetration testing page and Raleigh penetration testing page.
2. Voke Cyber (score 7/10)
Charlotte, NC area. "Remote engagements nationwide," with "all work performed domestically." Prices published: vulnerability assessment $1,500, cloud $3,000, web application $3,500, external network $3,500, internal network $5,000, red team $8,000. Certifications named: OSCP, OSWA, CISSP, CCSK. Turnaround stated: proposals within 24 hours, and "once contracts are signed, we can generally start testing within 24 hours for most assessments." Booking is a quote form or a call. Frameworks are not named on the pages we checked.
3. BeachFleischman (score 4/10)
Offices in Phoenix, Tucson, Nogales and Las Vegas. Its Charlotte page is one of a national series and ranks first on Google for several North Carolina pentest queries. Certifications named: OSCP, CEH, CISA, CRISC, CCNP, Security+, CCIP, PCI-SSC. No price. No turnaround. Web form. Delivery: "We can deliver network penetration testing services across the U.S."
4. Triaxiom Security (score 3/10)
"Based out of Charlotte, NC." CREST-accredited penetration testing provider and PCI QSA. Certifications named: OSCP, OSWE, GXPN, GWAPT, GCIH, GSEC, eCPPT, eWPT, eWPTX, CRTO, CISSP, CISA. Seven test types: external, internal, web, API, mobile, physical, wireless. No price. No turnaround. No street address on its contact page. Contact link only.
5. Citadel-HQ (score 1/10)
High Point, NC, 920 Forrest St. Network and web application penetration testing "for compliance, insurance, and real-world risk reduction." Describes itself as "HIPAA and PCI DSS aware." No certifications named. No pentest price. No turnaround. Call, text or book a consultation.
6. ITSco (score 1/10)
Durham (4601 Creekstone Drive) and Raleigh (8480 Honeycutt Rd). A managed IT provider that lists penetration testing among its services. You can book a 30-minute consultation online. No certifications named. No price. No turnaround.
7. Stern Security (score 1/10)
Raleigh, 421 N. Harrington Street, Suite 340. Services: full network pentests, web and mobile application tests, social engineering including AI chatbot and voicebot testing, physical tests, MITRE ATT&CK emulation. Its CEO co-authored a Cisco Press pentesting title. The site refers to ethical hacking and pentesting certifications without naming them. No price. No turnaround. Scoping form.
8. Adams Brown (score 0/10)
A CPA firm "located in the heart of the Midwest with offices throughout Kansas and Arkansas." Its Charlotte network pentest page is one of a 25-plus city series and ranks on page one for Charlotte queries. The page names no certifications, no price, no turnaround and no delivery model. Booking is a form.
9. Lucid Security (score 0/10)
Charlotte, NC. Network pentesting (external and internal) and application security testing against OWASP. No certifications named. No price. No turnaround. Contact link only.
10. Rebyc Security (score 0/10)
Charlotte, 15720 Brixham Hill Avenue, Suite 300. Services: external and internal pentests, web and mobile application testing, phishing, social engineering and physical assessments, cloud audits, password cracking, Microsoft Entra ID assumed-breach testing. No certifications named. No price. No turnaround. Phone or email.
11. Petronella Technology Group (not verified: site blocked our check on 2026-10-02)
Raleigh, NC. Its pages describe a CMMC Registered Provider Organization and remote-first delivery across all 50 states, and Google ranks its Charlotte and Raleigh pages. The site returned 403 to our checker, so none of that could be read directly. Its booking subdomain now redirects to the main site. Unscored.
12. NC Cyber Security Response Force (state programme, not a vendor)
A North Carolina National Guard unit whose mission is to "provide cyber security assistance to State, Local, and Critical Infrastructure providers." Its pentest page lists network, web and API, wireless and phishing engagements on a three-week pattern: week 0 scoping, week 1 testing, week 2 reporting. No price is published and no private-sector eligibility is stated. Request via the "Request an Engagement" link. Listed here because it ranks for North Carolina pentest queries and buyers ask about it.
Comparison table
| Firm | HQ / delivery model | Published price | Certifications stated | Turnaround stated | Booking | Source, checked 2 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget Security | The Hague, NL; remote only, no US office | Yes, $985/tester-day (US) | OSCP | Start within 7 days; report within 48h after test | Self-serve sign-up | budgetsecurity.com/pentest-pricing/ |
| Voke Cyber | Charlotte area; remote nationwide | Yes, $1,500 to $8,000 by test type | OSCP, OSWA, CISSP, CCSK | Start within 24h of contract (stated as "generally") | Quote form, call | vokecyber.com |
| BeachFleischman | AZ and NV offices; "across the U.S." | No | OSCP, CEH, CISA, CRISC, others | No | Form | beachfleischman.com/network-penetration-testing-charlotte-nc/ |
| Triaxiom Security | Charlotte; delivery not stated | No | CREST firm, QSA, OSCP, OSWE, GIAC | No | Contact link | triaxiomsecurity.com/about-us/ |
| Citadel-HQ | High Point; delivery not stated | No | None named | No | Call, text, form | citadel-hq.com |
| ITSco | Durham + Raleigh; delivery not stated | No | None named | No | Online consultation booking | itsco.com |
| Stern Security | Raleigh; delivery not stated | No | Unnamed | No | Scoping form | sternsecurity.com/penetration-testing |
| Adams Brown | Kansas and Arkansas; delivery not stated | No | None named | No | Form | adamsbrowntech.com/network-penetration-testing-charlotte-nc/ |
| Lucid Security | Charlotte; delivery not stated | No | None named | No | Contact link | lucidcyber.io |
| Rebyc Security | Charlotte; delivery not stated | No | None named | No | Phone, email | rebycsecurity.com |
| Petronella Technology Group | Raleigh; remote-first per its pages | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | petronellatech.com (blocked) |
| NC CSRF | Raleigh; National Guard programme | No fee published | n/a | 3-week pattern stated | "Request an Engagement" | csrf.nc.gov/penetration-testing |
Charlotte, Raleigh or remote: what actually changes
Seven firms on this list are based in North Carolina. The two firms Google ranks highest for Charlotte are in Arizona and Kansas and deliver remotely. For external networks, web apps, APIs, cloud and mobile, the tester's location does not change the work. The tester needs a target, a scope and written authorisation.
Three things do change:
- Internal network tests. A remote firm works over a VPN or ships a small device. A Charlotte firm can send a person to Ballantyne. Both are normal.
- Wireless and physical tests. Someone has to be on site. Ask a remote firm how it handles this before you sign.
- Bank vendor reviews. If you sell to one of Charlotte's banks, its third-party risk team sometimes wants the tester on a call with its own security staff. Remote firms do that too; ask.
Charlotte versus Raleigh matters less than the industry you are in. Charlotte firms see more bank and fintech scopes. Raleigh firms see more SaaS, life-science and university vendor scopes. Any firm on this list will test either.
Budget Security is remote. We say that plainly rather than renting a mailbox on Tryon Street.
What North Carolina buyers get tested for
- GLBA Safeguards Rule. Lenders, mortgage brokers, fintechs and payment firms under FTC jurisdiction must run annual penetration testing unless they have continuous monitoring, per 16 CFR 314.4(d)(2). Charlotte's banking cluster makes this the state's biggest driver. See GLBA penetration testing.
- SOC 2. The usual reason a Triangle SaaS or AI startup books a test: the auditor or an enterprise customer asked. See SOC 2 penetration testing.
- HIPAA. Health systems, life-science companies and health-tech vendors around RTP need a periodic technical evaluation under 45 CFR 164.308(a)(8). See HIPAA penetration testing.
- CMMC. Defense R&D suppliers. Level 3 requires an annual pentest; Level 2 does not. See CMMC penetration testing.
North Carolina's own law, G.S. 75-65, is a breach notification statute and does not require a pentest. The notice letter must describe "the general acts of the business to protect the personal information from further unauthorized access," which is where a post-incident test usually appears. Public bodies also sit under G.S. 143-800, which bars them from paying ransoms, so their vendors get asked for testing evidence.
FAQ
Questions we get
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See the price for your scope before you book.
$985 per tester-day for US clients (€849 per day for EU clients). Start within 7 days of booking. Report within 48 hours after testing ends. Pay after delivery.