Why choose Bulletproof for physical penetration testing
Bespoke Scenarios
Meet your organisation’s unique risk profile & engagement objectives with tailored, optimised scenarios
Expert Black Teams
Seasoned physical pen test personnel bring years of adversarial expertise and insight to every engagement
Unique Insights
Expert physical pen testing gives you unparalleled security insights to power prioritised improvements
Regulated Experience
Bulletproof's black team and threat intelligence providers are highly experienced in regulated sectors
What is black teaming?
Black Teaming, often referred to as Physical Red Teaming, is a covert security assessment that simulates real-world physical intrusion attempts to test an organisation’s ability to prevent, detect, delay, and respond to physical threats.
These engagements replicate the tactics used by adversaries to gain unauthorised access to premises, restricted areas, hardware, or sensitive data — often through techniques such as tailgating, lock bypass, social engineering, or physical compromise of assets.
Black Teaming can be delivered as a standalone assessment or integrated into a broader Red Team exercise where the threat profile includes physical risk alongside digital vectors.
Benefits of black teaming
Real-world physical threat simulation
Replicates how attackers might bypass physical security to access systems, data, or infrastructure.
Cross-domain attack scenarios
Demonstrates the impact of physical intrusion combined with logical compromise (e.g. device access, dropbox for rogue devices, or stolen credentials).
Tangible evidence of physical risk
Identifies practical vulnerabilities in access control, surveillance, employee behaviour, and response processes.
Tested response readiness
Assesses whether physical security teams, building controls, and escalation procedures are effective in real-world conditions.
Supports wider risk management
Informs policy development, awareness training, and security control improvements with objective, scenario-based evidence.
Continuous improvement
Use findings to refine your cyber defence strategy over time, integrating lessons learned into policies, controls, and team training for ongoing resilience gains.
Why your organisation needs a black team engagement
Black Teaming is essential for organisations where physical access could lead to compromise of digital systems, critical infrastructure, or sensitive data.
It’s particularly valuable for:
Data centre operators, MSPs, and co-location environments
Financial institutions or high-value targets
Organisations with sensitive R&D or intellectual property
Businesses undergoing Red Teaming who want full-spectrum coverage
Security-conscious organisations seeking to validate physical safeguards and policies
These assessments provide clear, actionable evidence of risk and help prioritise investments in training, technology, and procedural control.
Black teaming engagement phases
Black Team engagements are designed to mimic adversaries targeting physical security weaknesses. These assessments are goal-oriented, rules-based, and conducted covertly under strict safety controls.
Planning and Scope Definition
We work with a trusted control group to define objectives (e.g. accessing a data centre, plugging in rogue devices, bypassing access control), engagement boundaries, operational hours, and safety protocols.
Reconnaissance and Target Development
We perform passive and active reconnaissance of the target environment including facility layouts, staff behaviours, access control systems, and surveillance coverage to develop realistic intrusion strategies.
Intrusion Execution
Our Black Team uses a combination of techniques such as:
Tailgating and impersonation
Badge cloning or access card misuse
Social engineering against reception or support staff
Lockpicking or bypassing access controls
Covert device deployment (e.g. dropboxes, keyloggers)
Physical access to server rooms or workstations
Evidence Collection and Analysis
Throughout the engagement, actions are documented with photos, video (if agreed), timestamps, and activity logs to provide traceable proof of access and demonstrate potential impact.
Reporting and Recommendations
Post-engagement, we deliver a full report detailing:
Attack paths and access gained
Control failures and bypass techniques
Observations on staff response and alerting
Recommendations to improve physical security controls and awareness
Learn more about physical penetration testing (FAQs)
Yes. Black Team engagements are conducted under full legal authorisation, agreed in advance with a designated control group within your organisation. Each activity is carefully scoped and governed by clearly defined rules of engagement, including limitations on methods, timing, and authorised areas.
To ensure safety and legality:
All operators carry formal authorisation documentation and 24/7 verification contacts in the event of escalation or apprehension.
Engagements are monitored by secondary members of the team, no one works alone.
Robust rules of engagement help to ensure all testing is delivered safely for both our testers and your organisation.
This ensures that while the engagement is realistic and covert, it remains controlled, lawful, and fully accountable at all times.
Absolutely. We frequently include physical intrusion attempts within wider Red Team assessments where the threat model supports it — especially for hybrid access or blended attack scenarios.
Typical objectives include unauthorised entry, rogue device or implants, workstation access, hardware tampering, badge cloning, or accessing restricted spaces like server rooms.
Engagements are typically scoped for 3–5 days of on-site activity, with additional time for planning and reporting around this. Timelines can be adjusted to align with shift patterns, building access schedules, or multi-location testing.
Yes. Staff reactions, physical security response, and incident escalation are all observed and documented as part of the assessment.
Yes. Black Teaming is particularly valuable for CNI providers, data centre operators, financial institutions, and organisations where physical access could directly impact critical operations, service availability, or regulatory compliance.
We tailor each engagement to meet the unique operational, safety, and compliance needs of sensitive environments — including considerations for:
On-site operational continuity
Escalation and incident coordination protocols
Staff safety and duty of care
Regulatory frameworks (e.g. NIS, ISO 27001 physical controls)
This service helps organisations understand and mitigate the real-world risks posed by physical compromise, insider threats, or blended physical/cyber attack paths.
Our Full Red Team Service Suite
Red Team
Put your defences to the test against a real, persistent adversary.
Threat-led
Simulate high-impact, intelligence-driven attacks tailored to your threat landscape.
Purple Team
Take a collaborative approach to improve the detection & prevention capabilities of your organisation.
Assumed Breach
Move beyond classic authenticated penetration testing by using an objective & impact driven approach.
EDR/XDR Evaluation
Maximise the effectiveness of EDR/XDR systems with an in-depth test of its ability to detect & remove threats.
Get a black teaming quote
or discuss any of our Red Team services
Advanced security testing from UK experts
Model a determined real-world attacker
Find hidden security weaknesses
Uncover assumptions & bias in your security
One of the leading security testing providers in the UK
Test defence in depth & incident response
What our customers say
Bulletproof took the time to understand our penetration testing objectives, which showed in the results. The pen test was delivered on our tight timeframe and the threat management platform made it easy for us to remediate the penetration test results quickly and effectively.
Bulletproof's security qualifications
With OSCP & CREST certified expert pen testers and 7+ years in the industry, Bulletproof penetration testing services have a proven track record of finding flaws and helping businesses stay ahead of the hackers.
More red teaming learning resources
Meet our red team
The breadth of skills we have in the red team allows us to be ultra-flexible and find innovative ways to circumvent the most mature cyber defences. We’re always pushing our capabilities and I’m proud of my team’s collective skills and expertise, not to mention the security outcomes we generate for our customers.DominicBulletproof Red Team SpecialistSee blogs by DominicFollow Dominic on LinkedIn
Trusted by top brands
Rated 5 stars on Google
We’ve always been very impressed with the cyber security services Bulletproof provide us. Their professional approach, knowledge and flexibility have ensured they have become a key trusted partner in our supply chain.
Discover more cyber & compliance resources from Bulletproof
Trusted cyber security & compliance services from a certified provider
