How Is This Different from CBEST?

CBEST is intelligence-led red teaming, scoped around real threat actors targeting your institution, and it is run under Bank of England oversight. A penetration test is narrower and considerably cheaper. If you are preparing for CBEST, a standard test first is the sensible order, because it clears the obvious findings before a far more expensive exercise finds them.

Will You Sign Our NDA and Security Questionnaire?

Yes to both. We work under NDA as standard and we complete client due diligence questionnaires as part of onboarding. We can also provide our own data handling arrangements, evidence retention periods and a teardown confirmation once the engagement closes.

Can You Test Without Access to Real Customer Data?

Yes, and we prefer it. We ask for test accounts populated with synthetic data at each role level. Where a check genuinely needs production, we agree the scope in writing first and handle anything we see under the same terms as your own staff.

How Often Should a Financial Platform Be Tested?

At least annually, and after any significant change to authentication, payment flows or the permission model. Firms releasing weekly often move to a continuous arrangement instead, where testing follows the release cycle rather than the calendar.

Finance

Penetration Testing for the Financial Sector

Pluto Cyber Security helps financial institutions stay ahead of rising threats. You protect sensitive data, avoid disruptions, and meet strict compliance needs with expert-led cybersecurity services built for finance.

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Overview

How We Secure Finance.

Secure your financial platforms and client records with reliable penetration testing tailored for the finance sector.

Finance stands as the second most targeted sector in cybercrime. Data shows a steady rise in attacks over the past three years. You cannot leave systems exposed. A single breach can impact services and break client trust.

You must protect operations and maintain compliance. Work with penetration testers who understand OSFI and PIPEDA standards. Our team also covers SOC 2, ISO 27000, NIST SP800-115, and PCI DSS 11.3. You meet every requirement with confidence and avoid fines or delays.

Threat picture

How Financial Services Firms Get Attacked.

Financial firms are tested constantly, so the easy routes are usually closed. What remains are the logic flaws and the trust relationships nobody reviews.

Broken authorisation between clients

One client reading another client's portfolio, statement or document is the finding we see most in financial platforms. It usually comes down to an identifier in a request that the server accepts without checking who is asking. Every role has to be tested against every function to find it.

Transaction and approval logic

Payment flows built around a multi-step approval can often be short-circuited. Steps get skipped, limits get bypassed by splitting an amount, or an approval token gets reused. These are business logic problems, so no tool reports them.

Third-party and open banking connections

Aggregators, payment initiation services and data providers all hold a key to something. We test what those connections can reach if the other end is compromised, and whether their access is scoped to what they actually need.

Privileged access inside the firm

Staff tooling is where the real power sits. Back-office consoles, support impersonation features and reporting systems frequently have weaker controls than the customer-facing product, and they can see every account.

What we deliver

What Pluto Cyber Security Offers Finance Clients.

Zero False Positives

We help you avoid noise. Our pentesting ensures accurate results so your team focuses only on real and confirmed security risks. You save time by acting only on valid threats. Your team avoids wasted effort on false alarms.

Expert-Led Collaboration

Skilled testers work with your developers to fix flaws fast. You get expert help that improves your entire security approach quickly. Each finding includes clear guidance for your IT team. Our approach helps reduce downtime and tighten overall security.

Detailed Reporting Standards

Our team follows OSFI guidelines. You receive clear reports in multiple formats to match your compliance and internal audit needs. Reports are easy to share with board members or regulators. Each detail supports your efforts to pass reviews without stress.

Finance-Driven Insights

We support finance events and industry panels. You benefit from knowledge shaped by real-time trends and trusted cybersecurity leadership in finance. You gain access to top insights across the financial landscape. This helps you stay alert to future risks and industry shifts.

PCI DSS Compliance

We secure your cardholder data across systems. Our pentests help you meet every requirement in PCI DSS and avoid penalties. You strengthen trust across your payment channels. Secure processing gives customers confidence in your services.

EU-GDPR Alignment

You protect customer data and meet strict regulations. We help reduce legal risks and secure systems under GDPR and related standards. You avoid fines for privacy breaches. Your brand reputation stays strong with every standard met.

Compliance

What Financial Services Has to Answer To.

FCA-regulated firms are expected to manage operational resilience and demonstrate control over their technology risk. That is not a checklist you can pass, so evidence matters: what you tested, when, what you found and what you did about it.

Larger institutions may fall under CBEST or GBEST, which are intelligence-led and considerably more involved than a standard penetration test. If that is where you are heading, a conventional test first is the sensible way to clear the obvious ground before a threat-led exercise finds it for you.

Most firms also carry ISO 27001, SOC 2 or a client-driven security questionnaire, plus UK GDPR obligations over customer data. Our reporting maps findings to the controls those frameworks check, so one engagement answers several questions.

SOC 2
ISO 27001
PCI DSS
OSFI

// FAQ

Questions, answered.

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// typical reply within one business day

Yes. We test platforms for asset managers, brokers, payment firms and fintechs. We are not your regulator and we do not issue regulatory opinions. What we provide is evidence of technical testing, written so your compliance function can use it in their own reporting without translation.

Services used in this sector

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