dotSec combines over 25 years of hands-on penetration testing with AI-augmented tools to deliver faster, more comprehensive security assessments for Australian businesses and government organisations.
years testing for government and enterprise
CREST-accredited through CREST ANZ
AI handles the heavy lifting of reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery and pattern analysis.
Our pen testers focus on what humans do best: creative exploitation, contextual risk assessment and practical remediation strategies.
AI-augmented penetration testing combines traditional manual techniques with machine learning to improve the depth, speed and consistency of security assessments. AI assists at every stage of the testing lifecycle, from reconnaissance and attack surface mapping through to vulnerability prioritisation and reporting.
AI does not replace our testers; it makes them more effective.
creative exploitation
contextual risk assessment
validating every finding by hand
practical remediation strategies
Unlike purely automated vulnerability scanning, AI-augmented testing analyses system behaviour, identifies anomalous configurations and chains low-severity findings into high-impact attack paths. It builds on NIST SP 800-115 and the OWASP Web Security Testing Guide, while extending what an engagement can cover in the same timeframe. The result is broader coverage, faster turnaround and the same expert-driven, prioritised recommendations.
By combining human expertise with machine intelligence, AI-augmented testing gives you four things a conventional engagement struggles to deliver in the same time.
AI-driven reconnaissance maps your external and internal attack surface faster than manual methods alone, including shadow IT, misconfigured cloud services, exposed APIs and subtle authentication weaknesses. Findings are cross-referenced against vulnerability databases, threat intelligence and your technology stack, then validated by our testers.
Automated reconnaissance runs in hours rather than days, vulnerability correlation reduces false positives, and AI-assisted reporting delivers findings sooner. Every finding is mapped to a risk-ranked action plan that reflects your risk appetite, regulatory obligations and operational constraints.
AI-augmented testing supports ongoing validation of your security posture, finding new exposures after deployments, infrastructure changes or cloud migrations. Pen testing moves from a periodic checkbox exercise to an ongoing assurance activity.
A misconfigured service account, a weak segmentation rule and an unpatched internal application may each look low-risk. AI-driven analysis shows how an attacker could chain them into lateral movement, privilege escalation or data exfiltration, drawing on our experience in SOC and SIEM operations.
Many compliance frameworks require regular penetration testing as evidence of effective security controls. AI augmentation makes it practical to test more often and more comprehensively, and our reports map findings to the relevant controls.
Requires penetration testing at least once every 12 months and after significant changes (PCI SSC document library).
Annex A control A.8.8 (Management of technical vulnerabilities) needs objective evidence about exposure, which penetration testing provides.
Requires APRA-regulated entities to test the effectiveness of their information security controls.
The maturity model does not prescribe penetration testing, but test findings give evidence for its patching, application control and administrative privilege controls.
Control CA-8 (Penetration Testing) sets out penetration testing as a security control.
Every finding is verified by hand and rated with CVSS v4.0, with qualitative risk assessment consistent with AS/NZS ISO 31000. Findings feed into system hardening, identity and access management, SOC and SIEM detection, and alignment with the CIS 18 controls. Our GRC specialists can align remediation with your risk register and show measurable improvement over time.
No. AI augments experienced pen testers; it does not replace them. AI excels at rapid reconnaissance, pattern recognition and processing large volumes of data, but human testers remain essential for creative exploitation, contextual risk assessment and understanding business impact. We use AI for repetitive, data-intensive tasks so our testers can focus where judgement and experience matter most.
It typically delivers broader coverage and more consistent results than purely manual testing, with the same accuracy through human validation. AI tools correlate large volumes of reconnaissance data to find potential vulnerabilities, but every finding is verified by an experienced tester before it appears in your report, which eliminates false positives.
All standard engagement types: external network, internal network, web application, API, cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure and GCP), mobile application and authentication system testing. AI is particularly strong in attack surface mapping, vulnerability correlation and intelligent fuzzing. Testing follows the OWASP Testing Guide, NIST SP 800-115 and PTES.
It supports penetration testing requirements under PCI DSS v4.0.1 (Requirement 11.4), APRA CPS 234 and ISO 27001 (Annex A control A.8.8), and gives evidence for Essential Eight controls. Faster turnaround makes testing frequency requirements practical to meet, and our reports map findings to the relevant controls.
Yes. For smaller organisations, AI-driven efficiency makes more comprehensive testing achievable within tighter budgets. For larger enterprises and government agencies, it extends the depth and breadth of testing across complex, multi-environment infrastructure. We tailor each engagement to your risk profile, regulatory requirements and technology environment.
An AI-augmented penetration test is the starting point. The value lies in turning its evidence into practical security improvements that strengthen your organisation’s cyber resilience.
Whether you need a one-off AI-augmented pen test or an ongoing security validation programme, we can scope an engagement to match.
