Penetration Testing in the UAE - Done by Senior Red-Team Researchers
Web, API, cloud, mobile, IoT, and AI/LLM penetration testing for regulated enterprises in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and the wider GCC. NESA, DFSA, VARA, ADSIC, ISR, and CBUAE reporting baked in.
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Penetration testing in the UAE is too often a checkbox engagement - a junior tester running Burp Suite for a week and delivering a templated vulnerability report. That is not what we do. We are a Dubai-based penetration testing firm built to serve regulated enterprises that need actual offensive security, not shelf-ware.
What We Test
Full-stack coverage in one engagement - web applications, APIs, cloud workloads (AWS, Azure, GCP), mobile applications (iOS and Android), IoT devices, wireless networks, internal infrastructure, and AI/LLM systems. Four vendors collapsed into one, with a single coordinated report.
Our engagements are led by senior security researchers - people who have published CVEs, spoken at DEF CON or BSides, and built exploit chains for a living. They are augmented by AI agents that handle the repetitive work (asset discovery, fuzzing sweeps, compliance-mapping), freeing humans to do what humans do best: find the business-logic flaws and attack chains that automated tools cannot see.
UAE Compliance, Built-In
Every engagement produces a report mapped to the UAE regulatory framework you answer to:
- NESA / NCA (UAE federal critical information infrastructure)
- DFSA (DIFC-licensed financial firms)
- VARA (Dubai crypto and virtual asset service providers)
- CBUAE (Central Bank - banks and payment institutions)
- ADSIC (Abu Dhabi Government entities)
- ISR v2 (UAE TDRA - telecommunications and digital government)
Reports are structured for direct submission to your compliance, internal audit, or regulator, not just the engineering team.
The Full Penetration Testing Service Menu
We offer coordinated engagements across every pentest discipline your UAE business might need:
- Web Application Penetration Testing - OWASP Top 10 plus business logic
- API Security Testing - REST, GraphQL, gRPC
- Cloud Penetration Testing - AWS, Azure, GCP
- AI Security Assessment - OWASP LLM Top 10
- LLM Penetration Testing - fixed-price AI app testing
- Agentic Red Team Exercise - full APEX methodology
Why UAE Enterprises Choose pentest.ae
Senior-led, not junior-delivered. No hand-off to a trainee after the kickoff call.
AI-augmented, not AI-replaced. Machines handle the scans. Humans find the exploits.
Regulator-ready reporting. NESA, DFSA, VARA, CBUAE, ADSIC, ISR - mapped, not retrofitted.
48-hour first finding. Critical and high findings are reported as they are discovered - not held for a final report three weeks later.
Part of the NomadX family. pentest.ae finds. devsecops.ae remediates. kubernetes.ae hardens. One offensive-to-defensive loop, one relationship, one integrated roadmap.
Engagement Phases
Scoping & Threat Modeling
Define rules of engagement, asset inventory, authentication flows, privilege boundaries, and regulatory reporting requirements (NESA control mapping, DFSA Rulebook alignment, VARA technology risk, etc.).
Reconnaissance & Surface Discovery
External and internal attack surface mapping, subdomain and service enumeration, technology fingerprinting, credential exposure analysis, third-party risk identification. AI agents run continuous OSINT and asset discovery in parallel.
Active Exploitation
Manual exploitation by senior researchers across all in-scope layers - web applications, APIs, cloud workloads, mobile apps, IoT devices, and AI components. Every finding is validated and chained to demonstrate real business impact.
Post-Exploitation & Lateral Movement
Simulated lateral movement, privilege escalation, data exfiltration path validation, and persistence testing across cloud and on-premise environments within the agreed rules of engagement.
Reporting & Readout
Full technical report with CVSS scores, executive summary, regulator-mapped findings (NESA controls, DFSA requirements, VARA obligations), remediation guidance, and a live readout call for the engineering and leadership teams.
Deliverables
Before & After
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| First Critical Finding | Typical UAE vendor - 2 to 3 weeks | pentest.ae - 48 hours |
| Report Quality | Templated vulnerability list, generic guidance | Contextualized findings, regulator-mapped, remediation tailored to your stack |
| False Positive Rate | 40 to 60% (automated scanner output) | Under 5% (manual validation before any finding appears in the report) |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose a penetration testing company in the UAE?
Four things matter. First - are the testers actually senior researchers, or junior staff running automated scanners? Ask for CVs and CVEs. Second - does the firm test your full stack (web, API, cloud, mobile, AI) or do you need four vendors? Third - do reports map to the UAE regulators you answer to (NESA, DFSA, VARA, CBUAE, ADSIC, ISR)? Fourth - what is the manual-to-automated testing ratio? Automated scans alone miss business logic, chained exploits, and authentication bypass - the vulnerabilities that actually matter.
How much does penetration testing cost in the UAE?
Scope-dependent. A focused web application test (single app, one user role) typically runs AED 25,000 to 55,000. A broader engagement covering web plus API plus cloud IAM runs AED 75,000 to 180,000. Enterprise red team exercises simulating a full adversary with lateral movement and persistence testing run AED 250,000 and up. Fixed-price options exist for LLM security testing. We scope on a discovery call - no vague estimates.
How long does a UAE penetration test take?
A single web application - 1 to 3 weeks including reporting. A cloud and application combined engagement - 3 to 4 weeks. A full-stack enterprise red team - 4 to 8 weeks. Critical and high findings are reported as they are discovered, not held until the final report. First serious finding typically surfaces within 48 hours of test commencement.
Do you provide NESA, DFSA, VARA, or CBUAE compliance reporting?
Yes. Every report includes a regulator-mapping section matching findings to the UAE cybersecurity framework applicable to your entity - NESA Information Assurance Standards, DFSA Rulebook GEN and TCH, VARA Technology and Information Risk, CBUAE Information Security standards, ADSIC controls, or ISR v2. The report is structured for direct submission to your compliance, audit, or regulatory function.
Can you test AI agents and LLM applications?
Yes. We are the first GCC-based penetration testing firm with a documented AI red team methodology (APEX). We test for prompt injection, jailbreaks, tool poisoning, memory manipulation, agentic privilege escalation, and training data extraction - plus the traditional application and infrastructure layers the AI agent depends on.
Do you work with clients outside Dubai?
Yes. Our penetration testing services cover the full UAE - Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah - plus the wider GCC. Testing can be fully remote (internet-facing assets) or on-site at your UAE office for internal network and wireless engagements.
Are your findings a compliance checkbox or actually exploitable?
Every critical and high finding includes proof of exploitation - screenshots, reproduction steps, and in most cases a proof-of-concept script. We do not include speculative findings or theoretical risks. If it is in the report, we have demonstrated it. This is what makes our reports useful to your engineering team as well as your audit and regulatory stakeholders.
Find It Before They Do
Book a free 30-minute security discovery call with our AI Security experts in Dubai, UAE. We identify your highest-risk AI attack vectors - actionable findings in days.
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