If you suspect an active attack on your business, call our emergency hotline at: 612-399-9680
If you suspect an active attack on your business, call our emergency hotline at: 612-399-9680
INDUSTRY: Healthcare
Ethical Breach Penetration Test for a Hospital
Service: Penetration Testing
5 Takeovers
Full-domain vulnerabilities found
100 Passwords
Exact matches successfully cracked
Social Bypass
Social engineering used to get past front desk security
THE STORY
A hospital that had never conducted a penetration test engaged Blue Team Alpha to assess its security posture following the 2024 Change Healthcare breach. The ethical breach test spanned physical security, social engineering, and network vulnerabilities. The assessment uncovered five full-domain takeover exploits, cracked 100 passwords, and exposed how easily front desk staff could be bypassed through impersonation.
Blue Team Alpha maintained communication throughout the pen test and ensured no disruption to hospital operations. Key outcomes included validated endpoint detection tools, exposed need for more employee training, and stronger technical controls with a clear remediation plan and follow-up scan.
Challenges
This hospital had never undergone a penetration test. They began building their cybersecurity team during the COVID-19 pandemic but hadn’t yet validated their security posture.
The catalyst for action came after the Change Healthcare breach of 2024. Leadership recognized the need to understand their risk exposure and build a preventive security program.
SOLUTIONS
Blue Team Alpha conducted a full-spectrum ethical breach pen test across multiple buildings, covering physical security, social engineering, internal, and external network testing. The pen tester gained access through impersonation, uncovered five full-domain takeover exploits, and demonstrated technical risks like USB-based attacks, all while maintaining real-time communication and avoiding operational disruption.
- Social Engineering Exploitation
- Physical Security Testing
- Network Testing and Exploits
Benefits & outcomes
1.
Validated EDR Efficacy
- New endpoint security tools detected and blocked most simulated attacks
- Hospital gained confidence in existing investments and identified gaps to fix and improve
2.
Improved Security Awareness
- Staff realized how simple social engineering attacks can bypass security and the importance of security awareness training
- Hospital committed to ramping up employee training, including against prevalent AI-based threats
3.
Strengthened Technical Controls
- Exposed hidden weak spots and tightened controls across systems and staff practices, including its password policy
- Delivered a clear, visual report with step-by-step fixes, and included a free follow-up scan to confirm remediation success
About Blue Team Alpha
Blue Team Alpha is a veteran-owned, comprehensive cybersecurity force on a mission to secure and defend America’s critical infrastructure.
We offer advisory, offensive and technical services with deep roots and a specialty in incident management.
- Over 50 security certifications
- Talent hand-selected from NSA, CIA, DoD, & more
- Decades of industry experience
- Recover systems 80% faster than average
- Experience in all 16 critical infrastructure sectors
