IAM and service identities
Review agreed user roles, workload identities, trust relationships and privileged access. Assess whether permissions can cross the intended account or workload boundary.
Cloud accounts, identities and workloads
Cloud penetration
Cloud penetration
testing.
Cloud penetration testing assesses whether weaknesses in approved identities, infrastructure and workloads could affect customer-controlled systems or data. Balhence scopes the cloud boundary, validates reported findings by hand and explains practical fixes. AWS, Azure and GCP environments need provider-specific planning; coverage and specialist requirements are confirmed before the engagement.
Agree the boundary first
Cloud penetration testing coverage
Select the accounts, subscriptions, projects, regions and services that matter. An assessment of one workload does not establish coverage of the whole organization.
Storage and data access
Assess storage exposure, sharing rules, backups and access permissions using approved test records. Identify which data stores and operations are included.
Exposed workloads and network controls
Assess public services, management access and the agreed paths between workloads. Confirm which network boundaries and private connections may be tested.
Containers, Kubernetes and serverless
Agree cluster, function, runtime and management-plane coverage. Examine relevant identities, secrets and deployment boundaries; specialist access and availability affect the scope.
Choose the evidence you need
Cloud penetration testing vs configuration review
These activities answer different questions. A combined engagement can include both, with their effort and deliverables identified separately in the proposal.
| Activity | Question it answers | Evidence to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud configuration review | Which settings or permissions differ from the agreed security baseline? | Reviewed resources, policy observations, priorities and limitations. |
| Cloud penetration testing | Can an approved weakness produce a demonstrated security impact? | Human-validated findings, prerequisites, controlled evidence and remediation. |
| Remediation retest | Did the agreed fixes address the named findings? | Finding IDs, updated environment, repeated checks and recorded outcomes. |
Inventory size alone does not describe testing depth. Specify the identities, services and relationships that the assessment must examine.
From inventory to a written brief
Prepare your cloud penetration testing scope
Start with a non-sensitive summary. Share detailed architecture and access through the agreed secure channel after confidentiality and data-handling terms are settled.
- Inventory: provider, account or project identifiers, regions, service counts, workloads and the owners who authorize them.
- Architecture: important data flows, network boundaries, external integrations and dependencies shared with other environments.
- Access: controlled test identities, permitted roles, connectivity and the starting access each scenario should assume.
- Data: synthetic records where practical, evidence storage and retention terms, and restrictions on tools or AI processing.
- Limits: approved actions, request and usage budgets, testing windows, logging, monitoring contacts and stop conditions.
- Outcome: report audience, reviewer requirements, deadline, remediation window and any included retest.
Validation uses the minimum agreed action needed to establish impact. Destructive testing, denial of service, unrelated tenants, provider infrastructure and changes outside the authorization are excluded. Broader network, source code or incident-response work requires its own explicit coverage.
AWS, Azure and GCP testing permissions
Customer authorization and provider rules both govern the engagement. Before testing, confirm the applicable services, restrictions and any required approval against the current AWS penetration testing policy, Azure penetration testing guidance or Google Cloud acceptable use policy.
The written scope names customer-controlled resources and third-party boundaries. Owning a workload does not authorize testing the provider's underlying infrastructure or another customer's systems.
Coordinate cloud, web and API testing
A cloud-hosted application still has its own authentication, authorization and business workflows. Coordinate web application testing, API testing and cloud coverage in one scope matrix. Name the extra cloud depth, allocate shared checks once and consolidate shared findings without duplicate charges.
For connected products, also consider SaaS tenant boundaries or AI agent permissions. Cloud access review alone does not assess every application workflow. For private connectivity and separation between defined zones, scope network and segmentation testing with explicit starting positions.
Evidence your team can use
Cloud pentest reports and retesting
The report distinguishes configuration observations from demonstrated findings. Each finding records the affected resources, identity context, prerequisites, impact, evidence and recommended changes.
Urgent issues use the agreed escalation channel. A walkthrough and any bounded retest are defined in the agreement. Retest outcomes identify fixed, partially fixed, not fixed or not retested findings.
Explore the fictional report format- 01Executive summaryRisk priorities, assessment dates and business context.
- 02Technical findingsHuman-validated evidence and practical remediation.
- 03Coverage recordAccounts, regions, services, access assumptions and exclusions.
- 04Agreed follow-upWalkthrough, named fixes and retest limitations.
Before you book
Cloud penetration testing FAQ
Confirm access, depth and permissions before comparing proposals.
Is a cloud configuration review the same as a pentest?
A configuration review examines settings and permissions against an agreed baseline. A pentest validates security impact through approved testing. A proposal can include both, with their coverage and evidence identified separately.
How much does cloud penetration testing cost?
Effort depends on providers, accounts, resource types, identities, workloads, access readiness and validation depth. Reporting and retest requirements also affect the quotation. We confirm scope and availability before quoting a cost or schedule.
Can a production cloud environment be tested?
Where authorized and appropriate, production testing can be scoped with explicit operational limits, monitoring, controlled data and stop conditions. Higher-risk scenarios may need a representative isolated environment. Provider rules must also be checked before testing.
Does the cloud test include our web application and API?
Only when their interfaces and workflows are included in the written scope. Cloud, web and API testing can be coordinated, with shared checks allocated once and findings consolidated without duplicate charges.
Plan the assessment
Discuss your cloud testing scope.
Share the provider, main workloads and deadline. Leave credentials and confidential diagrams out of the enquiry.