What is AI Systems Penetration Testing?
A prompt is not a permission layer. AI systems penetration testing is a specialized security assessment for the LLMs, chatbots, coding agents, and MCP integrations your business actually runs. We test the attack surfaces that traditional pentesting frameworks miss: prompt injection, data leakage, over-scoped agent permissions, bypassable guardrails, and secret keys exposed by fast, unvalidated builds.
Focused, context-aware, and human-led. Coding agents and MCP servers now hold real access to your code, your CRM, and sometimes your production database. We test them the way an attacker would, assuming that anything an agent can read or touch, it eventually will. Findings stay relevant for EU AI Act Article 15 conformity, with auditable evidence for your compliance team.
What is the testing scope?
How do we approach AI testing?
Prompt Analysis
We test whether prompts, context manipulation, or hidden instructions can steer the model beyond its intended behaviour, the way a real user or attacker would.
Guardrail Testing
We deliberately bypass the safety rules and restrictions in place, showing exactly where guardrails fall short.
Agent and MCP permissions
We map what your agents and MCP servers can actually reach, then test scoped keys, tool-call abuse, and permission bypasses. A prompt is not a permission layer, so we attack the access, not the instructions.
Data Leakage
We check whether sensitive data can leak through model responses, memory, or connected integrations, directly or indirectly.
Practitioners who use AI themselves
Our ethical hackers build and run their own AI research stack, validated at the Meta Bug Bounty Research Conference 2026 in Taipei. We are active practitioners, not observers.
What does EU AI Act Article 15 require?
High-risk AI systems under Annex III of the EU AI Act must meet cybersecurity requirements. The Digital Omnibus agreement of 7 May 2026 moved the compliance deadline from 2 August 2026 to 2 December 2027 (stand-alone Annex III) and 2 August 2028 (Annex I, embedded in regulated products). A structured AI pentest is the most direct path to documented Article 15 compliance.
What is a high-risk AI system?
Annex III covers AI used for hiring, credit scoring, biometrics, critical infrastructure, and education. If your system falls under it, security testing under Article 15 is a legal obligation.
Article 15: what it requires
High-risk AI must resist adversarial attempts to alter its output or behaviour. A structured AI pentest gives you documented proof that it does.
Deadline: 2 December 2027
The Digital Omnibus of 7 May 2026 moved the deadlines to 2 December 2027 (stand-alone Annex III) and 2 August 2028 (AI in regulated Annex I products). Start early to leave room for fixes and retests.
Audit evidence for conformity
Findings are mapped to Article 15, giving your compliance team and conformity assessment body auditable proof that the security obligations are met.
How does an AI pentest differ from a classic pentest?
AI security testing and classic application penetration testing overlap in some areas and diverge in others. Understanding the difference helps you scope the right assessment for your situation.
What's the same
Both assess how an application handles malicious input: authentication, API security, authorisation logic, injection, and data exposure.
What's unique to AI
Prompt injection, context window manipulation, training data extraction, jailbreaks, guardrail bypass, and tool-call abuse exist only in AI systems. Standard methodology does not cover them.
Why you need both
AI embedded in a web app inherits the risks of both layers. We combine AI testing with application or API testing for full coverage and one evidence package.
Frequently Asked Questions
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