San Diego penetration testing, led by a CISSP
A San Diego prime or pharma partner wants proof you've been tested. Do you have it?
Small defense suppliers and biotech firms get the same security questions as the giants they sell to. We run a controlled test with your written permission, then hand you a ranked fix list and a retest. You answer the next review with facts.
Remote work from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Nothing runs until you sign a written scope.
One IT person, two kinds of customers, the same hard questions
You keep the network up at a forty-person company in San Diego County. Then a Navy prime wants your security score before it renews the subcontract. Or a drug company's vendor form asks when your last penetration test was, and who ran it. The honest answer is "never," and the form is due in two weeks.
You're fairly sure the firewall is set up right. You're less sure about the old VPN box, the lab laptop that never gets patched, or the file share a past contractor built. Guessing on a form your boss will sign doesn't sit well.
A small shop that machines parts for a ship, or runs samples for a drug trial, does careful work every day. It shouldn't lose that work over a form it can't answer. Knowing where you're weak shouldn't take a security staff you can't afford to hire.
A security-led firm that works the way reviewers expect
Being the one person who gets every security question is hard. Most small firms aren't sloppy. Their systems just grew one patch at a time. You need to know what an attacker could reach, which gaps matter most, and what to fix this quarter.
Network Kings is a Kalamazoo-based firm, and a CISSP leads the work. CISSP stands for Certified Information Systems Security Professional. It's a senior credential that takes years of hands-on security work to earn. Our lead engineer spent 15 years in regulated financial services, where auditors checked every change. We work the same way for you. The scope is in writing, the testing tools are locked to it, and each step leaves a record you can hand to a customer. And if AI isn't the right fix, we'll say so and point you to the simpler one.
What we do for San Diego suppliers and labs
Four services fit the defense and life science firms across San Diego County.
Three steps from the questionnaire to a clear answer
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Send us what set this off. It might be the vendor form, a contract clause, or an insurer's request. We reply within one business day.
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Approve a written scope. It lists the systems, the dates, what's off limits, and the price. For a test, you also sign an authorization. Nothing starts before that.
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Get findings you can act on. We walk you through each one by video, on Pacific time. You fix what matters, and we retest to confirm which fixes held.
Why security reviews hit San Diego firms so often
Two industries shape this region, and both run on trust. The first is defense. The military is a huge part of the county's economy, and more than 2,000 local companies won defense contracts in 2025. General Dynamics NASSCO has built ships here since 1960, and smaller suppliers face the same security questions the big yards do.
The second is life sciences. The county's small biotechs and contract labs often hold data that belongs to their partners, so those partners ask how it's protected. That's where San Diego penetration testing and private AI earn their keep.
For defense suppliers, the rules keep moving. CMMC is the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, the Defense Department's program for checking how contractors protect its data. Its rollout began on November 10, 2025, with self-assessments. A second phase, with certificates from an outside assessor called a C3PAO, was set for November 2026 but was suspended in July 2026 for a review. Ask your prime where things stand now. We are not a C3PAO, and we can't certify anyone. A pen test can show you the gaps early.
We work from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and serve businesses across the San Diego area remotely. We have no office there.
- San Diego County received $39.3 billion in direct defense spending in 2025, including $19.8 billion in contracts to more than 2,000 companies. The military supports nearly 357,000 local jobs. Source: UC San Diego Today, 2025 SDMAC Military Economic Impact Report (opens in a new tab)
- San Diego's life science industry directly employed 61,866 workers in 2025 and generated $55.2 billion in economic output. Source: Biocom California, 2025 Life Science Economic Impact Report (opens in a new tab)
- Manufacturing made up about 110,400 of the metro's 1,567,000 nonfarm jobs in August 2026 (preliminary). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, San Diego Economy at a Glance (opens in a new tab)
- On July 13, 2026, the Pentagon suspended CMMC Phase II, the step to third-party assessments that had been set for November 10, 2026. Phase I self-assessment rules stayed in place. Source: McGuireWoods, DoW Suspends CMMC Phase II Requirements (opens in a new tab)
Questions from San Diego businesses
Will a penetration test get us through CMMC?
Not by itself. Some contracts allow a self-assessment. Others call for a certificate from an outside assessor, known as a C3PAO. We aren't one, and we don't certify anyone. Our test shows where your systems are weak today, so you can fix those gaps first. Send us the clause and we'll tell you what our work covers.
You're in Michigan. How does San Diego penetration testing work from there?
Most testing runs over the internet, so it works the same from any state. For tests inside your network, we agree on a secure way in with whoever runs your systems. Kalamazoo is on Eastern time, three hours ahead of you, and we book calls in your workday. If your project needs someone on site, raise it when we scope the work. Travel and lodging are quoted separately.
Our lab instruments can't go down mid-run. Is a test safe?
We plan around it. The written scope names what's off limits, such as instrument controllers or a system in the middle of a study. It also sets the testing hours. If we see something odd, we stop and call you.
A partner's vendor form asks for a recent pen test. Will your report count?
That's up to the partner, so send us their exact wording first. Our report lists the scope, the dates, each confirmed finding, and the retest results. If their form needs something we can't provide, we'll tell you before you spend a dollar.
What does a test cost for a company our size?
Projects start at $4,999, and extra professional services are $250 an hour. The price depends on how much is in scope, so you get a written quote before anything begins.
Send us the form that's sitting in your inbox
Tell us who is asking and what they want to see. We'll reply within one business day with a suggested scope, and we'll be honest if a smaller job would answer the question.
The first conversation is free. No testing starts until you approve a written scope and sign an authorization.