Washington DC penetration testing, CISSP-led and remote
Washington contractor or association? Find the weak spots before the next security review.
A prime sends a security form. A funder asks how you protect donor data. A board member wants to know who tested the network. We run a controlled test with your written permission, rank what to fix, and help staff use AI without leaking client files.
We work remotely from Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Eastern time. We reply within one business day.
Everyone wants proof. Nobody gave you the time.
Say you run IT, or operations, or both, at a forty-person firm in Reston, Bethesda, or downtown DC. This month a prime contractor wants your security answers before it adds you to a bid. Your cyber insurer wants a recent test on file. And staff have started pasting proposal drafts and donor lists into free AI chatbots.
Some of your answers on those forms are closer to hope than fact. You don't know what an outsider would find, because nobody has looked. And your name is on the form.
A small firm that does good work for an agency, a membership, or a cause shouldn't lose that work over a question it couldn't answer. Plain proof of where you stand shouldn't take a big-firm budget.
An outside firm that gives you straight answers
You're not behind because you're careless. The rules keep moving and the day job never stops. So we keep the work small and clear: one scope, one report, one list of fixes in order.
Network Kings is Kalamazoo-based and CISSP-led. CISSP stands for Certified Information Systems Security Professional. It's a senior security credential that takes years of hands-on work to earn. Our lead engineer has 15 years in regulated financial services, where every change had to be written down and checked. Each job is scoped on paper, each step is logged, and nothing runs outside what you signed. Know this up front: we hold no security clearance, no federal contract vehicle, and no government authorization. If AI won't fix your problem, or a cheaper fix will, we'll say so.
What we do for capital-region contractors, associations, and nonprofits
Four services fit small firms here best. Most start with one.
Three steps, no long sales cycle
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Send us the ask: the security form, the insurer's wording, or the board's question. We answer within one business day.
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Approve a written scope. It lists what we test or build, the dates, what's off limits, and the price. Nothing starts until you sign it.
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Get results you can use. We work remotely, then walk you through the findings by video. You leave with a ranked fix list.
Why this fits the Washington region
The capital region runs on office work. Professional and business services is its biggest job sector, ahead of government itself. Business and computer jobs each make up a much larger share of work here than they do across the country. Federal buying is a big reason. Firms in Northern Virginia alone won close to $95 billion in federal contracts in one recent year, and the small subcontractors under the big primes get asked about security too.
Then there's the other Washington: trade groups, charities, think tanks, and advocacy shops. The District counts about 13,500 registered nonprofits. Many hold member lists and donor records with only one or two people minding the systems. They want what a contractor wants: proof of testing, and a safe way to let staff use AI.
For defense subcontractors, the rules are in motion. The Pentagon's CMMC program (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) began with self-assessments in November 2025. A second phase would have required outside assessments for many contracts from November 2026, but it was suspended in July 2026 for a review. Ask your contracting officer or prime where things stand now. We are not a CMMC assessor and we can't certify anyone. We can test your systems and show you the gaps.
We work from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and serve businesses across the Washington, DC area remotely. We have no office there.
- Professional and business services is the metro's largest job sector, with about 777,700 of roughly 3.3 million nonfarm jobs. Government has about 663,300 (August 2026, preliminary). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington Area Economy at a Glance (opens in a new tab)
- Business and financial operations jobs were 11.8% of metro employment in May 2025, compared with 6.8% nationally. Computer and mathematical jobs were 7.4% against 3.4%. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages in Washington, May 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- In fiscal year 2023, Northern Virginia companies were awarded nearly $95 billion in federal contracts, more than 15% of all federal procurement dollars. Source: Arlington Economic Development, Government Contracting (citing USAspending.gov) (opens in a new tab)
- The District is home to an estimated 13,500 registered nonprofits. Source: Washington DC Economic Partnership (opens in a new tab)
- On July 13, 2026, the Pentagon suspended CMMC Phase II, the move to outside 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 Washington, DC businesses
Do you hold a security clearance, a GSA schedule, or FedRAMP authorization?
No to all three, and we don't work on classified systems. If your project needs cleared staff, a set contract vehicle, or an authorized cloud product, we're the wrong choice and we'll say so. We test and build for the business side of small firms: office network, email, websites, portals, and AI tools.
Can a Washington DC penetration testing report make us CMMC or NIST 800-171 compliant?
No. A test report shows where your systems were weak on the days we tested. NIST 800-171 is the federal list of security controls for contractors that hold controlled data. Only an authorized assessor (a C3PAO) or the government can run a CMMC certification assessment. Our work helps you prepare by finding gaps early.
You're in Michigan. How does a test work for a firm in DC, Virginia, or Maryland?
Remotely. Tests of websites, portals, email, and cloud accounts run over the internet. Kalamazoo is on Eastern time too. If your project needs someone on site, raise it when we scope the work. Travel and lodging are quoted separately.
Staff already use free AI chatbots on proposals and donor lists. What should we do?
Find out what's going in. Then move the jobs that matter to a private setup, where you choose who has access and every use is recorded. We also offer Washington DC managed AI services, a month-to-month plan to run and check those tools.
What does it cost for a small nonprofit or subcontractor?
Projects start at $4,999. Extra professional services are $250 an hour. Monitoring and managed plans are quoted to fit. You get the price in writing before any work starts.
Other metro areas we serve
Forward us the security question you can't answer yet
Tell us who's asking and why. We'll tell you plainly what a test would show, and whether you need us at all.
The first conversation is free. No testing starts without your signed, written scope.