IT Security Assessments

IT Security Risk Assessment for Raleigh-Durham Businesses | Comprehensive Vulnerability & Threat Analysis

Identify hidden vulnerabilities, quantify risk exposure, and build a prioritized remediation roadmap before attackers exploit your weaknesses. PTG has protected 2,500+ organizations across the Triangle with zero breaches among clients following our security program in 22+ years of operation.

Schedule Your IT Security Assessment 919-348-4912
The Challenge

The Hidden Risks Threatening Your Organization Right Now

Most businesses in Raleigh, Durham, and the Research Triangle operate with critical security blind spots they do not even know exist. These undetected vulnerabilities are precisely what sophisticated attackers count on.

Unknown Vulnerabilities

Every network harbors vulnerabilities that standard antivirus and firewall solutions simply cannot detect. Unpatched software, misconfigured servers, outdated encryption protocols, and legacy systems create entry points that cybercriminals actively scan for and exploit. Without a systematic security risk assessment, these weaknesses remain invisible to your IT team while being fully visible to threat actors running automated reconnaissance tools against your infrastructure around the clock.

Expanding Attack Surface

Remote workforces, cloud migrations, SaaS applications, IoT devices, and BYOD policies have dramatically expanded the typical attack surface for Triangle-area businesses. Each new technology integration introduces potential security gaps that must be identified, evaluated, and controlled. Organizations that fail to continuously map and assess their expanding digital footprint leave critical blind spots that attackers routinely exploit to gain initial footholds into corporate networks.

Compliance Gaps

Regulatory frameworks like HIPAA, PCI-DSS, CMMC, NIST 800-171, and SOC 2 all mandate regular security risk assessments as a baseline requirement. Organizations operating without documented, framework-aligned assessments face audit failures, financial penalties, contract losses, and legal exposure. In the Research Triangle Park corridor, where healthcare, federal contracting, and financial services dominate, a single compliance gap can disqualify your organization from lucrative opportunities.

Insider Threats

Not every threat originates outside your organization. Disgruntled employees, careless contractors, and compromised credentials represent some of the most damaging attack vectors in any security landscape. Insider threats are notoriously difficult to detect because they often involve legitimate access credentials being used in subtly illegitimate ways. A comprehensive IT security risk assessment examines access controls, privilege escalation paths, and behavioral indicators to surface insider risks before they result in data exfiltration or sabotage.

Our Methodology

PTG's Framework-Aligned IT Security Risk Assessment Process

A rigorous, repeatable methodology built on NIST, CIS, and ISO 27001 frameworks that delivers actionable intelligence, not just a list of problems.

1

Scope & Discovery

Every IT security risk assessment begins with a thorough scoping phase where our certified assessors work directly with your stakeholders to define the assessment boundaries, identify critical assets, and understand your organization's unique risk tolerance and business objectives. We catalog all hardware, software, cloud services, network segments, data flows, and third-party integrations to ensure nothing falls outside the assessment perimeter. This discovery process follows NIST SP 800-30 guidelines for risk assessment preparation, establishing the foundation for a comprehensive evaluation that addresses your specific regulatory obligations and business priorities across the Raleigh-Durham market.

2

Assess & Analyze

During the active assessment phase, our team deploys a combination of automated scanning tools, manual testing procedures, configuration reviews, and policy analysis to identify vulnerabilities across your entire technology stack. We evaluate security controls against CIS Critical Security Controls and ISO 27001 Annex A requirements, scoring each control area for maturity and effectiveness. Threat modeling exercises identify the most probable attack vectors specific to your industry and geography within the Triangle region. Every finding is classified using CVSS scoring and mapped to the specific compliance frameworks relevant to your business, creating a unified risk picture that connects technical vulnerabilities to real business impact.

3

Report & Remediate

The final deliverable is far more than a scan report. PTG produces a comprehensive risk assessment package that includes an executive summary for leadership, a detailed technical findings report for your IT team, a risk register with quantified impact scores, and a prioritized remediation roadmap with estimated timelines and resource requirements. Each recommendation is categorized as critical, high, medium, or low priority based on exploitability, business impact, and compliance implications. We present findings in person to both executive and technical stakeholders, answer every question, and offer ongoing remediation support to ensure vulnerabilities are resolved properly. Our clients across Durham, Raleigh, and RTP receive a living document they can use to track security posture improvement over time.

Assessment Domains

Six Critical Areas Every IT Security Risk Assessment Must Cover

Our comprehensive assessment examines every layer of your technology environment, from physical network infrastructure to cloud configurations and human-factor risks.

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Network Infrastructure Scan

We perform deep-dive analysis of your entire network architecture, including firewalls, routers, switches, VPN concentrators, wireless access points, and network segmentation policies. Our assessors examine firewall rule sets for overly permissive configurations, identify open ports and services that should be restricted, evaluate network traffic patterns for anomalous behavior, and test intrusion detection and prevention system effectiveness. The network infrastructure scan also includes DNS security evaluation, VLAN configuration review, and an assessment of your network monitoring capabilities to ensure you have the visibility required to detect lateral movement by attackers who breach your perimeter defenses.

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Cloud Security Evaluation

As Triangle-area businesses accelerate their migration to AWS, Azure, Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace, cloud misconfigurations have become one of the leading causes of data breaches nationally. Our cloud security evaluation examines identity and access management policies, storage bucket permissions, encryption-at-rest and in-transit configurations, logging and monitoring settings, and compliance with CIS cloud benchmarks. We assess shared responsibility model adherence, evaluate multi-tenant isolation controls, and review API security configurations to ensure your cloud environments maintain the same security rigor as your on-premises infrastructure.

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Endpoint Protection Assessment

Every workstation, laptop, mobile device, and server represents a potential entry point for attackers. Our endpoint protection assessment evaluates the effectiveness of your antivirus and EDR solutions, reviews patch management processes and compliance rates, examines device encryption status, assesses USB and removable media policies, and tests application whitelisting controls. We verify that endpoint security configurations align with CIS hardening benchmarks for each operating system in your environment and evaluate your ability to detect and respond to fileless malware, living-off-the-land attacks, and advanced persistent threats targeting your endpoint fleet.

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Access Control Audit

Excessive privileges and poor access control hygiene are responsible for a significant percentage of successful breaches. Our access control audit examines Active Directory and identity provider configurations, multi-factor authentication deployment coverage, privileged access management practices, role-based access control effectiveness, and service account security. We identify orphaned accounts from former employees, flag excessive administrative privileges, evaluate password policies against current NIST guidelines, and assess your organization's ability to enforce the principle of least privilege consistently across both on-premises and cloud environments serving your Raleigh-Durham operations.

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Data Loss Prevention Review

Protecting sensitive data from unauthorized exfiltration requires more than perimeter security. Our data loss prevention review maps your sensitive data flows, identifies where regulated data resides across your infrastructure, evaluates DLP policy effectiveness, and tests data classification and labeling procedures. We assess email security gateways for outbound data inspection capabilities, review cloud application sharing permissions, evaluate database activity monitoring controls, and examine backup encryption and access policies. For organizations handling PHI, PCI, CUI, or attorney-client privileged information, this assessment domain is critical to demonstrating compliance with data protection mandates.

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Executive Risk Dashboard

Technical findings only drive action when leadership understands their business implications. Every PTG IT security risk assessment includes a custom executive risk dashboard that translates technical vulnerabilities into business risk metrics your C-suite and board can act on. The dashboard presents an overall organizational risk score, risk trending over time, compliance readiness indicators for each applicable framework, peer benchmarking comparisons within your industry, and projected remediation timelines with resource estimates. This deliverable bridges the gap between technical security teams and executive decision-makers, ensuring security investment decisions are grounded in quantified risk data rather than speculation.

Proven Track Record

Trusted by Organizations Across the Research Triangle

22+
Years of Security Expertise
2,500+
Companies Protected
0
Security Breaches
800+
Assessments Delivered

Ready to see what PTG can do for your business? Schedule a free consultation and join the businesses across the Triangle that trust us with their technology.

919-348-4912
Industry Expertise

IT Security Risk Assessments Tailored to Your Industry

Every industry faces unique threat landscapes and regulatory requirements. PTG customizes each assessment to address the specific risks, compliance obligations, and operational constraints of your sector across the Raleigh, Durham, and RTP region.

🏥 Healthcare & Medical

HIPAA Security Rule mandates comprehensive risk assessments for all covered entities and business associates. Our healthcare-focused IT security risk assessments evaluate ePHI safeguards, examine EHR system security configurations, assess medical device network isolation, and verify compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule's administrative, physical, and technical safeguard requirements. We help medical practices, hospitals, and health IT companies throughout the Triangle maintain continuous HIPAA compliance while protecting patient data from increasingly sophisticated ransomware campaigns targeting the healthcare sector.

🏛 Federal Contractors

Federal contractors and subcontractors in the RTP corridor must meet NIST 800-171 and CMMC requirements to handle Controlled Unclassified Information. Our IT security risk assessments map directly to the 110 security controls in NIST 800-171 and the practices defined across CMMC maturity levels, providing a clear gap analysis that identifies exactly what your organization needs to achieve certification. We produce System Security Plans, Plans of Action and Milestones, and evidence packages that auditors expect to see during CMMC assessments.

💰 Financial Services

Banks, credit unions, investment firms, and fintech companies face some of the most stringent security requirements in any industry. Our financial services IT security risk assessments address PCI-DSS requirements for cardholder data protection, GLBA Safeguards Rule compliance, SOX IT controls evaluation, and FFIEC cybersecurity assessment requirements. We evaluate transaction security, wire transfer controls, customer data protection, and fraud detection capabilities to ensure your security posture satisfies both regulators and customer expectations for financial data protection.

⚖ Legal Firms

Law firms are high-value targets because of the sensitive client information, case strategies, and privileged communications they handle daily. Our legal industry IT security risk assessments evaluate attorney-client privilege protections, e-discovery readiness, conflict checking system security, and compliance with North Carolina State Bar ethics opinions on technology use. We assess document management system access controls, secure client communication channels, and data retention policies to ensure your firm meets its ethical obligation to protect confidential client information from cyber threats.

Why PTG

What Sets Petronella Technology Group Apart

Choosing the right partner for your IT security risk assessment determines whether you receive a generic checklist or a strategic security roadmap that actually reduces risk.

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    Framework-Aligned Methodology

    Every assessment follows documented methodologies aligned with NIST SP 800-30, CIS Critical Security Controls, and ISO 27001. This framework-first approach ensures assessment results are immediately usable for compliance documentation, audit preparation, and insurance underwriting. You receive findings mapped directly to the specific controls and requirements that matter for your regulatory environment, eliminating the guesswork that comes with ad-hoc security reviews.

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    Certified Security Assessors

    Through our partner network, PTG's assessment engagements have access to professionals holding industry-recognized certifications including CEH, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA CySA+, and cloud-specific security certifications for AWS and Azure environments. Our assessors bring real-world experience spanning thousands of assessments across healthcare, federal, financial, and legal sectors in the Triangle region. You work directly with senior security professionals, not junior analysts learning on your dime.

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    Actionable Reports, Not Noise

    Many security firms deliver hundred-page reports filled with scanner output and generic recommendations that overwhelm IT teams and collect dust on shelves. PTG's assessment reports are structured for action. Every finding includes a clear description of the vulnerability, proof of exploitability, quantified business impact, specific remediation steps with estimated effort, and compliance framework mapping. Executive summaries translate technical risk into board-level language, ensuring security investment decisions are informed and prioritized correctly.

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    Remediation Support & Follow-Through

    Identifying vulnerabilities is only half the value. PTG does not hand you a report and disappear. We offer hands-on remediation support to help your team implement every recommendation, from firewall rule changes and Active Directory hardening to cloud security configuration and policy development. Our team is available for follow-up assessments to verify that remediations have been implemented effectively and that your security posture has measurably improved. Based in Raleigh, we are minutes away when you need on-site support for complex remediation projects across the Durham, RTP, and greater Triangle area.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About IT Security Risk Assessments

What is the scope of an IT security risk assessment?
An IT security risk assessment from PTG covers your complete technology environment: network infrastructure, cloud services, endpoints, applications, access controls, data flows, physical security, and organizational policies. The scope is defined collaboratively during the initial engagement to ensure every critical asset and compliance requirement is addressed. We assess both technical controls and administrative procedures, providing a holistic view of your organization's security posture that accounts for people, processes, and technology across your Raleigh-Durham operations.
What methodology does PTG use for IT security risk assessments?
PTG's assessment methodology is built on three industry-standard frameworks: NIST SP 800-30 for risk assessment process structure, CIS Critical Security Controls for technical control evaluation, and ISO 27001 for information security management system maturity. We combine automated vulnerability scanning with manual testing, configuration review, policy analysis, and stakeholder interviews to produce findings that are both technically rigorous and practically actionable. This multi-framework approach ensures assessment results satisfy the documentation requirements of any compliance standard your organization must meet.
How long does an IT security risk assessment take?
A typical IT security risk assessment takes between two and four weeks from initial scoping through final report delivery. The exact timeline depends on the size and complexity of your environment, the number of locations and cloud services in scope, and the specific compliance frameworks being evaluated. Small businesses with straightforward environments may complete in as little as ten business days, while larger organizations with multiple locations, complex cloud architectures, and multiple compliance requirements may require four to six weeks. PTG also offers expedited assessment timelines for organizations facing urgent compliance deadlines or incident-driven requirements.
How much does an IT security risk assessment cost?
Assessment costs vary based on scope, complexity, and the specific deliverables required. Factors that influence pricing include the number of IP addresses and endpoints in scope, the number of cloud environments to evaluate, the compliance frameworks being assessed against, and whether on-site work is required. PTG provides detailed, transparent proposals after an initial scoping conversation so you understand exactly what is included. We offer assessment packages designed for organizations of every size, from small practices to enterprise environments across the Triangle region. Contact us at 919-348-4912 for a customized quote.
What deliverables will we receive from the assessment?
Every IT security risk assessment from PTG includes the following deliverables: an executive summary presenting overall risk posture and key findings in business terms, a detailed technical findings report with CVSS-scored vulnerabilities and proof-of-concept evidence, a risk register mapping findings to compliance framework controls, a prioritized remediation roadmap with estimated effort and resource requirements, an executive risk dashboard for ongoing monitoring, and a formal presentation of findings to both executive and technical stakeholders. For compliance-driven assessments, we also deliver framework-specific gap analysis documents, System Security Plans, and Plans of Action and Milestones.
How often should we conduct IT security risk assessments?
Most compliance frameworks require formal risk assessments at least annually. However, PTG recommends conducting assessments whenever significant changes occur in your environment, such as major infrastructure upgrades, cloud migrations, mergers and acquisitions, new regulatory requirements, or following a security incident. Many of our clients in the Raleigh-Durham area opt for semi-annual assessments to maintain continuous compliance readiness and track security posture improvement over time. Between formal assessments, regular vulnerability scanning and configuration monitoring help maintain security visibility.
How should we prepare for an IT security risk assessment?
Preparation is straightforward. PTG provides a pre-assessment checklist that includes gathering network diagrams, asset inventories, existing security policies, previous audit reports, and compliance documentation. We will need administrative access to systems in scope, contact information for key stakeholders, and scheduled time for stakeholder interviews. Our team handles all the technical setup, scanning coordination, and scheduling logistics. The most important preparation step is ensuring your leadership team is aligned on the assessment objectives and committed to acting on the findings, which we discuss during the scoping phase.
What is the difference between a risk assessment and a penetration test?
An IT security risk assessment is a broad evaluation of your entire security program that identifies vulnerabilities, evaluates control effectiveness, and quantifies business risk across all technology domains. A penetration test is a focused engagement where ethical hackers actively attempt to exploit specific vulnerabilities to demonstrate real-world attack impact. Risk assessments answer the question "where are we vulnerable and what is the business risk?" while penetration tests answer "can an attacker actually exploit these weaknesses and how far can they get?" PTG recommends both: risk assessments for comprehensive security program evaluation and penetration tests for validation of specific controls. We offer both services and can bundle them for comprehensive coverage.
How does PTG map assessment findings to compliance frameworks?
Every finding in our assessment reports is mapped to the specific controls and requirements of each compliance framework relevant to your organization. For example, a weak password policy finding would be mapped simultaneously to NIST 800-171 control 3.5.7, CIS Control 5.2, HIPAA Security Rule section 164.312(d), and PCI-DSS Requirement 8. This multi-framework mapping allows organizations subject to multiple compliance standards to use a single assessment to satisfy documentation requirements across all applicable frameworks, eliminating redundant assessments and reducing overall compliance costs for businesses throughout the Triangle region.
What happens after the assessment is complete?
After delivering the assessment report and presenting findings to your team, PTG remains engaged to support remediation efforts. We schedule a follow-up meeting 30 days post-delivery to review remediation progress, answer questions that have arisen, and adjust priorities if needed. Our team is available for hands-on remediation support, including implementing security controls, hardening configurations, developing policies, and conducting targeted re-assessments to verify that critical findings have been resolved. Many of our clients across Raleigh, Durham, and RTP transition into ongoing managed security relationships with PTG after their initial assessment, ensuring continuous security improvement rather than point-in-time snapshots.
Get Started

Schedule Your IT Security Risk Assessment Today

Discover what attackers already know about your network. PTG's certified assessors will identify your vulnerabilities, quantify your risk exposure, and deliver a clear remediation roadmap. Serving businesses across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Research Triangle Park, and the greater Triangle NC region.

Schedule Your Assessment 919-348-4912

Ready to get started? Call us at 919-348-4912 or contact us online for a free consultation.