Best Healthcare Penetration Testing Companies (2026)

A healthcare penetration test has more readers than most. The engineers read the findings. The compliance lead maps them to the HIPAA Security Rule. A HITRUST assessor, a hospital’s vendor risk team or, after a breach, the Office for Civil Rights may read the report too. The firm you hire has to write for all of them, and test systems where a mistake can touch patient care.

This list is written by a penetration testing company, so Invadel is first and this is our site. Every other firm is described only from what it says on its own public pages, checked in September 2026. No prices for other firms appear here. Ours are on the pricing page.

For the general market, see our list of the best penetration testing companies. This list uses healthcare criteria and includes firms that work only in healthcare.

Why healthcare testing is different

• The stakes are reported. 804 breaches of 500 or more records were reported for 2025, affecting more than 138.5 million people, and hacking and IT incidents caused more than 80% of them. (HIPAA Journal)
• The regulator asks for proof. OCR closed 21 enforcement actions in 2025, and 76% of them cited a failure to conduct an accurate and thorough risk analysis. (HIPAA Journal, 2025 Healthcare Data Breach Report)
• The rules may tighten. A proposed update to the HIPAA Security Rule, published in January 2025, would require penetration testing at least every 12 months and vulnerability scanning at least every six months. As of September 2026 it is still proposed. Our guide to HIPAA penetration testing requirements tracks it.
• Some systems cannot be treated like laptops. Medical devices, imaging systems and clinical networks need testing that does not disrupt care.

How we chose

Five criteria, in order of how much they affect what you get:

1. Healthcare reporting. Can the firm map findings to the HIPAA Security Rule and, where you need it, HITRUST?
2. PHI handling. Do the rules of engagement say how patient data seen during testing is handled?
3. Device and clinical capability. Can the firm test medical devices and the integrations that move records, such as HL7 and FHIR interfaces?
4. Manual depth. Does the firm describe people testing, not just scanners?
5. Price and retest. Is the price known before you sign, and is a retest included?

The comparison table records what each firm states on its own website. “Not stated” means we did not find it on the pages we reviewed. It does not mean the firm does not do it, so ask.

The best healthcare penetration testing companies in 2026

1. Invadel

Best for: fixed-price penetration testing for health-tech SaaS companies, practices and device makers that need HIPAA and HITRUST-ready reports.

We are a New York penetration testing firm with a senior in-house team, manual-first. Web applications and patient portals, APIs including FHIR and HL7 interfaces, cloud accounts, networks and connected devices are tested by hand. Healthcare reports map findings to the HIPAA Security Rule safeguards, carry an attestation letter for the customer or assessor who asked, and include a free retest that shows the fixes closed. Prices are published: web application from $5,200, external network from $4,200, and medical device and IoT testing from $5,200. See our HIPAA penetration testing, HITRUST penetration testing and healthcare pages.

The honest limitation: we are a boutique. We are not a HITRUST External Assessor, we do not issue HITRUST certification, and we do not run managed detection or a 24/7 security operations center. If you want one firm for your HITRUST assessment, managed security and testing, some firms below offer that combination.

2. Clearwater

Best for: health systems that want testing inside a wider healthcare security, compliance and managed services relationship.

Clearwater describes itself as combining healthcare security and compliance expertise with managed security services, consulting, assessments and compliance software. Its technical testing page lists internal and external penetration testing, web and mobile app testing, API assessments, social engineering, and two medical device assessments, one of them covering the device lifecycle. HITRUST services appear under its certification and audit offerings.

3. Meditology Services

Best for: healthcare organizations that want testing from a firm that also runs HITRUST assessments.

Meditology says it focuses exclusively on the healthcare industry and is a HITRUST Authorized External Assessor. Its ethical hacking and penetration testing service highlights experience in healthcare environments, a method designed to avoid putting sensitive systems or data at risk, and findings mapped to HIPAA, HITRUST and NIST. It also lists medical device and IoT security services.

4. Fortified Health Security

Best for: hospitals that want penetration testing and red teaming from a healthcare-focused managed security provider.

Fortified describes itself as a healthcare cybersecurity partner and managed security service provider. Its penetration testing page offers internal, external, wireless and application testing, plus red team exercises that combine phishing, social engineering, physical entry and lateral movement. Its service list also includes HITRUST services, managed phishing, managed detection and response, and managed connected medical device security.

5. Coalfire

Best for: health-tech companies pairing a HITRUST assessment with offensive security from one large firm.

Coalfire’s healthcare page covers HITRUST assessment, HIPAA work built on NIST risk assessment guidance, and red team operations that simulate real-world attacks. It also mentions rapid cybersecurity risk assessment during mergers and acquisitions. Coalfire is a large firm that also works on FedRAMP and PCI assessments.

6. A-LIGN

Best for: health-tech vendors that want HITRUST, HIPAA, SOC 2 and a penetration test from the same provider.

A-LIGN describes itself as one of the top HITRUST assessors in the world and reports more than 1,400 HITRUST assessments completed. Its healthcare page lists HITRUST certification, HIPAA assessments, SOC 2 and penetration testing.

7. NetSPI

Best for: large health systems and device makers that want penetration testing delivered through a platform at scale.

NetSPI delivers testing through its penetration testing as a service platform and describes a team of more than 350 employed pentesters. Its medical device testing page covers firmware analysis, hardware, wireless configuration, network analysis, thick client and mobile applications, sensor data, privacy and potential patient safety issues, and references the FDA premarket cybersecurity guidance. On September 2, 2026, NetSPI and Synack announced a plan to merge, with closing expected in October 2026. See our Invadel vs NetSPI comparison.

8. Blue Goat Cyber

Best for: medical device manufacturers preparing FDA premarket submissions.

Blue Goat Cyber focuses on medical device cybersecurity. It describes white-box testing of hardware, firmware, wireless interfaces, mobile apps, cloud and APIs, with documentation aimed at 510(k), De Novo and PMA submissions, plus SBOM and threat modeling work. Its page says retests of fixed issues are included in its fixed fee.

Comparison table

Yes means the firm states it on its own public pages. We checked in September 2026.

Company	Healthcare-only focus	Medical device testing	HITRUST assessment or advisory	Retest described
Invadel	No	Yes	No, testing only	Yes
Clearwater	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not stated
Meditology Services	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not stated
Fortified Health Security	Yes	Not stated	Yes	Not stated
Coalfire	No	Not stated	Yes	Not stated
A-LIGN	No	Not stated	Yes	Not stated
NetSPI	No	Yes	Not stated	Not stated
Blue Goat Cyber	Medical devices	Yes	Not stated	Yes

Use the “Not stated” cells as your question list for the vendor call.

Which firm fits which buyer

• A health system or hospital usually wants testing inside a wider relationship: managed security, risk analysis, sometimes a virtual CISO. The healthcare-only firms on this list are built for that. If you only need the test, a fixed-price firm keeps it simple. New York general hospitals also answer to the state’s hospital cybersecurity regulations (10 NYCRR 405.46), which require an annual penetration test.
• A health-tech SaaS company selling to hospitals needs a web application, API and cloud test, reported for HIPAA and, often, HITRUST. Our comparison of HITRUST vs SOC 2 explains what each expects from testing. If your HITRUST assessor also sells testing, ask whether one firm testing and assessing the same controls raises questions for your customers. Our HITRUST penetration testing page explains how we keep the test independent of the assessment.
• A medical device maker needs testing aimed at the FDA premarket submission: firmware, hardware interfaces, wireless and the companion app. See our guide to medical device penetration testing.
• A practice or clinic usually needs an external test, an internal test and a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace review of the email tenant. That is a small, well-defined scope with a known price.

Questions to ask a healthcare pentest vendor

1. How do you handle PHI you see during testing? The answer should be in the rules of engagement: minimum access, no bulk downloads, encrypted evidence and a destruction schedule.
2. How do you avoid disrupting clinical systems? Ask about testing windows, excluded devices and who can stop the test.
3. Will the report map findings to the HIPAA Security Rule? And to HITRUST, if that is why you are testing.
4. Is the retest included? A finding closed and verified is what your auditor and your customers want.
5. Who does the testing? Employees or contractors, and how senior.
6. What does it cost, in writing, before we sign?

What healthcare penetration testing costs

These are Invadel’s published starting prices. We do not quote other firms’ prices.

Test	Typical healthcare use	Starting price
External network	Perimeter, VPN and remote access for clinicians and vendors	$4,200
Internal network	Segmentation between clinical, guest and business networks	$6,000
Web application	Patient portals and health-tech products	$5,200
API	FHIR, HL7 and partner integrations	$4,000
Cloud	AWS, Azure or GCP accounts that hold ePHI	$6,800
Hardware and IoT	Medical and connected devices	$5,200
Phishing	Staff with access to ePHI	$3,600

Every penetration test in the table includes a report mapped to the HIPAA safeguards, an attestation letter and a free retest. Phishing campaigns measure behavior, so they have no retest. A typical first engagement for a practice is an external test, an internal test and a test of the patient portal. See pricing for every tier.

Frequently asked questions

Does HIPAA require a penetration test? Not by name in the current rule. It requires a risk analysis and periodic evaluation, and a penetration test is the most direct evidence for both. The proposed rule would make annual testing explicit. See HIPAA penetration testing.

Should our HITRUST assessor also do our penetration test? Ask your assessor what it accepts. Some customers prefer the tester to be independent of the assessor. Our HITRUST penetration testing page explains how we keep the test independent of the assessment.

Can you test medical devices without disrupting care? Yes. Devices are tested on bench units, engineering samples or a test environment, never while in clinical use. Clinical network segments are tested only in agreed windows, with named contacts who can stop the test. See medical device penetration testing.

How often should a healthcare organization test? At least once a year and after significant changes to systems that hold ePHI. That matches the proposed rule and what auditors already expect.

What does a healthcare penetration test cost? At Invadel, from $4,200 for an external network test and $5,200 for a web application, with a free retest. See pricing.

The short version

Pick the firm by what you need around the test. A health system that wants managed security and a HITRUST assessor under one roof has good options on this list. A health-tech company or practice that needs a manual test, a HIPAA-mapped report and a known price can get that from a fixed-price firm.

Fixed price, fixed scope, free retest. Scope your healthcare penetration test, or read how we work with healthcare organizations.