Mean Time to Detection (MTTD) is a key security metric that measures the average time it takes for an organisation to identify a security threat or breach after it occurs. A shorter MTTD indicates that an organisation has strong monitoring and detection capabilities, which can significantly reduce the impact of an attack by enabling faster response. Conversely, a longer MTTD increases the risk of attackers gaining a foothold, escalating privileges, or exfiltrating sensitive data unnoticed. Reducing MTTD is a critical component of any robust cybersecurity strategy.

Yes, social engineering can be a key component of a CounterSOC engagement. Whether it’s phishing simulations, phone-based attacks, or physical security assessments, we use social engineering techniques to assess how well your organisation can identify and respond to these common attack methods. However, this isn’t just about finding weaknesses—we also work with your team to improve their awareness, response procedures, and resilience to social engineering threats over the course of the engagement.

Not exactly. While CounterSOC shares some similarities with red teaming, such as simulating adversarial behaviour and testing defences, it is a broader and more collaborative service. CounterSOC focuses on addressing the most critical risks first and works to dramatically improve your organisation's security posture over the course of a year. Unlike traditional red teaming or penetration testing, CounterSOC prioritises collaboration with your internal teams, providing workshops, debriefs, and hands-on guidance to ensure you fully understand the threats and can implement effective mitigations. It’s not just about identifying issues—it’s about partnering with you to fix them and continuously strengthen your defences.

Unfortunately, we can’t turn your staff into super hackers in the course of a year, but we do share our tools, tactics, and techniques. We work closely with your team, showing them how to deploy these effectively and make meaningful progress on your organisation’s security posture. By collaborating throughout the engagement, we ensure your staff gains practical skills and knowledge that can drive long-term improvements in your defences.

CounterSOC is a continuous service, typically delivered as a rolling 12-month engagement. This long-term approach ensures your organisation benefits from ongoing attack simulations, real-time threat monitoring, and collaborative support, allowing you to adapt to evolving threats over time. However, we can adjust the duration to meet your specific needs and security objectives.

During a CounterSOC engagement, we prioritise identifying and addressing the most critical vulnerabilities that represent the likeliest routes into your organisation. Unlike traditional penetration testing, which often delivers an exhaustive list of issues, CounterSOC focuses on high-impact risks first. Our goal is to rapidly identify and mitigate the most significant threats to your organisation before moving on to more complex attack methods. This targeted approach ensures that key vulnerabilities are resolved quickly, significantly reducing your risk exposure.

Absolutely. CounterSOC is designed to be flexible and tailored to align with your organisation's specific security challenges and goals. Whether you need a focus on adversarial simulations, attack surface monitoring, incident response collaboration, or workshops to upskill your defensive teams, we’ll work closely with you to customise the engagement. Our approach ensures that the service integrates seamlessly into your existing security operations and delivers the most value for your unique requirements.

CounterSOC takes a proactive and continuous approach to security, unlike traditional testing, which is typically a point-in-time assessment. While traditional testing focuses on identifying vulnerabilities within a defined scope and timeframe, CounterSOC provides ongoing adversarial simulations, attack surface monitoring, and real-time collaboration with your defensive teams. This enables a dynamic response to evolving threats and ensures your organisation stays resilient over time. CounterSOC integrates with your day-to-day operations, offering continuous insights and support, rather than the periodic assessments of traditional testing.

Yes, we perform all three—black-box, white-box, and gray-box testing—depending on the test and your preferences. However, we encourage customers to adopt an approach as close to white-box testing as they’re comfortable with. The more information you provide us, the more comprehensive and meaningful the outcomes of the test will be, allowing us to identify and address vulnerabilities more effectively.

Yes, tailored testing and intelligent scoping are core tenets of Trethtec's mission. We don’t do cookie-cutter tests—ever. Every organisation is unique, and we work closely with you to design a security test that aligns with your specific goals, risks, and priorities, ensuring meaningful and actionable results that address your needs.

It’s simple—give us a call or fill out the contact form on our website! Our team will be happy to discuss your needs, answer any questions, and guide you through the next steps.

Our consultants hold a range of certifications, including Offensive Security and CREST, both of which are highly regarded within the industry. CREST is a recognised standard in the UK, while Offensive Security certifications are respected globally and valued by technical practitioners as a benchmark of expertise. However, it's important to understand that certifications are just one aspect of a consultant’s qualifications. Practical competence, experience, and strong consultancy skills are equally, if not more, critical to delivering effective results. We recommend discussing your specific needs with your provider to ensure the right expertise is applied to your unique situation.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer—it’s akin to asking, "how long is a piece of string?" The frequency of security testing depends on your organisation’s security strategy, the assets you need to protect, the adversaries you might face, and the resources available for your security programme. Nowadays, we suggest that annual or biannual testing is insufficient and encourage a more continuous approach to security. However, we can advise on a sound, moderate approach tailored to your needs if a continuous model isn't feasible, ensuring your defences remain robust and effective.