Penetration Testing Experts in Germany
matched in minutes with vetted, available freelancersHire experts who uncover exploitable weaknesses, test web applications and cloud environments, and turn findings into clear remediation plans. FRATCH matches you quickly and precisely with vetted, available freelancers for focused security engagements.
Meet FRATCH Experts in Germany, who have recently used Penetration Testing
Andreas R.
Last position:
Freelance Consultant for Information Security at A-R-C Andreas Rühl Consulting
Development and implementation of tailored information security strategies
Introduction and further development of ISMS according to ISO 27001, BSI baseline protection, and other standards
Risk management and creation of security concepts
Consulting for KRITIS, PCI DSS, TISAX, and VdS 3473/10000
Building and improving security organizations
Creation and implementation of guidelines, policies, work instructions, and process descriptions
Audit support and certification preparation
Conducting trainings, workshops, and awareness campaigns
Selection and consulting on the introduction of IT security solutions such as SIEM, DLP, IDS/IPS, firewalls, and encryption technologies
Conducting penetration tests and vulnerability analyses
Consulting on the selection, integration, and management of security architectures in complex IT environments
Consulting on ITSM and managed security services and SOC
Leading and managing complex projects to improve information security
Process analysis, optimization, and management according to ITIL, ISO 27001, and cybernetics
Introduction and quality assurance of management, documentation, and knowledge management systems
Support in complying with regulatory information security requirements (e.g. GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, GMP, KRITIS)
Development and implementation of risk analysis procedures
Organizing initial response, forensic investigations, and organizational measures in the event of security incidents
Designing and running targeted workshops on topics such as ISMS, IT risks, and current threat scenarios
Awareness campaigns to promote security culture in companies
Special trainings on ISO 27001, BSI baseline protection, KRITIS, and other relevant standards
Simulations and exercises to prepare for information security incidents
Interim management for leading information security projects or IT security organizations
Taking on the role of an external CISO (Chief Information Security Officer)
Support in developing and implementing IT security and corporate strategies
Coaching and mentoring of managers in the field of information security
Building and leading security departments as well as recruiting and qualifying employees
Temporary assumption of management responsibility in critical situations
Rudolf E.
Last position:
Datacenter Engineer, Network & Security Administrator at International insurance group
Operation and further development of the network and security infrastructure.
Monitoring, analysis and resolution of network and security incidents.
Cross-department collaboration with other specialist teams for operations, further development and reporting.
Firewall vulnerability analysis.
Firewall rule approvals.
Troubleshooting IP communication issues in the network and firewall infrastructure.
Security-critical IT infrastructure, processing of personal data, compliance with legal regulations.
Products: Palo Alto Networks Firewalls, Cisco ACI, Checkpoint Firewalls, F5
Technologies: SDN, SDWAN, Cisco EPIC, Cisco ACI
Tobias S.
Last position:
Project Manager SAP S/4 HANA Public Cloud at TIMETOACT Group
To achieve savings and optimize compliance, apps were restructured in line with the mappings in identity management, restrictions were defined and, above all, costs resulting from overuse were reduced. Communication with stakeholders, validation of authorizations with users and technical implementation in the SAP FI/CO and Sourcing & Procurement modules created significant added value for the group. This also included the corresponding documentation for the auditors.
Alicja W.
Last position:
Integrated Security and Emergency Documentation for a 24/7 Logistics Company at Medium-Sized Logistics Company
- Creation of complete bilingual (DE/EN) security and emergency documentation: Business Continuity Plan / Disaster Recovery Plan, Incident Response Plan v2.0 with four case-specific playbooks (PICERL), Access Control Policy, Vulnerability Management Policy, Business Resilience Programme, Risk Governance Plan
- Consolidation into an integrated emergency manual (12 chapters) with immediate-action checklists for six emergency scenarios, a prioritized action table and a formal approval structure
- Review and documentation of the applicability of NIS2 and HinSchG, including the legal justification for non-applicability
Dirk P.
Last position:
Freelance Cyber Defense Lead & KRITIS/NIS2 Consultant | AI Security Architect at Self-Employed
Situation: Increasing demand for privacy-compliant AI solutions for clients in the KRITIS and mid-market sector that need to analyze sensitive media content (audio, video, documents) without sending data to public cloud LLMs.
Task: Design, deployment, and secure operation of a fully self-hosted AI infrastructure including a custom-built digital management platform for automated media analysis.
Action: Architected and implemented a multi-tier platform on hardened Proxmox infrastructure with frontend (Nuxt 3, Vue 3, TypeScript, Tailwind 4), backend (Laravel 13, PHP 8.4, Sanctum), data storage (PostgreSQL 16, MongoDB 7), caching/queuing (Redis 7, Laravel Queue), AI workers (Python 3.11, Whisper, DeepFace, Librosa), scheduling (Laravel Scheduler/Cron), and local LLMs (Gemma, DeepSeek, Qwen, Mistral, LLaMA, Phi) via OpenWebUI with segmented network access, API hardening, and audit logging following BSI recommendations.
Result: Fully GDPR-compliant, on-premises AI platform with zero data leakage to third parties.
Task: Overall responsibility as an external Head of Cyber Security / CISO-as-a-Service for the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of ISMS according to ISO 27001, BSI IT-Grundschutz, and NIS2.
Action: Built and managed Cyber Defense Centers (CDC) with SOC operations, integrated SIEM solutions (Splunk, Graylog), established risk-based vulnerability management (Qualys, Nessus, OpenVAS), and conducted regular infrastructure, application, and physical penetration tests.
Result: Audit-ready ISMS for multiple clients and a 60% reduction in critical vulnerabilities within 90 days.
Task: Design and execution of NIS2 assessments and operational roll-out plans for KRITIS operators.
Action: Developed an online assessment tool for automated identification of individual weakness profiles, implemented ISMS optimizations, penetration testing, awareness programs, GRC suite deployment, and delivered C-level presentations.
Result: Accelerated the consulting process by 50% and successfully prepared multiple clients for NIS2 compliance.
Task: Incident commander for crisis response, forensics, and business recovery in ransomware attacks and APT campaigns.
Action: Coordinated with state and federal police (LKA, BKA), performed forensic analysis (OSForensics, Wireshark, Kali Linux), executed disaster recovery and BCM strategies, and developed BTC extortion response strategies.
Result: 100% recovery rate within defined RTO windows and sustainable post-incident security architectures.
Action: Planned, built, and operated a hardened multi-VM infrastructure (Proxmox, 15+ VMs) with web and mail servers, Graylog, OPNsense firewalls, CRM/ERP and LLM instances, network segmentation, DDoS mitigation, automated patch management, and backup strategies.
Result: >99.5% uptime over 20+ years and zero compromises.
Action: Designed coordinated phishing campaigns with five levels of difficulty, developed e-trainings and webinars in a PDCA cycle, and led red and blue teams.
Result: Phishing click rate reduced from 35% to under 5% within three campaign cycles.
Pierre B.
Last position:
Senior Engineering Manager at Audibene GmbH
- Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with Product Owner to define functional and technical requirements
- Quarterly Roadmap definition with Executives and Product Owner
- Fix bug and develop new features in Go and Typescript
- Manage and mentor full stack engineering team
- System Design in a micro-service environment
- Guarantee application security
- Improve engineering efficiency and deliverable quality
- Support automation with agentic-AI workflow
- Achievements:
- Improved security and data privacy awareness in the team with workshops around best practices, security measures and attacks types
- Conceptualized, designed and successfully released a new real-time chat application for our partners improving partner/company relationship and collaboration efficiency in Go and Typescript
- Reduced meeting hours for engineers by restructuring projects preparation workflow in collaboration with product team
Kyu-Wang L.
Last position:
Software Architect & Lead Software Engineer at Landesamt für Steuern Niedersachsen
The goal of BIENE is to provide a uniform program for tax collection for all states.
In tax collection, the aim is to collect the assessed taxes. This includes handling due dates, documenting incoming and outgoing payments, triggering reminders or refunds. Statute of limitations and payment reminders also play an important role. All payment transactions with banks and accounting are mapped in BIENE.
Setting up the architecture and coordinating the provisioning of development and test environments at the Hanover location
Installing and configuring environments on Linux servers (Apache Kafka, PostgreSQL)
Interface tasks: coordinating and aligning the integration of software products from other departments and their test data
Upgrading application server, JDK, Maven project structure
Environment coordination and build management
Implementing external interfaces
Implementing business requirements
Designing and implementing RESTful APIs and OpenAPI specifications
Designing and implementing microservice architecture
Setting up and maintaining CI/CD pipelines
Deploying applications on OpenShift
Creating technical documentation and diagrams
Working with SQL databases (Oracle and PostgreSQL)
Setting up authentication and authorization for the application and users
Containerizing the application (automated deployment via CI/CD pipeline)
Mert B.
Last position:
Freelancer at Freelancer
Consulting in testing
- Development and implementation of a test strategy for structured quality assurance
- Consulting on building and improving test processes
- Support in introducing QA standards
Matthias W.
Last position:
DevOps Engineer at Interhyp AG
- Infrastructure management with Puppet and Terraform for consistent environments
- Maintenance and adaptation of Terraform scripts for Azure cloud deployment
- Migration of database systems and services to the Azure cloud
- Introduction of GitOps with ArgoCD for fully automated deployments
- Adaptation and development of GitHub pipelines for CI/CD workflows
- Creation of Helm Charts for standardized deployments
- Migration of repositories from Bitbucket to GitHub
- Operation and performance optimization of an Oracle 19c grid cluster (RAC, Dataguard)
- Setup and management of MongoDB instances (on-premise and Azure Kubernetes)
- Setup of PostgreSQL clusters in on-premise and Azure Kubernetes environments
- Migration of services, master data, and stored procedures from Oracle to PostgreSQL
- Troubleshooting and performance tuning of complex data infrastructures
- Installation, configuration, and upgrade of Tableau in the productive BI environment
- Development of sanity checks to monitor business processes and application logic
- Adaptation of the backup and recovery strategy to new requirements
- Carrying out disaster recovery and point-in-time recovery
- Technologies used: Oracle 19c RAC Grid Dataguard, PostgreSQL 16, MongoDB, MySQL Cluster, Kubernetes (Azure), Tableau, Puppet, Terraform, ArgoCD, GitHub/Bitbucket, CheckMK, Prometheus, Grafana, Icinga2, Ubuntu/RHEL
Pierre G.
Last position:
Ansible Automation, Windows Third Level Support at DB InfraGO AG
- PRISMA project
- Ansible automation
- Windows third-level support for Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 2013, Windows 2016, Windows 2019
Baris E.
Last position:
Founder / Product & Security Architect at Pirpirik
- Perform secure code reviews and provide secure-coding guidance across the application and platform architecture.
- Engineer infrastructure security and design security-monitoring architecture, incident-response playbooks and Security-by-Design controls.
Michael L.
Last position:
CTO at SNIPE Germany GmbH
Software service provider for AI solutions, automation, and custom software.
Team: built from 2 to 10 developers, 8 direct reports, partly remote · Portfolio: 6 parallel projects (€25k–€250k), scaling > €1M
- Ensured delivery capability for 6 parallel customer projects: role model, capacity planning (510–660 productive person-days/year), hiring roadmap with €380k–€440k/year personnel budget
- Established SDLC framework from scratch in under 6 months: REQ/SPEC structure, V-model gates, GitHub Issues as specification, Definition of Done, release process; consistent, auditable development process across all customer projects
- Prepared large program (3,000–4,000 person-days over 18 months) for decision readiness: AI-native industry platform for the construction sector; scoping, team profile for 8–10 developers, phase 0 budget €390k
- Designed and introduced self-hosted AI platform: vLLM, LiteLLM, Qdrant, Supabase; agent architecture, MCP integration, OCR pipelines; prepared GPU investment with break-even model (month 15–16)
- Systematized presales end to end: lead qualification with maturity scoring, discovery workshops, own sizing model, costing with loaded hourly rates, structured handover to development
- Tangibly improved the security level of a customer platform: penetration test incl. re-verification of all findings
Dominik P.
Last position:
Head of IT at Aarsleff Spezialtiefbau GmbH
- Disciplinary and professional leadership of the IT and service team
- Definition and documentation of the Current Mode of Operation (CMO) in Confluence: application landscape, infrastructure, networks, backup & storage
- Development of the Future Mode of Operation (FMO) including process analysis & stakeholder interviews with all departments using BPMN and flowcharts
- Optimization of license management: reduction of ongoing software costs by approx. 17% p.a.
- Introduction and establishment of Jira as the central tool for project and service management
- Introduction and rollout of the HR software MindKey to digitize HR processes
- Introduction of a VoIP solution with Microsoft Teams incl. PSTN connection to replace classic telephony
- Introduction of the production and planning software OptiControl to digitize operational processes
- Rollout of Intune as a Mobile Device Management solution for Windows, iOS and Android
- Build-up of Power BI dashboards for machine park monitoring and financial reporting
- Planning and execution of the IT consolidation of two locations for 170 users
- Introduction of automated penetration testing with Pentera
- Coaching and mentoring the team in agile methods & project management
- Operational support in day-to-day business: administration, incident & change management
- Management of external service providers and assurance of the quality of outsourced IT services
- Responsibility for the IT budget incl. planning and controlling
- Direct reporting line to management with regular management reports on IT KPIs, budget and project status
Enrique G.
Last position:
Security Architect at Capgemini
I implemented a Zero-Trust architecture for robust, military-grade maritime container mini data centers based on VMware & Tanzu to support containerized GIS workloads for ground forces. The main focus was on securing communications, workload protection, and data access in contested electronic battle environments affected by jamming, interception, signal manipulation, and constantly changing operational conditions. I designed and architected use cases so that every element of workload, identity, and system could continue to operate independently and securely even in degraded or disrupted scenarios. In parallel, I defined the enterprise and solution security architecture with LeanIX, Bizzdesign, and HOPEX as enterprise architecture, repository, and governance platforms to maintain architecture inventory, relationships, traceability, target pictures, and security governance in complex environments. For the architectural designs, I used Sparx Enterprise Architect to describe formal architecture views, interfaces, trust boundaries, and system architecture in both IT and OT environments. IriusRisk was used for threat modeling of the solution to identify architecture-driven risks, derive security requirements, and detect countermeasures and design gaps directly from the solution models. Risk and compliance management was supported with Archer. Architecture decisions, control gaps, and operational risks were translated into controlled governance and auditable compliance measures. For documentation, collaboration, and visual design, I used Confluence to maintain Architecture Decision Records, Security Blueprints, and workflows. I used Lucidchart and draw.io to create design artifacts tailored to stakeholders. I also defined OT security concepts with support from electrical and mechanical engineers in the areas of oil, vehicle onboard systems, rail, power plants, pharma, gas turbines, and nuclear technology. I created the end-to-end OT security strategy, starting with global policy, developed into standards and procedures, and finally aligned with Bell-LaPadula, Purdue Model, SABSA, TOGAF ADM, CENELEC 50701, IEC 62443, and NIST standards. In addition, I worked with engineering team leads to identify critical KBP assets and place them under protective measures that segmented SCADA, PLC, and HMI assets. I drove collaboration between Security, IT, and OT teams to create standardized workflows and use cases for the OT security solution catalog, while integrating Defense-in-Depth and Zero-Trust principles into operational environments. A key part of my work was integrating multidisciplinary engineering, security, and operations stakeholders into a unified security blueprinting strategy and ensuring that architecture, threat modeling, governance, and documentation were technically strong and operationally practical.
Vitaliy R.
Last position:
DevOps GitOps (temp) at Signal Iduna
- Responsible for Openshift/Kubernetes on-prem administration and developer support.
- Developed URP infrastructure automation with Python, Ansible, Kustomize and ArgoCD, Argo Workflow/Events stack.
- Wrote smoke and load tests for URP infrastructure utilizing Python, Kustomize and ApplicationSets.
- Helped to set up and deploy URP infrastructure in Google Cloud, GKE.
- Set up monitoring for URP and ArgoCD stack with Splunk Cloud.
- Performed system administration tasks across RedHat Linux, Kubernetes/Openshift, ArgoCD, GitLab, Bitbucket Enterprise, Kafka and MongoDB.
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Statistics of experts using Penetration Testing
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
18 years
Position duration
1.9 years
Positions per freelancer
13
Top business areas
Information Technology, Quality Assurance, Project Management
Top industries
Information Technology, Banking and Finance, Professional Services
Certification focus areas
Information Technology, Project Management, Product Development
Bachelor's degree or higher
96%
Master's degree or higher
58%
Doctorate
8%
Certifications per freelancer
5
Most common languages
English, German, French
Speak two or more languages
99%
Based on our profile pool as of 19 Sep 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this technology in Germany are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range.
Discover detailed Penetration Testing rate benchmarks:
Explore rate insightsAverage rates of experts in Germany using Penetration Testing
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 19 Sep 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
Penetration Testing experts industry focus
See which industries our matched freelancers work in most often — every figure is calculated live from the freelancers on FRATCH.
- Information Technology (98%)
- Banking and Finance (53%)
- Professional Services (51%)
- Manufacturing (43%)
- Automotive (39%)
- Healthcare (34%)
- Telecommunication (33%)
- Government and Administration (32%)
Please note that freelancers can work across multiple industries, so percentages overlap.
About the technology
What penetration testing does
Penetration testing, often called pentesting or ethical hacking, is an authorized security assessment that simulates realistic attacks. Specialists combine automated scanning with manual investigation to verify whether weaknesses can be exploited and what access an attacker could gain.
Systems under test
A test can cover public-facing websites, APIs, mobile applications, internal networks, cloud configurations, wireless infrastructure, endpoints, and connected devices. The scope may focus on technical flaws, exposed credentials, insecure access controls, business logic, or the path from a small weakness to sensitive data.
Methods and tooling
Strong professionals select tools according to the attack surface rather than relying on a scan report. Their work may include reconnaissance, traffic inspection, authentication testing, exploitation, privilege escalation, and controlled post-exploitation using tools such as Burp Suite, Nmap, Metasploit, Wireshark, and cloud-native security consoles.
When companies need it
Companies bring in freelance specialists before a launch, after a major change, or when an independent view is needed. Typical engagements include:
- Testing a web application, API, or mobile release
- Reviewing cloud and network exposure
- Validating fixes after a previous assessment
- Supporting incident investigations with controlled testing
Germany delivery context
Freelance penetration testing experts in Germany can support remote assessments, on-site discovery, or a hybrid engagement. Projects often involve regulated industries, software providers, manufacturers, and organizations with sensitive customer or operational data. Clear authorization, scope, data handling, and reporting expectations should be agreed before testing begins.
What distinguishes strong experts
Reliable specialists explain risk in business terms and separate confirmed impact from theoretical findings. They document reproducible evidence, protect test data, avoid unnecessary disruption, and provide practical remediation guidance. Look for experience with the relevant attack surface, transparent rules of engagement, clear reporting, and a retest process that verifies resolved findings.
Frequently asked questions
Everything clients usually want to know about Penetration Testing, in one place.
Penetration testing is used to identify and safely validate security weaknesses in systems, applications, networks, and cloud environments. It shows how an attacker might gain access, what could be reached, and which fixes should receive priority.
Pentesting combines automated discovery with manual attempts to exploit relevant weaknesses and assess their real impact. A vulnerability scan is broader and faster, but it may produce unverified findings and does not usually demonstrate attack paths or business consequences.
A strong ethical hacking specialist often brings skills in application security, network protocols, identity and access management, cloud security, scripting, and secure development practices. Knowledge of incident response and threat modeling also helps connect technical findings to operational risk.
The right level depends on the scope, sensitivity, and testing constraints. Penetration testing for a complex production environment calls for a specialist who can plan safely, handle unusual attack paths, communicate with stakeholders, and produce evidence that teams can act on.
Yes, penetration testing is often delivered remotely when systems, access, and communication channels are ready. On-site work can add value for wireless networks, physical controls, or internal environments, while hybrid delivery supports local discovery with remote technical execution.
Before pentesting, define the assets, test windows, permitted techniques, excluded systems, emergency contacts, data-handling rules, and reporting needs. Written authorization and clear rules of engagement protect both the company and the specialist.
A good penetration testing report links each finding to affected assets, evidence, realistic impact, likelihood, and a practical remediation path. It should distinguish validated vulnerabilities from observations, explain attack chains clearly, and include a useful retest process.
Ethical hacking is a broad term for authorized security work that imitates malicious behavior, while penetration testing is a defined assessment with an agreed scope, method, and deliverables. The two overlap, but ethical hacking can also include activities such as security research, red teaming, or targeted validation.
The average hourly rate of freelancers in Germany who have used Penetration Testing in their recent projects is 105 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 843 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers in Germany who have used Penetration Testing in their recent projects, 96% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 58% hold at least a Master's degree, and 8% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers in Germany who have used Penetration Testing in their recent projects have 18 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 1.9 years.
The most common languages among freelancers in Germany who have used Penetration Testing in their recent projects are English (99%), German (98%), and French (15%).
The most common industries among freelancers in Germany who have used Penetration Testing in their recent projects are Information Technology (98%), Banking and Finance (53%), and Professional Services (51%).
The most common business areas among freelancers in Germany who have used Penetration Testing in their recent projects are Information Technology (99%), Quality Assurance (72%), and Project Management (70%).
Main locations of FRATCH Experts, who have recently used Penetration Testing
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
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Hamburg 
Munich 
Cologne 
Frankfurt 
Dusseldorf Request a free demo
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