Who are Blackout Technologies?
Blackout Technologies Ltd is an edtech company that helps reduce mobile phone distractions in educational and workplace environments. Their platform, composed of a cloud-based administrator dashboard and mobile applications, allows institutions to configure device usage rules based on time, location, or behaviour. The system temporarily limits access to non-essential apps, effectively turning smartphones into “dumb phones” during restricted periods.
The testing requirement
Blackout Technologies has always prioritised data protection and platform security. Although no personal information is stored on mobile apps, the admin dashboard holds identifiable user data, making it a critical component for security testing.
While the mobile applications had previously undergone penetration testing via another provider, David and his team wanted to evaluate the cloud dashboard more thoroughly as part of their broader roadmap, including eventual ISO 27001 certification.
Why Blackout chose OnSecurity
Blackout Technologies discovered OnSecurity through a personalised, standout sales approach. David appreciated the connection and candid engagement, which stood out compared to more traditional sales tactics. Having already used OnSecurity’s threat intelligence tool for over a year, the team was familiar with the platform and trusted its capabilities.
Key reasons for choosing OnSecurity:
- Clear, approachable communication from the ground up
- Familiarity with the platform and testing dashboard
- Flexible and customisable testing scope
- Cost-effectiveness for a limited budget
“I liked that it felt like another developer tool – something that fit naturally into our workflow, not just a service that you’re buying into and managing separately.”— David Taylor, CTO at Blackout Technologies
Implementation & Testing Experience
Blackout Technologies focused their penetration test on the admin dashboard and cloud infrastructure, requesting a targeted approach emphasising user roles and authentication logic.
The highlights of their experience:
- Immediate Access to Findings: The OnSecurity platform provides findings in real-time, which allows the team to address vulnerabilities as they are discovered.
- Clear Reporting: Each finding included remediation steps and contextual evidence, making it easier for the development team to respond quickly without additional research.
- Retesting Functionality: David’s team valued the opportunity to remediate and then immediately retest, rather than wait for a final report before acting.
“Coming from an agency background, I was used to getting one big report at the end. Being able to see findings immediately and retest them was a real upgrade.”
Integrations & Workflow Benefits
Blackout integrated OnSecurity with both Slack and Jira, ensuring alerts and findings reached the right teams automatically. This streamlined workflow led to:
- Fewer manual tasks
- Faster turnaround on fixes
- Better visibility across the team
“The Jira integration was great. Issues came in as tickets with descriptions and everything, we didn’t need to create anything. Saving us hours of manual work“
The results?
- Improved developer efficiency through integrations and clear remediation guidance
- Enhanced team awareness with multi-channel alerts (Slack, Jira)
- Increased trust in their cloud infrastructure’s security posture
- Steps toward ISO 27001 certification supported by third-party validation
While David described the number of vulnerabilities identified as low, the ease of addressing them and integrating the testing process into the dev workflow was a major value-add.
Future Plans for Blackout Technologies
David intends to advocate internally for annual penetration testing with OnSecurity as part of a regular security cadence. As the company scales and pursues certification, ongoing validation will be essential.
Describe your experience in a few words
“It’s a modern approach, like another developer tool rather than a one-off service. If pentesting could just run quietly in the background, it’d be perfect. OnSecurity gets pretty close.”
