Surrender Levels
Choosing Your Surrender Levels
Each in-scope attack surface is dialed to a level on the same five-rung ladder. That single choice sets two things at once: the success bar (how far we must get to prove a control failed) and the stop line (how far we are authorized to go). You select it in the Statement of Work.
S0
Reachable — the attack surface is exposed and in reach; nothing tried yet.
S1
Susceptible — would-surrender proven, not taken (a weakness is exploitable, or a person engages) with nothing actually taken.
S2
Surrendered — disclosure or access actually obtained and held, not yet used.
S3
Actioned — a safely nefarious action inside an agreed, reversible blast radius; requires a named approver and explicit written authorization.
S4
Objective — the crown-jewel target is reached; full chained business impact. The deepest authorized surrender.
Two dials, one number: the Pass / Acceptance Threshold is the rung at which a finding is raised; the Authorization Ceiling is the maximum rung we may reach and a mandatory stop line. The ceiling is always at or above the pass threshold.
The full model — with the evidence required at each rung and its per-attack-surface meaning — is published in the Acceptance & Surrender Levels document.