Definition
What is VAPT?
VAPT, short for Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing, is a comprehensive security testing approach aimed at identifying and addressing cyber security vulnerabilities. By combining both vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, VAPT provides a thorough analysis to strengthen your organisation’s cyber security.
The meaning of VAPT can vary from one geographical region to another, either as a bracket for multiple distinct services, or a single, combined offering. VAPT as a whole could include anything from automated vulnerability assessments to human-led penetration testing and red team operations.
Overview
The value of VAPT
VAPT describes a broad range of security assessment services designed to identify and help address cyber security exposures across an organisation’s IT estate.
To ensure that you choose the right type of assessment for your company’s needs, it’s important to understand the various types of VAPT services and the differences between them. The diverse nature of VAPT assessments means that they can vary significantly in depth, breadth, scope and price, so this understanding is critical to ensure tests deliver the best value for money.
About
Why do you need VAPT?
The evolving tools, tactics and procedures used by cybercriminals to breach networks means that it’s important to regularly test your organisation’s cyber security.
VAPT helps to protect your organisation by providing visibility of security weaknesses and guidance to address them. VAPT is increasingly important for organisations wanting to achieve compliance with standards including the GDPR, ISO 27001 and PCI DSS.
Services
VAPT Services
The broad definition of VAPT means the various services it describes are often confused and used interchangeably. Before commissioning any form of VAPT security testing, organisations should be aware of the services an assessment could include:
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Penetration testing, or pen testing for short, is a multi-layered security assessment that uses a combination of machine and human-led techniques to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in infrastructure, systems and applications.
A pen test conducted by a professional ethical hacker will include a post-assessment report detailing any vulnerabilities discovered and remediation guidance to help address them.
Types of penetration testing:
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A vulnerability assessment, often encompassing vulnerability scanning, is designed to help identify, classify and address security risks. Vulnerability assessment services also provide the ongoing support and advice needed to best mitigate any risks identified.
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A red team operation is the most in-depth security assessment available. By utilising modern adversarial techniques and intelligence, red teaming simulates the approach of real-life adversaries to test an organisation’s ability to detect and respond to persistent threats.
VAPT providers
Choosing a VAPT provider
When selecting a VAPT provider, it’s essential to look for an organisation with the necessary accreditations, expertise and experience to not only identify risks, but also provide the support needed to address them.
As an award-winning and CREST-accredited provider of offensive security services, Redscan can be trusted to meet your VAPT requirements. Our security consultants are among the highest qualified in the industry, so you can be confident that a Redscan VAPT engagement will provide the outcomes and complete post-test care needed to level up your organisation’s cyber security.
Expertise
Our security qualifications
Types
Types of Penetration Testing
Agile pen testing
The benefits of an agile methodology
Agile pen testing is a method of integrating regular testing into your software development lifecycle (SDLC), rather than testing at infrequent points in time. This form of continuous pen testing works with release schedules to ensure that new features are secure and don’t translate into risk for your customers.
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