Protect Your Organization from Evolving Cyber Threats with OpenText

In an era where cyberthreats are evolving at an unprecedented pace, the need for robust security measures has never been more critical. According to Steve Morgan, Editor-in-Chief at Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime is projected to cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. The National Cybersecurity Alliance expects ransomware attacks will escalate, targeting critical suppliers and causing significant disruptions. Organizations must stay ahead of the curve to protect their digital assets. Recent reports highlight the increasing use of AI by threat actors for sophisticated phishing and social engineering attacks. These threats underscore the importance of comprehensive security testing strategies. Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT) is a cornerstone of such strategies, helping organizations identify and mitigate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

What is VAPT?

VAPT stands for Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing. It’s a comprehensive approach to identifying, evaluating, and addressing security vulnerabilities in systems, networks, or applications. Here’s a breakdown of the two main components:

• Vulnerability Assessment (VA): This involves using automated tools to scan for known vulnerabilities, such as software flaws, misconfigurations, or weak passwords. The goal is to identify potential weaknesses that could be exploited by attackers.
• Penetration Testing (PT): This simulates real-world cyberattacks to evaluate the security of a system. Ethical hackers, also known as penetration testers, attempt to exploit the vulnerabilities identified during the assessment to see how well the system can withstand attacks.

By combining these two processes, VAPT provides a thorough evaluation of an organization’s security posture, helping to prioritize and mitigate risks effectively.

When do I need VAPT?

Performing Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing is crucial for maintaining a strong security posture. Here are some key times when you should consider performing or hiring a security testing company for VAPT:

• Before launching a new system or application: Conduct VAPT to identify and fix vulnerabilities before going live.
• After significant changes: Perform VAPT after major updates, patches, or changes to your infrastructure to ensure new vulnerabilities haven’t been introduced.
• Regularly scheduled intervals: Regular VAPT (e.g., quarterly or annually) helps maintain ongoing security, be required by cyber insurance policies, or contractual requirements with vendors or customers.
• Compliance requirements: Many regulations and standards, such as GDPR, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS, require regular security testing.
• After a security incident: If you’ve experienced a breach or attack, VAPT can help identify how it happened and prevent future incidents.
• Mergers and acquisitions: When integrating new systems and networks, VAPT ensures that security vulnerabilities are addressed. It could also be when an organization has changes with its CEO or senior leadership.
• High-risk periods: During times of increased threat activity in an industry sector or active exploitation of known vulnerabilities in the wild.

Any other security testing?

In addition to VAPT, there are several other critical security testing that organizations should consider to maintain a robust security posture. Here are three testing practices to build into your cybersecurity strategy:

• Social Engineering: Simulates attacks that exploit human behavior, such as phishing exercises or pretexting, to assess the susceptibility of employees to social engineering tactics.
• Application Security Testing: This includes various methods to identify vulnerabilities in applications:
  • Static Application Security Testing (SAST): Analyzes source code for vulnerabilities without executing the application.
  • Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST): Tests the application in its running state to find vulnerabilities.
  • Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST): Combines elements of both SAST and DAST by analyzing applications during runtime while also inspecting the source code.
  • Software Composition Analysis (SCA): Identifies vulnerabilities in open-source and third-party components used within applications.
  • Mobile Application Security Testing (MAST): Focuses on identifying security issues specific to mobile applications on platforms like iOS and Android.
  • Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP): Monitors and protects applications in real-time by detecting and blocking attacks as they occur.
  • API Security Testing: Evaluates the security of APIs to identify vulnerabilities such as injection attacks, parameter tampering, and unauthorized access.
• Red Teaming: Simulates a full-scale attack on an organization to test its detection and response capabilities. This involves a team of ethical hackers attempting to discreetly breach the organization’s defenses.

Where do I get security testing?

Staying ahead of cybercriminals requires a proactive and comprehensive approach to security testing. From VAPT to application security testing, it’s crucial to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

OpenText stands as a trusted partner, offering a wide range of security testing services tailored to meet your organization’s unique needs. Our comprehensive VAPT services help identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities in systems, networks, and applications. Additionally, our dynamic application security testing with Fortify WebInspect and our suite of application security tools, including SAST, IAST, SCA, MAST, RASP, and API security testing, ensure thorough protection of your digital assets.