Protecting sensitive data from cyber threats requires proactive security measures. VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing) has emerged as one of the most effective methods as it helps secure not only data, but also the entire SaaS environment.

VAPT helps businesses identify and fix security flaws in their IT infrastructure. It combines vulnerability scanning to detect weak points and penetration testing to simulate real-world attacks.

In this case study, we share how VAPT helped a leading financial company prevent cyber theft. We’ll break down the methods used, the impact on security and compliance, and how the company maximised its VAPT ROI.

How A Financial Giant Prevented a Multi-Million Dollar Data Breach with VAPT Assessment

A leading corporate financial institution in the UAE needed a robust security assessment to protect against cyber threats and financial losses. 

With 2,000 employees, including both banking and non-banking staff, securing sensitive financial data was a top priority.

As it moved further into digital banking, the risk of cyber threats grew. Protecting highly sensitive financial data became critical to maintaining security, compliance, and business continuity.

To stay ahead of threats, the company turned to Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT). They wanted to identify and fix security gaps before attackers could exploit them.

Selecting The Right Cybersecurity Service Provider

With the rise of ransomware and malware attacks, financial institutions can’t afford to take cybersecurity lightly. Hiring trusted security experts is no longer an option, but essential. That’s how they connected with Wattlecorp.

For the Wattlecorp’s cybersecurity professionals, the first step was to assess the company’s security posture. This was also followed by adopting a systematic approach to identifying, solving, and evaluating the results.

The Problem

The client needed an elaborate analysis of their cybersecurity posture. They also wanted to determine if their system and application were compatible with industry-specific regulatory frameworks, predominantly PCI DSS.

Being a digital financial company,, this client required an extensive security analysis across multiple areas.

• Mobile and Web Applications
• Internal network
• External IPs
• WiFi

Understanding the client’s requirements, the Wattlecorp cybersecurity team first defined the project scope. This helped determine the right security assessments for each area.

Upon splitting the testing process, the outlay appeared as below:

• Mobile Applications – Greybox VAPT
• Web Applications – Blackbox VAPT
• Internal Workstations – (Vulnerability Assessment)
• External IPs – VAPT
• WiFi – Penetration Testing

It also became evident that a VAPT-enabled cybersecurity analysis would be the best approach to check for security weaknesses in the aforementioned components. Mitigating the same would also involve profound penetration testing to gauge the risks and their impact.

VAPT Methodology Utilised (Stage 1)

A VAPT methodological framework was adopted, which involved the following processes:

Analysing The Business Framework

Understanding our client’s core business objectives and operations enabled us to determine how we should proceed with our VAPT assessment.

We, however, needed to get familiar with the technologies and tools they utilised to check whether these aligned with ours or not.

SAST And DAST For Mobile and Web Applications

Required conducting a SAST (Static Application Security Testing) combined with DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing) assessment of our client’s mobile and web applications. 

This revealed security gaps with potentials for unauthorized access and significant exploitation.

Threat Modeling

Adopted a Threat Modeling approach enabled us to identify and assess the depth of security risks, and mitigate the same. Doing so subsequently required creating relevant attack scenarios.

Exploitation and Reporting (Stage 2)

This stage required us to undertake penetration testing for specific operational and functional segments of our client’s business. The following procedures were considered:

• Simulating Cyber Attacks: Exploited identified vulnerabilities and threats by designing specific attacks.
• Mitigation: Implemented suitable mitigation measures to address detected vulnerabilities.
• Reporting: Documented findings while also providing detailed descriptions of the vulnerabilities and threats identified. This was also followed by offering suitable actionable-cum-corrective measures to fortify the security posture of our client’s business.
• Tools Utilised: To help us identify the known vulnerabilities, we used tools, such as BurpSuite Pro, OWASP ZAP, Nmap, Postman, etc. We used these to tailor our assessment services to specific security analysis needs of the systems and applications as mentioned above.

Results and Recommendations

Results

• Instances of incorrect error handling with unsafe data storage were seen in web applications.
• Identification of obsolete protocols as utilised by Internet-facing services found through external IP assessment.
• XSS (Cross-site scripting) and SQL injections found in web applications.

Recommendations

• Recommended remediation measures for all detected vulnerabilities in web applications, mobile applications, and external IP.
• Offered expert suggestions for regularly updating and fixing potential vulnerabilities.
• Enforced strict data encryption, especially for financial transactions.
• Suggested implementing a continuous monitoring system for detecting threats in the future.
• Assisted in implementing appropriate patch management procedures.
• Conducted awareness and training sessions on secure coding practices and enforced security as a shared response.

Final Outcomes

A detail-oriented VAPT assessment we undertook for our client helped deliver the following outcomes:

• Improved Security Controls: Derived significant improvements in the client’s security posture through detection and fixation of known vulnerabilities. These also resulted in ensuring sound protection of their digital assets.
• Enhanced client collaboration: Our professionals teaming with the client’s IT personnel proved highly cross-functional by helping them implement our fixation suggestions for threats detected.
• Positive client feedback: Received tokens of recognition and appreciation from our client. This is thanks to the excellent VAPT assessment done by our penetration testers. Also, the project management and comprehensive approach that our team adopted to identify, assess, and fix vulnerabilities proved highly commendable for our client.
• Improved VAPT ROI: Advised utilising a vulnerability management approach as a better security investment and improve ROI as opposed to the costs incurred due to data breach incidents.

This was just one of many times we’ve helped businesses secure their systems, applications, and networks through VAPT assessments.

The biggest takeaway was the importance of ongoing vulnerability checks and early threat detection. Regular assessments help identify risks before they become serious security threats.

Our clients’ VAPT Success Stories do not end here! Please do visit our VAPT Service page for the businesses we’ve served. You will also realise how utilising VAPT in all its meaning and efficiency will help you prevent financial disasters.

Not only this, undertaking regular VAPT assessments will also help you ensure regulatory compliance and retain operational stability for your organisation.

Ready to invest in VAPT Services for Enhanced Security Posture? Reach out to us and we’ll be more than happy to support and guide you in the processes involved. Book a Free VAPT Consultation and allow us to help you remain disaster-proof, also enhance your VAPT ROI.