Are you one of those companies that assume that skipping VAPT assessment for your business will not harm your business? If so, think twice or read below for the Marriott Data Breach.
The Marriott International Hotel faced three large data breaches from 2014 to 2020 through its subsidiary, Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ guest reservation database. While millions of its customers worldwide had their data exposed, this incident serves as a major lesson for what happens if you don’t tighten your security measures.
The above case of the Marriott International Hotel also conveyed the importance of undertaking regular security audits, as it concerned protecting sensitive customer information. Not only Marriott, but many other cases depict the risks of skipping security testing and eventually, cyberattacks.
VAPT(Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing) is one such technique that allows businesses to achieve maximum security. While the basic function of VAPT is to help detect and address vulnerabilities and associated risks, its true value lies in saving heavy costs related to data breaches.
In this blog, we’ll go on to discuss how ignoring VAPT will leave businesses like yours bankrupt. It will also explain why, despite ongoing cyber threats, businesses avoid VAPT.
What is VAPT and Why is It Crucial For Businesses?
Understanding Vulnerability Assessment (VA) and Penetration Testing (PT)
VAPT can be explained as a cybersecurity methodology that combines two complementary approaches – vulnerability assessment (VA) and penetration testing (PT). Both of them are meant to help you understand where you stand in terms of your security posture as an organisation.
VAPT’s significance in handling and improving security aspects of your business is unique enough to be remarked as a proactive approach to preventing cyberattacks. How? Let’s find out by breaking down the VAPT process:
- Vulnerability Assessment: Helps identify potential security weaknesses within the system, network, and application.
- Penetration Testing: Exploits vulnerabilities with the intent to resolve them by simulating real-world cyberattacks.
Identifying security vulnerabilities before being attacked is far better than reacting to security incidents once they happen. Go through the case studies below to understand how.
- Wipro’s Supply Chain Vulnerability: By identifying and addressing potential vulnerabilities within the supply chain, Wipro could prevent impending phishing attacks that would’ve otherwise compromised client data. Â
- British Petroleum (BP): By implementing advanced network segmentation, BP could successfully gain cyber resilience. This enabled them to identify and respond to threats, preventing the latter from invading and spreading across their network, systems, and applications.
Think of the minimal efforts, time, and money it requires to promptly identify and address possible vulnerabilities for your business, thus preventing actual cyberattacks. Won’t this be far less than undergoing a structured process that will require you to contain, eradicate, minimise, and restore systems to their original/operative state? The answer is an obvious ‘Yes’. Still wondering about the cost of investing in VAPT for your business? Sit back and imagine the consequences/cost of ignoring to undertake a comprehensive VAPT assessment.
Why Businesses Skip VAPT ?
Businesses skip VAPT owing to plenty of reasons, such as:
Cost concerns
Cost is one of the most pertinent reasons why businesses skip VAPT. This is because professional penetration testers charge too much for the service. For others, it is the apprehension regarding the initial cost that may outweigh the potential benefits they can derive from their operations. Unless you do not perceive yourself as an easy target for potential cyberattacks, you can never bring yourself to implement VAPT in all its comprehensiveness. Â
Underestimating risk
Businesses, especially SMBs, tend to think that hackers wouldn’t trace them because they are too small to be targeted. Attention, all you SMBs! If you’ve developed this “We’re too small to be a target” mindset, you’re wrong. A myth like this can drastically impede your overall business growth, specifically if hackers come to know that you’ve limited cybersecurity resources. Remember that it’s never too late to protect yourself even if your business is small. And, if you want to grow in all worth, being cybersecure is your only option!
Lack of awareness or technical understanding
As businesses, it’s high time that you understand the significance of having your systems and networks checked for security. Unless you do, it will be hard for you to trust the effectiveness of undertaking security assessments.If you lag, it’ll be too late before you realise that hackers have invaded your systems and illicitly accessed vital information from there.
Overconfidence in current security tools
Some organisations think that their cybersecurity tools are too advanced for hackers to intrude and attack. Such a tendency only amounts to overconfidence rather than continued responsibility to ensure security.
If you are one of those who feel that your cyberdefense strategies are self-sufficient, you need to think twice. Note that cybercriminals have begun to utilise every type of sophisticated tools and mechanisms, including AI.
VAPT is the only cybersecurity method that will help you proactively devise security measures to defend yourself from these high-profile hackers.
What Happens When Businesses Ignore VAPT ?
It’s an often-mentioned statement that ignoring VAPT risks businesses to irreversible financial and reputational losses. This also includes facing legal repercussions. To add, from losing consumer trust and confidence to disrupting vital business operations, not considering or deliberately skipping VAPT has been known to bring umpteen consequences. Let’s go ahead to find out more about how your business may be impacted if it doesn’t pay heed to undertaking a VAPT assessment.
Also Read : How to Secure Cloud Applications with VAPT Services?
Data Breaches
Can you decipher how cybercriminals can deprive you of your sensitive data by intruding into your systems and network? Guess you don’t. From accessing customer and employee details to invading your IP, the consequences may be too much for you to handle.These, including the cost of recovering and putting things into their original operative state can prove equally overwhelming and exhausting.
Damage to Reputation
Ignoring VAPT risks significant damage to reputation. While leaving your business highly vulnerable to frequent cyberattacks and breach incidents, you also lose customer trust.All these consequences sum to losing your reputation,
Disruptions To Operations
Cyberattacks severely disrupt your business operations. With lost productivity comes damage to your reputation, coupled with the costs related to restoring normalcy.
Compliance Issues and Legal Penalties
VAPT for business protection means ensuring adherence to vital compliance standards, including GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, etc.
As a business, you are bound to meet Industry-specific standards and national regulations and most importantly, undertake regular audits. Failing to undergo security testing (especially through VAPT) will cause you to become noncompliant. The result? You will be severely penalised plus the costs required to set things right.
Bet that if you start implementing and integrating VAPT into your cybersecurity strategy, you will never have to face such dire consequences.
Why Businesses Need VAPT ?
Hope you’ve understood how VAPT helps detect potential vulnerabilities and associated risks from your systems and network. Apart from ensuring safety for your business, VAPT means a lot when it comes to deriving long-term success and prosperity. Below are the points that offer you a broader outlook of what VAPT can do for you when you regularly undertake VAPT assessments.
VAPT as a cost-saving measure
One of the main agendas of VAPT for businesses is to avoid costs related to data breaches and other major security incidents. This can be accomplished by helping businesses meet compliance standards and also by proactively identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities by simulating real-world cyberattacks.
Boosting customer confidence
It is natural that when you start demonstrating continued commitment to improving security aspects for your business, you’ll eventually gain the trust and confidence of your customers.
Staying compliant and competitive
There’s no doubt that VAPT can help you stay compliant and competitive by assisting you to stay adherent to regulatory requirements. The key is to proactively identify and mitigate security risks, plus prioritising the ones that need utmost redressal based on their severity and impact.
How to Get Started with VAPT Through Wattlecorp?
Now that you’ve decided to invest in and implement VAPT for your business, but have no idea where to start, you have us to rely on!Our qualified VAPT professionals from Wattlecorp are known for their expert knowledge, experience, and proficiency in helping our clients undertake VAPT assessments.
Working with certified cybersecurity professionals
Hope that after reading the above, you might have understood the importance of having VAPT to secure your business. Guess you also must have realised the critical role of certified cybersecurity professionals to ensure thorough protection of your devices, network, and applications. We at Wattlecorp promote just that! By working with our qualified VAPT experts, you gain a more comprehensive evaluation of your business security. You eventually achieve an all-around protection against all known and evolving cyber threats.
Frequency and scope of testing
The more critical your systems are, the more frequent our VAPT assessments are. We also recommend annual assessments for our clients as needed.The frequency at which we conduct VAPT assessments for our clients also depends on their compliance requirements.
Integrating VAPT into a regular IT strategy
When we say we help you integrate VAPT into your regular IT strategy, we mean it. This involves a stepwise process and includes:
- Assessing the security posture of your organisation
- Define VAPT objectives
- Choosing the right tools
- Scheduling VAPT sessions regularly
- Conducting training for teams
- Result analysis
- Change implementation
- Ongoing monitoring and improvement
By helping organisations identify and resolve security vulnerabilities, we simultaneously develop security strategies that are strong enough to protect them against impending cyber threats and attacks.
Also Read : Annual VAPT Checklist for Secure Business Operations in UAE
However, it requires expert assistance to undertake VAPT assessments. Wattlecorp, one of the leading cybersecurity service providers in the Middle East and India, is known for its efficacy in offering impeccable VAPT services to its clients worldwide. The huge clientele we derived to date have driven us to render highly cost-effective security solutions. Our deep penetration testing services in India comprise simulating real-world cyberattacks to protect our clients from the clutches of actual hackers. Ready to invest in our VAPT services? Reach out to us for a free VAPT Assessment through our cost-effective and expert approaches. Do not wait until hackers have you on the hook. Schedule a pen test today and experience maximum security for your business
Cost Of Ignoring VAPT FAQS
1.Why is VAPT a must-have security measure?
As an advanced security practice, VAPT combines vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. This is a procedure that helps you identify and address possible security vulnerabilities and related risks. You proactively derive protection from real-world hackers for your systems and applications.Â
2.How does a lack of VAPT lead to data breaches?
When your business does not consider VAPT as a security assessment, you lose sensitive data to vulnerability exploitation from malicious hackers. Lack of VAPT makes way for unauthorised access, leading to data breaches.
3.What are the real-world consequences of skipping security testing?
Skipping security testing can make you face a multitude of consequences, such as:
– Costly data breaches
– Compliance and legal penalties
– Loss of customer trust
– Lack of investor confidence
– Frequent vulnerability exploitation/attacks
– Reputational damage
– Financial losses
