CREST VAPT — Penetration testing to the standard regulators and auditors recognise
Some regulators, insurers, and enterprise clients specifically require testing performed to CREST-aligned methodology. SIRI Security runs engagements against that standard, with the documentation and rigor to satisfy the auditor asking for it.
Testing evidence, not a scan report
What is CREST-aligned VAPT?
CREST (the Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers) sets a globally recognised methodology and code of conduct for penetration testing. Where a regulator, cyber insurer, or enterprise customer specifically requires CREST-aligned testing — common in BFSI, insurance, and cross-border engagements — the engagement needs to follow that methodology precisely and be documented accordingly.
We scope, execute, and report CREST-aligned engagements end to end: structured methodology across reconnaissance, exploitation, and reporting, with the audit trail and evidence package your compliance or insurance team can hand directly to whoever is asking for it.
SIRI Security delivers CREST VAPT to this standard directly — practitioner-led, documented, and connected to SIRI Law LLP's legal and regulatory response if a finding ever needs to go further.
What organisations get wrong
Four assumptions that leave real exposure untested
A scanner report and a genuine security test are not the same evidence — and auditors increasingly know the difference.
“We ran an automated scan, so we're covered”
Automated tools catch known signatures; they consistently miss business-logic flaws and chained vulnerabilities a human tester finds by thinking like an attacker.
“Our last test covered the main system”
New features, integrations, and cloud services ship continuously — a test scoped a year ago doesn't speak to what's live today.
“We fixed the findings, so we're done”
Without a documented retest, there's no evidence the fix actually worked — which is exactly what an auditor or insurer will ask for.
“A clean report means we're secure”
A test result is a point-in-time statement about what was in scope — not a permanent guarantee, and not a substitute for ongoing monitoring.
What CREST VAPT covers
What's included, start to finish
Deployed once per engagement, documented to a standard auditors and insurers actually accept.
CREST-aligned methodology
Reconnaissance, exploitation, and reporting structured to the CREST framework, not an ad-hoc process.
Insurer & regulator-ready documentation
Evidence and reporting formatted for the specific auditor or underwriter requesting it.
Full audit trail
Every test action logged and traceable, supporting later compliance or insurance review.
Cross-border engagement support
Relevant where a global counterparty specifically mandates CREST-aligned testing.
Combined with any Assurance service
CREST alignment can be applied to Web, Mobile, API, Network, or Cloud testing as needed.
Evidence, not guesswork
Unscoped internal effort vs. a documented SIRI engagement
The gap is rarely the tooling — it's whether the result holds up as evidence.
| Approach | No dedicated testing | Ad hoc internal effort | SIRI CREST VAPT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methodology | None | Varies by who ran it | OWASP / CREST-aligned, documented |
| Manual exploitation | No | Rare | Included as standard |
| Evidence for auditors/insurers | None | Inconsistent | Formal report + CVSS ratings |
| Retest on fixes | N/A | Rarely tracked | One free retest cycle included |
| Satisfies RBI/SEBI testing expectations | No | Partially | Yes, when scoped to your entity category |
Sources: RBI (Commercial Banks — Cybersecurity, Technology: Risk, Resilience and Assurance Framework) Directions, 2026; OWASP Top 10; DSCI and Seqrite 2026 threat data. Summarised for comparison; confirm current testing obligations applicable to your entity category.
Numbers every board should know
What testing is actually catching
Of cloud detections
Trace to misconfiguration and IAM exploitation (DSCI) — the category testing has to explicitly cover.
Of malware detections
Are trojans and file infectors (Seqrite 2026) — the entry point most exploitation chains start from.
Incidents CERT-In handled
In the latest reporting year — the scale of activity testing exists to reduce a share of.
CERT-In notification window
Runs from discovery — tested, documented exposure is what makes that window realistic to meet.
Why SIRI for CREST VAPT specifically
Testing connected directly to legal and response, not a separate vendor
The same roof runs the test, the fix verification, and — if a real finding turns into an incident — the legal response.
Findings connected directly to legal exposure
SIRI Security runs under the same roof as SIRI Law LLP — when a finding carries real legal exposure, the engagement can be brought under attorney-client privilege from day one, not bolted on after the fact.
Led by named practitioners, not a rotating bench
Vikram Rao, SIRI's Head of Cybersecurity, directs offensive security and incident response and leads CERT-In breach containment for enterprise clients.
Court-admissible evidence when it matters
Ananya Krishnan, SIRI's Digital Forensics Lead, prepares court-admissible forensic reports and testifies as an expert witness when findings end up in front of a judge.
Built for RBI and SEBI's specific evidentiary bar
Testing is scoped and documented to the standard RBI's 2026 Framework and SEBI's CSCRF expect from regulated entities, not a generic vendor template.
Who this is built for
Organisations this testing service is built for
How we work
From scoping to ongoing delivery
Scoping & Threat Modeling
We map the in-scope environment attack surface with you, agree on rules of engagement, and build a threat model around what an attacker would actually go after first.
Week 1Manual + Automated Testing
Our testers combine automated scanning with hands-on manual exploitation against the in-scope environment, since scanners alone miss business-logic and chained vulnerabilities.
Weeks 2–3Reporting & Risk Rating
Every finding is written up with proof-of-concept, CVSS scoring, and business impact — not just a raw scanner export — so your team can prioritise by risk, not by noise.
Week 4+Remediation & Free Retest
You fix the findings with our guidance, and we retest the fixed issues at no extra cost before issuing the final clearance report.
OngoingFrequently asked
CREST VAPT, answered directly
Who typically requires CREST-aligned testing?
Cyber insurers, financial regulators, and enterprise clients in BFSI, insurance, and cross-border engagements most commonly mandate it.
Can you apply this to an existing engagement type?
Yes — CREST alignment is a methodology layer we can apply to Web, Mobile, API, Network, or Cloud testing rather than a separate test type on its own.
How long does an engagement take?
Most single-application or single-network engagements run 5 to 10 business days depending on scope, with the report and retest typically following within another week.
Is the retest really included at no extra cost?
Yes. One full retest cycle on the issues we found is included in every SIRI Security VAPT engagement — we don't charge again to confirm you fixed what we flagged.
Close the evidence gap
Scope CREST VAPT.
Most engagements start with a short scoping call to confirm environment, timeline, and rules of engagement.
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