Advanced Assessment › Thick Client Security
Thick Client Security — Desktop apps carry their own, different risks
Thick client (desktop) applications fail differently from web apps — local file and registry storage, insecure inter-process communication, and client-side logic an attacker can simply disassemble. SIRI Security tests all three.
62%Of cloud detections
70%Of malware detections
29.44LIncidents CERT-In handled
Why advanced assessment now needs a legal lens
Live tracking · scroll to see every relevant change
Evidentiary standard
BSA 2023
The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 governs how digital and forensic evidence is admitted in Indian courts — findings that may end up in litigation need to be collected to that standard from day one.
Growing gap
62% CLOUD
Cloud misconfiguration and IAM exploitation account for 62% of detections in cloud environments (DSCI) — a growing share of what advanced assessment work uncovers.
Baseline
70% MALWARE
Trojans and file infectors make up 70% of malware detections (Seqrite 2026) — relevant context for forensic and red-team engagements alike.
Effective
31 JUL 2026
RBI's 2026 Framework raises the bar on what regulated entities are expected to test and evidence, including deeper assessments beyond routine VAPT.
Baseline
6 HR WINDOW
CERT-In's notification window applies regardless of how technically complex the underlying finding was — advanced assessment work still has to feed a fast decision process.
Depth, held to an evidentiary standard
What is Thick Client Security testing?
Thick client security testing covers desktop applications running natively on Windows, macOS, or Linux — where the attacker has full access to the running binary, local storage, and any inter-process communication, unlike a web app where the server retains control.
We test local data storage and registry usage, DLL/library loading order for hijacking opportunities, client-side authorization logic that should be enforced server-side, and the client-server communication channel itself.
Advanced findings often become legal findings
Digital forensics, red-team, and AI/LLM assessment work regularly surfaces material that ends up in a regulatory filing or a courtroom — evidence handling has to be right from the first byte collected.
SIRI Security delivers Thick Client Security 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 undermine advanced assessment work
Depth without the right evidentiary discipline can end up unusable when it matters most.
01 — EVIDENCE
“We'll worry about admissibility later”
Evidence collected without proper chain-of-custody discipline from the start often can't be rehabilitated afterward — the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 cares about how it was gathered, not just what it shows.
02 — SCOPE
“Standard VAPT already covers this”
Red-team operations, AI/LLM audits, hardware security, and digital forensics each require specialised methodology that routine testing doesn't attempt.
03 — TOOLING
“New technology just needs the same checklist”
AI/LLM systems and specialised hardware introduce failure modes — prompt injection, model extraction, physical debug exposure — that generic assessment frameworks weren't built for.
04 — URGENCY
“We can take our time on a complex finding”
CERT-In's notification clock doesn't pause for investigative complexity — advanced assessment work still has to feed a fast decision process.
What Thick Client Security covers
What's included, start to finish
Depth-first work, documented to a standard that holds up beyond the engagement itself.
01
Static & dynamic binary analysis
Reverse-engineering the compiled application to find embedded secrets and logic flaws.
02
Local storage & registry review
What the application persists locally, and whether it's actually protected.
03
DLL/library hijacking testing
Load-order vulnerabilities that let a local attacker execute arbitrary code.
04
Client-server trust boundary testing
Whether authorization is enforced server-side or can be bypassed by manipulating the client.
05
Inter-process communication review
Named pipes, sockets, and other IPC mechanisms tested for unauthorised access.
Evidence, not guesswork
Generic assessment vs. a documented SIRI engagement
The difference shows up when findings need to go somewhere — a board, a regulator, or a court.
| Approach | No specialised assessment | Generic technical review | SIRI Thick Client Security |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methodology | None | Generic checklist | Specialised, purpose-built |
| Evidentiary discipline | None | Inconsistent | Chain-of-custody from collection |
| Litigation/regulatory readiness | No | Unlikely | Built in, via SIRI Law LLP |
| Named practitioner accountability | N/A | Varies | Yes |
| Satisfies board-level scrutiny | No | Partially | Yes |
Sources: Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023; RBI (Commercial Banks — Cybersecurity, Technology: Risk, Resilience and Assurance Framework) Directions, 2026; DSCI and Seqrite 2026 threat data. Summarised for comparison.
Numbers every board should know
What advanced assessment is actually catching
62%
Of cloud detections
Trace to misconfiguration and IAM exploitation (DSCI).
70%
Of malware detections
Are trojans and file infectors (Seqrite 2026).
29.44L
Incidents CERT-In handled
In the latest reporting year — the scale advanced assessment work sits against.
6 HR
CERT-In notification window
The deadline advanced findings still have to feed into.
Why SIRI for Thick Client Security specifically
Depth backed by an evidentiary standard, under one roof
The same team that runs the assessment can carry a real finding into a legal or regulatory response without a handoff.
01
Court-admissible from the first byte collected
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.
02
Led by named offensive-security practitioners
Vikram Rao, SIRI's Head of Cybersecurity, directs offensive security and incident response and leads CERT-In breach containment for enterprise clients.
03
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.
04
Built for the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam's standard
Evidence handling is designed to the admissibility standard India's evidence law sets, not a generic international template retrofitted afterward.
Who this is built for
Organisations this assessment service is built for
Banks & NBFCs
Organisations facing a sophisticated threat
AI/LLM product teams
Hardware & IoT manufacturers
Enterprises preparing for litigation or regulatory scrutiny
How we work
From scoping to ongoing delivery
01
Scoping & Objectives
We agree the exact scope, rules of engagement, and success criteria with you before any testing starts.
Week 102
Assessment & Exploitation
Our specialists carry out the engagement hands-on, documenting evidence for every finding as they go.
Weeks 2–303
Reporting & Risk Rating
Findings are written up with proof-of-concept and business impact, not just a raw technical dump.
Week 4+04
Debrief & Remediation Support
We walk your team through the findings live and remain available while you remediate.
OngoingFrequently asked
Thick Client Security, answered directly
Which operating systems do you cover?
Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop applications are all in scope.
Do you need the application's source code?
Not required — we test from the compiled application by default; source-assisted review is available for deeper coverage.
How long does this take?
Most engagements in this category run 1 to 3 weeks depending on scope; we'll give you an exact estimate once scoping is complete.
Who actually does the work?
Senior SIRI Security specialists carry out every engagement personally — this is never outsourced or run purely by automated tooling.
Get depth that holds up
Scope Thick Client Security.
Most engagements start with a short scoping call to confirm objectives, environment, and evidentiary requirements.
Talk to SIRI Security: +91 79819 12046
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