In a dynamic and fast-paced marketing landscape, ensuring the robust security of applications is paramount. The largest in-house marketing agency in the United Kingdom, in its commitment to fortify its digital assets, collaborated with WATI for comprehensive vulnerability assessments.
Beyond Mitigation: WATI Transforms Security into a Competitive Advantage for a Top UK Agency
Overview
The Challenge
With every sprint release, the organization faced the critical task of stress-testing its applications for vulnerabilities. These stress tests were crucial, often uncovering important issues that required immediate attention. The existing development team struggled to identify complex vulnerabilities, surpassing their skill set and capacity during the development stage.
Our Solution
WATI provided a holistic solution, implementing a thorough vulnerability testing process for each release version before production release. This involved a meticulous checklist comprising 200+ manual ways to exploit the application. These custom-built use cases were tailored based on the specific technologies employed in the application and its usability requirements. The main objective was to detect vulnerabilities and to serve as a learning tool for developers, preventing future development mistakes.
To maintain a proactive security stance, WATI introduced continuous monitoring scanning for both preproduction and production systems. This served as a preemptive measure to detect vulnerabilities arising from misconfigurations and human errors.
How We Achieved It
- Development of custom use cases based on the application’s security architecture.
- Customer use cases embedded in the code were specifically designed for business logic.
- Thorough testing during each sprint, coupled with manual evaluations, was conducted to enhance the core security features continually.
- Extended testing standards beyond standard security testing cases like NIST, SAANS, and OWASP, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of the application’s security.
- To expedite security testing, a dedicated security engineering development pipeline was employed.
- For advanced attacks, WATI harnessed the capabilities of pen testing laboratories.
Visible Outcomes
- Minimal Vulnerabilities: The organization witnessed the lowest number of vulnerabilities reported during the yearly CREST certified audit. This led to a remarkable reduction of up to 90% in remediation timescales from audit to audit.
- Security Operation Center (SOC) Incidents: The applications experienced near-zero incidents recorded in the Security Operation Center, showcasing the effectiveness of WATI’s security measures.
- Compliance and Regulatory Management: WATI’s comprehensive approach significantly aided in compliance and regulatory management, resulting in near-zero vulnerabilities and an overall improved security posture for the organization.
Conclusion
Through a collaborative and proactive approach, WATI addressed immediate vulnerabilities. It empowered the organization to maintain a robust security posture in an ever-evolving digital landscape. The partnership resulted in not just compliance but a resilient security framework that stands as a testament to WATI’s commitment to excellence.