Case Studies

Cyber Resilience Audit Case Study: Securing Apex Solutions Corp.

Apex Solutions Corp., a prominent global technology and consulting firm, encountered a severe cyber incident in early Q2 2024. The breach led to the compromise of approximately 850,000 customer and employee records, exposing sensitive personal and proprietary data.

Sava Cyber Technologies was immediately engaged to conduct an Urgent Cyber Resilience Audit at Apex Solutions' main operational hub. The primary objective was to assist their Executive Leadership team in rapidly formulating a robust strategy to manage and mitigate their immediate cyber risks, and to enhance their long-term information security posture.

Sava Cyber Technologies began with an intensive scoping dialogue with Apex Solutions' Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This call was critical for understanding their current security landscape and gathering detailed specifics regarding the Q2 cyber attack.

Given the significant impact of the incident and the recognized need for a comprehensive security overhaul within Apex Solutions, it was determined that Sava Cyber Technologies' specialized Urgent Cyber Resilience Audit offering was the optimal solution. This approach, designed for high-stakes post-incident scenarios, was swiftly approved by Apex's executive team, and a comprehensive statement of work was executed.

The Urgent Cyber Resilience Audit is a targeted service engineered to evaluate an organization's critical cyber security risks across three foundational pillars: People, Processes, and Technology. It delivers high-impact, actionable recommendations aimed at rapidly mitigating identified risks and bolstering defenses against future attacks. This service is invaluable for organizations grappling with the aftermath of a breach or those seeking to elevate their security maturity under urgent timelines.

Our audit methodology strictly adheres to widely recognized international standards, including the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001:2022, MITRE ATT&CK Framework, and leading industry best practices.

The audit commenced with an in-depth analysis of Apex Solutions' organizational structure, their expansive IT infrastructure, and a meticulous forensic review of the cyber attack that transpired in Q2 2024.

Extensive interviews were conducted with key personnel, including the CTO, CISO, Head of Software Development, IT Operations Manager, Legal Counsel, and Human Resources Director, to gather a holistic view during the security audit.

The following Non-Technical and Technical control domains were thoroughly scrutinized:

• Cyber & Information Security Governance: Leadership alignment, policy frameworks, and accountability.
• Data Protection & Privacy: Data classification, encryption, and regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, CCPA, CCPA).
• Cyber Risk Management: Identification, assessment, and treatment of enterprise-level risks.
• Security Awareness & Training: Employee education and phishing resilience.
• Legal, Regulatory & Contractual Compliance: Adherence to sector-specific laws and client agreements.
• Security Policies & ISMS: Development and enforcement of information security management systems.
• Business Continuity & Incident Management: Disaster recovery planning, tabletop exercises, and post-breach response.
• Physical Security: Controls for data centers, offices, and restricted areas.
• Supply Chain Risk Management: Assessment and mitigation of third-party vendor risks.
• Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC): Integrating security into application design and deployment.
• Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure Security: Protecting data and applications across distributed environments.
• Secure Configuration Management: Hardening of systems, networks, and applications.
• Network Segmentation & Architecture: Review of network design for containment and resilience.
• Perimeter & Endpoint Defense: Firewalls, IDS/IPS, EDR, and data exfiltration prevention.
• Access Control & Identity Management: User provisioning, privileged access management, and multi-factor authentication.
• Mobile Device & Remote Work Security: Policies and controls for remote access and mobile endpoints.
• Security Monitoring & SIEM Operations: Continuous threat detection, log analysis, and alert management.

Findings and recommendations were communicated to Apex Solutions' leadership on an ongoing basis as they were identified, ensuring immediate action could be taken where critical.

A sample of the key recommendations provided following the audit included:

• Establish a dedicated, empowered CISO role reporting directly to the CEO, with clear accountability for the entire security program.
• Implement a comprehensive enterprise-wide risk management framework, complete with a living risk register, and conduct quarterly risk assessments across all critical business units.
• Launch a mandatory, role-specific security awareness training program for all employees, augmented by regular simulated phishing campaigns and communication of emerging threats.
• Upgrade physical access control systems with biometric authentication for server rooms and data centers, and enforce strict clear desk/clear screen policies.
• Develop and regularly test a detailed incident response plan for major data breaches, including specific playbooks for ransomware and denial-of-service attacks.
• Institute a continuous third-party risk assessment program, integrating security clauses into all vendor contracts.
• Achieve immediate full compliance with NIS2 Directive and prepare for forthcoming DORA regulations, focusing on enhancing operational resilience.
• Redesign network architecture with micro-segmentation, deploy next-generation internal firewalls, and implement advanced data loss prevention (DLP) solutions across all egress points.
• Automate patching for all critical systems and applications within 24 hours of patch release, and deploy advanced EDR solutions to all endpoints.
• Implement robust Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) across all enterprise applications, supported by regular access reviews and least privilege principles.
• Enforce mandatory full disk encryption for all company-owned laptops and mobile devices, and encrypt all data both at rest (databases, storage) and in transit (network communications).

The overarching strategic recommendations included:

• Initiate a program for ISO 27001:2022 certification within the next 12 months, and establish a continuous red teaming and penetration testing schedule for critical applications and infrastructure.

A comprehensive executive summary report was delivered to Apex Solutions' CEO and Board of Directors following the audit. A follow-up strategic session was then arranged with Sava Cyber Technologies to meticulously walk through the findings, strategic implications, and remediation roadmap.

Sava Cyber Technologies is currently providing ongoing strategic advisory and technical assistance to Apex Solutions Corp. in their audit remediation efforts and the phased implementation of ISO 27001:2022. Regular advanced penetration testing has become a cornerstone of Apex Solutions' proactive security strategy.