VAPT Services in Nigeria | Penetration Testing Company

Definition

What a VAPT is, and what it is not

VAPT is vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, two exercises run as one engagement. The vulnerability assessment maps the weaknesses across your applications, networks, and infrastructure. The penetration test then does what an attacker would do: it exploits those weaknesses, chains them together, and shows how far an intruder could get and what they could take.

The distinction matters because much of what is sold as VAPT in Nigeria is neither. A vulnerability scanner that runs against your IP range, exports a results file to PDF, and is rebranded with an assessor's logo is a scan. It will list hundreds of "findings", many of them false positives, none of them verified, and it will say nothing about whether your customer database can actually be reached from the internet. If a report contains no evidence of exploitation and no reproduced attack path, you paid for a scan.

A real VAPT is manual work. Our testers take scanner output as a starting point, discard what does not hold up, and probe in depth for the things that break your applications. Every finding in a ClarenSec report was exploited or verified by hand, with the evidence attached, so when we say an attacker can move from your public website to your internal network, it is because we did.

Isometric illustration of a layered security wall, vulnerability assessment and penetration testing

Methodology

How we test: the ClarenSec methodology

Our engagements follow the Penetration Testing Execution Standard (PTES) from scoping and rules of engagement through exploitation and reporting. For technique, we work from the frameworks your auditors already recognize: the OWASP Web Security Testing Guide and ASVS for web applications, OWASP MASVS for mobile, and NIST SP 800-115 for the structure of the technical assessment as a whole.

The frameworks are the minimum. Every exploitable issue comes with proof of exploit: the request, the response, the screenshot, the data we could reach. Severity is scored with CVSS so your team can rank the remediation queue without arguing about it.

Once your engineers have applied fixes, we retest the affected findings at no extra cost and issue a retest report detailing what was closed, what remains open, and the bypasses for each. The engagement flow is documented on our penetration testing methodology page, so you can see exactly what happens between kickoff and the final read-out call.

Compliance

Who is required to do VAPT in Nigeria

For a growing set of Nigerian organizations, VAPT is a regulatory obligation rather than a choice. Three groups carry the clearest duty.

NGX Trading License Holders

The Nigerian Exchange requires Trading License Holders that operate online trading portals to complete a vulnerability assessment and penetration test at least twice a year, using a recognized assessor. ClarenSec received NGX recognition in 2026. Our NGX VAPT assessment page covers the half-yearly requirement, the scope the exchange expects, and how the reporting is packaged for submission.

Banks and other CBN-regulated institutions

The CBN's risk-based cybersecurity framework expects banks and other regulated financial institutions to assess the strength of their defences on a recurring basis, and penetration testing is the standard way to prove that when examiners come calling.

Organizations processing personal data

The Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 obliges any organization processing personal data to protect it with appropriate technical measures. The Act does not name penetration testing, but when the NDPC asks how you know your safeguards actually work, a current VAPT report is the answer that holds up. Insurers and enterprise customers increasingly ask the same question during due diligence, so the report earns its keep well beyond the regulator.

Deliverables

What you receive at the end

The report opens with an executive summary written for management and the board: what we tested, what we found, what it means for the business, in plain language. Behind it sit the technical findings, each with a severity score, the evidence that proves it (requests, responses, and screenshots), and remediation guidance your engineers can act on. Once fixes land, the retest report closes the loop and gives your auditors something concrete to file.

What drives the cost of all this is scope: how many applications and hosts, which environments, the number of api endpoints, and how complex the application is. We price per engagement and publish no rate card; our guide to what drives the cost of a VAPT in Nigeria explains the variables before you ask for a quote.

Executive summary for management and board review

Technical findings with CVSS scoring and proof-of-exploit evidence

Remediation guidance mapped to each finding

One retest round included at no additional cost

Retest report confirming closed findings

Post-assessment call with the testing team

Industries

Sectors we test

Regulated industries are where we spend most of our time, because that is where the attackers spend theirs. Each sector page explains the threats and obligations specific to it.

Banking & Finance

Core banking, internet banking, and payment channels. See our penetration testing for banks and financial institutions.

Capital Markets

Trading portals, order flows, and settlement systems for exchange operators and dealing members. Read about security testing for capital markets firms.

Fintech

Wallets, lending platforms, and payment APIs where business logic flaws lead to direct financial loss. Our fintech penetration testing page covers the attack surface.

Healthcare

Patient records, EMR platforms, and connected devices, where confidentiality failures carry serious consequences. Details on our healthcare security assessment page.

Government

Citizen-facing portals and internal networks for ministries, departments, and agencies. See penetration testing for government bodies.

Telecommunications

Subscriber platforms, billing systems, and the infrastructure the rest of the economy sits on. Our telecom security testing page has the specifics.

FAQ

VAPT questions, answered

What is VAPT?

VAPT stands for vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. The assessment maps weaknesses across your applications and infrastructure; the penetration test exploits them to show what an attacker could actually reach. Together they tell you both what is wrong and what it would cost you if left alone.

How long does a VAPT take?

It depends on the scope. A small web application typically takes one to two weeks of testing, with reporting following shortly after. Larger scopes covering several applications, networks, or cloud environments run longer. We confirm the timeline in writing at scoping, before any contract is signed.

How often should we test?

At least once a year, and after any significant change to your systems. Some obligations are stricter: NGX Trading License Holders with online trading portals must test twice a year, and CBN-supervised institutions are expected to assess their defences on a recurring cycle.

Why don't you publish prices?

Because no two scopes are alike. Cost is driven by the number of applications and endpoints in scope, the size of the network, whether mobile apps or cloud environments are included, and how complex the systems are. Our VAPT cost guide explains the variables.

Do you retest after fixes?

Yes. One retest round is part of every engagement at no extra cost. Once your team has applied fixes, we re-attack the affected systems and issue a retest report recording which issues were closed, and which remain open.

Get a scoped VAPT quote

Tell us what you need tested, and we will get back to you immediately.

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