UK OKs BAE as Provider of Intell-Base Vulnerability Testing for Banks

BAE Systems is now eligible to deploy threat intelligence and penetration testing services under the British central bank-led CBEST scheme.

The company said Thursday it is the first organization to obtain clearance to offer vulnerability testing technology to the U.K. financial sector through the framework.

According to the Bank of England website, the three-year-old CBEST program was born out of regulators and financial firms’ need to build and strengthen a proactive, resilient defense mechanism against cyber attacks.

“Intelligence-led penetration testing has to be based upon rich contextualized intelligence which informs and guides how the test should be conducted, what attack methods should be simulated and where testers should focus their resources,” said Scott McVicar, managing director for the EMEA commercial solutions at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence.

“This method of testing provides a more structured and effective approach for companies to mitigate their cyber risk and understand the real effectiveness of the key technical security controls they have in place.”