Cyber & Information Security Assessments — What to Get Right Before You Start
Most cyber security assessments are written by technologists for technologists — long on vulnerability scan output, short on what the Board, the statutory auditor, or the regulator actually needs to see. PNPC Global assesses your cyber security posture the way a practising CA firm assesses risk: technically rigorous, but translated into business impact, control gaps, financial exposure, and regulatory obligation — under the IT Act 2000, CERT-In directions, SEBI CSCRF (for listed and regulated entities), RBI guidelines (for NBFCs and regulated financial entities), and where relevant, UAE cybersecurity and data protection requirements. Our vantage point is the finance, audit, and governance side of the business; that is what makes our cyber assessment different from a pure penetration-testing vendor's report — we tell you not just what is vulnerable, but what it means for your audit opinion, your Board's fiduciary duty, your cyber insurance renewal, and your next funding round.
What You're Really Buying
A Cyber & Information Security Assessment, as delivered by PNPC Global, is a structured review of an organisation's technology environment, data handling practices, and information security controls, benchmarked against recognised frameworks (ISO/IEC 27001, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, CIS Controls) and against the specific statutory and regulatory obligations that apply to Indian (and, where relevant, UAE) entities. It typically includes a vulnerability assessment of external and internal-facing systems, a review of access controls and data governance practices, an evaluation of the organisation's incident response readiness, and a gap analysis against CERT-In's cyber security directions (issued under Section 70B of the IT Act 2000), which mandate incident reporting within 6 hours of detection for specified categories of cyber incidents, log retention for 180 days within Indian jurisdiction, and other obligations that apply broadly to bodies corporate operating in India.
The distinction from a pure technical penetration-testing engagement is where the assessment starts and what it is written for.
For the full scope, current process and what PNPC includes, see the dedicated Cyber & Information Security Assessments service page.
Is This Relevant to Your Business?
- You have never had a structured, documented security assessment performed, and leadership, your Board, or an investor is now asking what your actual cyber risk exposure looks like
- You are preparing for a funding round, acquisition, or major enterprise/government client contract, and technical due diligence or vendor security questionnaires are now a real part of the process
- You process customer payment data, health records, investor KYC documents, or other sensitive personal data, and want to understand your obligations under the IT Act, SPDI Rules, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act framework as it comes into force
- You are applying for cyber insurance for the first time, or renewing a policy, and the insurer is requesting evidence of a security assessment and defined controls before underwriting
What This Doesn't Cover
- You need a specific, narrow technical penetration test of a single application with a fixed technical deliverable and no business/compliance translation layer — a specialist pen-testing vendor working to a fixed technical scope may be more cost-effective for that narrow need alone
- You are looking for 24x7 Security Operations Centre (SOC) monitoring, managed detection and response, or continuous threat-hunting services — PNPC's assessment is a structured point-in-time (or periodic) review, not a continuous managed security service; we can recommend and coordinate with specialist MDR/SOC providers where that is the actual need
- You need hands-on remediation — patching servers, rewriting insecure code, reconfiguring firewalls — PNPC identifies and prioritises the gaps; the technical remediation itself is typically performed by your in-house IT team or a technical implementation partner, which we can help you select and oversee
Common Questions
What exactly does a Cyber & Information Security Assessment from a CA firm cover — is this the same as a penetration test?
It includes technical vulnerability assessment (similar in method to what a penetration testing vendor performs), but goes further — access control review, policy and governance review, incident response readiness, and a regulatory gap analysis mapping findings to the IT Act 2000, CERT-In directions, and where applicable SEBI CSCRF or RBI guidelines. A pure penetration test report is written for your IT team; our assessment is written to also be usable by your Board, your statutory auditor, and your cyber insurer.
We are a small business with no dedicated IT team. Is this assessment relevant at our scale?
Often yes, if a real trigger exists — you process customer payment data, you are applying for cyber insurance, an enterprise client's vendor security questionnaire now requires evidence of an assessment, or you are raising a funding round. For a genuinely early-stage business with minimal technology footprint and no customer data at risk, a lighter-touch security hygiene review may be more proportionate, and we will recommend that scope rather than oversell a larger engagement.
What is CERT-In, and what are the reporting obligations under its directions?
CERT-In (the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) is the national nodal agency for cyber security incident response, operating under Section 70B of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Its directions issued in 2022 require reporting of specified categories of cyber security incidents to CERT-In within 6 hours of detection or being brought to notice, and mandate that service providers, intermediaries, data centres, body corporates, and government organisations maintain and securely store specified ICT system logs for a rolling period of 180 days, within Indian jurisdiction. Specific incident categories covered are set out in the directions and include events such as data breaches, ransomware attacks, and unauthorised access to critical systems, among others.
Getting This Right From the Start
Speak directly with a PNPC Chartered Accountant who assesses cyber risk the way we assess financial risk — technically rigorous, regulator-literate, and translated into language your Board, your auditor, and your investors can actually act on.
PNPC Global has advised Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad businesses since 1986. Explore the full Transformation & Tech practice for related services, or go straight to the Cyber & Information Security Assessments page for specifics.
Specific rates, fees, thresholds and deadlines are set by the relevant authority and change over time — this article deliberately does not quote figures that could go stale. Confirm current numbers directly with PNPC or the official source before you act.