This organisation relied heavily on cloud applications to serve customers worldwide. By engaging Chaleit’s expert controls validation, the firm identified hidden misconfigurations and established a sustainable security assurance process.
The Challenge
Despite maintaining a robust, compliance-driven security program that included regular vulnerability scanning and periodic audits, the firm continued to face key challenges in its multi-cloud environment. There were noticeable gaps in identity and access configurations across multiple platforms, and an over-reliance on automated scanning tools created blind spots in the overall security posture. The organization also struggled with limited visibility into control effectiveness across more than 150 SaaS applications, making it difficult to ensure consistent protection. Additionally, validating Zero Trust policies in practical scenarios proved to be a complex task.
As the client’s CISO noted, “Standard audits confirm configuration, but they don’t prove if controls can stop an attack.”
The Solution
To address these concerns, X implemented a collaborative validation program that combined strategic assessment with deep technical validation.
Strategic Assessment
The team began by reviewing the organization’s Zero Trust and Identity Access Management (IAM) policies to identify alignment gaps. Attack-path threat models were developed to simulate potential adversary tactics and prioritize remediation efforts. The validation scope was carefully aligned with the firm’s most business-critical workflows, ensuring the exercise directly supported operational resilience.
Technical Validation
The technical phase involved rigorous hands-on testing of the firm’s defenses. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enforcement was tested against bypass scenarios to uncover weaknesses. OAuth and Single Sign-On (SSO) implementations were validated for potential exploitation vectors. The team also simulated real-world phishing attacks to assess how cloud controls responded under realistic conditions, and identified cross-tenant misconfigurations that could lead to privilege escalation or data exposure.
The Outcome & Impact
The validation program provided valuable insights into both existing misconfigurations and areas for improvement. Approximately 15% of applications were found to be missing MFA enforcement, and several unused but active legacy access accounts were discovered. Moreover, high-risk OAuth integrations were identified that had bypassed previous security reviews.
Within 30 days, all identified MFA and OAuth gaps were closed, and the firm’s cloud security baseline configurations were significantly improved. The project also established a quarterly validation cycle in collaboration with Chaleit’s security team, ensuring continuous improvement. As a result, leadership reported greater confidence in their Zero Trust adoption and the overall resilience of their cloud ecosystem.
Control Gaps
- 15% of applications missing MFA enforcemen
- Discovered unused but active legacy access accounts
- Identified high-risk OAuth integrations bypassing security review
Implementation Impact
- Closed identified MFA and OAuth gaps within 30 days
- Improved cloud security baseline configurations
- Established quarterly validation cycles with Chaleit’s team
- Increased leadership confidence in Zero Trust adoption
Key Takeaways
- Traditional audits verify configuration but don’t test true attack resistance — hands-on validation is essential.
- Strategic scoping aligned with critical business workflows ensures maximum relevance and ROI.
- The complexity of cloud environments demands continuous validation, not one-time checks.
- Collaborative remediation between the client and partners drives sustainable, long-term improvements.