Penetration Testing & Security Assessments

Penetration Testing & Technical Resilience Policy

Aligned with NIST SP 800-53 / NIST Cybersecurity Framework / EU MiCA CASP Requirements

Document Classification: Controlled / Public Security Governance Summary
Applies To: AI Vault Tech Infrastructure, Data Systems, APIs, Smart Contracts, and the Virdato Utility Token Ecosystem
Effective Date: 17 February 2026
Last Review: 17 February 2026
Next Review: Annual or upon material system change

1. Purpose

This policy establishes the governance, methodology, and oversight framework for penetration testing, vulnerability management, and technical resilience across AI Vault Tech systems, including the Virdato utility token infrastructure.

The objectives are to:

  • Protect confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA Triad)
  • Reduce cyber risk exposure
  • Detect and remediate vulnerabilities proactively
  • Align with NIST SP 800-53 security controls
  • Align with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover)
  • Satisfy operational resilience expectations under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) applicable to Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs)

2. Regulatory & Standards Alignment

This policy is structured in alignment with:

United States Standards

  • NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 (Security and Privacy Controls)
  • NIST SP 800-61 (Incident Handling)
  • NIST SP 800-30 (Risk Assessment)
  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)
  • Zero Trust Architecture principles (NIST SP 800-207)

European Union Requirements

  • EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)
  • CASP governance and operational resilience requirements
  • ICT risk management and incident reporting expectations
  • Business continuity and disaster recovery obligations
  • GDPR technical and organizational safeguards (Article 32)

3. Scope

This policy applies to:

  • Cloud-hosted infrastructure
  • Application servers
  • Databases
  • API gateways
  • Smart contracts and token logic
  • Wallet integrations
  • Identity and access management systems
  • CI/CD pipelines
  • Third-party integrations affecting system security
  • Monitoring and logging infrastructure

4. Governance & Accountability

Security governance is overseen by designated leadership roles responsible for:

  • Risk management
  • Security testing authorization
  • Vulnerability prioritization
  • Regulatory reporting (where applicable)

Security responsibilities follow least privilege and separation-of-duties principles consistent with NIST AC (Access Control) and IA (Identification and Authentication) control families.

5. Risk Management Framework

AI Vault Tech applies a structured risk management lifecycle:

  1. Risk Identification
  2. Risk Analysis
  3. Risk Evaluation
  4. Risk Treatment
  5. Continuous Monitoring

Risk severity is categorized as:

  • Critical
  • High
  • Moderate
  • Low

Assessment considers exploitability, business impact, regulatory exposure, and systemic risk to the Virdato ecosystem.

6. Penetration Testing Program

Penetration testing is conducted:

  • Prior to production deployment of major systems
  • Following smart contract releases or updates
  • After significant infrastructure modifications
  • On a recurring annual basis at minimum
  • Following material security incidents
  • As required by regulatory or contractual obligations

Testing may be conducted internally or through independent third-party security assessors.

7. Testing Methodologies

Testing aligns with recognized frameworks including OWASP, NIST, and blockchain security standards.

7.1 Web & Application Layer Testing

  • Injection vulnerability testing
  • XSS and CSRF simulation
  • Authentication bypass attempts
  • Broken access control testing
  • Session management validation

Aligned with NIST SI-10, AC-6, IA-2.

7.2 API Security Testing

  • Object-level authorization checks
  • Rate limiting validation
  • Token misuse simulation
  • Data exposure validation
  • Abuse pattern simulation

Aligned with NIST SC-7 and SI-4.

7.3 Infrastructure Security Testing

  • Cloud configuration validation
  • Network segmentation testing
  • IAM privilege review
  • Encryption validation (data at rest and in transit)
  • Backup integrity verification

Aligned with NIST SC, CM, CP control families.

7.4 Smart Contract & Token Interaction Review

  • Access control logic validation
  • Reentrancy risk assessment
  • Function misuse testing
  • Event consistency verification
  • Transaction stress simulation
  • Economic manipulation scenario testing

Smart contract reviews focus on preserving token integrity and preventing unauthorized minting, manipulation, or logic exploitation.

8. Technical Resilience & Operational Continuity (MiCA CASP Alignment)

AI Vault Tech maintains technical resilience consistent with MiCA expectations for Crypto-Asset Service Providers.

This includes:

8.1 Operational Resilience

  • Redundant cloud infrastructure
  • High availability architecture
  • Geographic distribution where feasible
  • Load balancing and failover configuration

8.2 Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery

  • Documented Business Continuity Plan (BCP)
  • Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP)
  • Defined Recovery Time Objectives (RTO)
  • Defined Recovery Point Objectives (RPO)
  • Periodic testing of restoration procedures

8.3 ICT Risk Management

  • Continuous system monitoring
  • Log aggregation and anomaly detection
  • Intrusion detection mechanisms
  • Patch management lifecycle
  • Configuration baseline management

8.4 Incident Management

  • Formal incident response procedures
  • Escalation pathways
  • Regulatory notification readiness (where applicable)
  • Root cause analysis and corrective action tracking

Aligned with NIST IR control family and MiCA incident reporting expectations.

9. Vulnerability Management & Remediation

All identified vulnerabilities are:

  • Documented
  • Risk-rated
  • Assigned remediation ownership
  • Tracked to closure
  • Retested for validation

Critical vulnerabilities require immediate mitigation or compensating controls.

10. Third-Party Risk Management

Where AI Vault Tech relies on third-party providers (cloud platforms, blockchain infrastructure, APIs):

  • Security posture is periodically evaluated
  • Shared responsibility models are documented
  • Vendor risk assessments are performed where feasible
  • Contractual security obligations may be implemented

11. Continuous Monitoring

Security posture is supported through:

  • Log monitoring
  • Automated vulnerability scanning
  • Access anomaly detection
  • Infrastructure drift detection
  • API behavior analytics

Continuous monitoring supports both NIST continuous diagnostics principles and MiCA technical resilience expectations.

12. Responsible Disclosure & Security Reporting

AI Vault Systems Inc supports responsible vulnerability disclosure.

Security reports may be submitted to:

security@aivaulttech.com

All submissions are evaluated in good faith and handled confidentially.

13. Limitations

While AI Vault Systems Inc implements defense-in-depth security controls and structured resilience measures, no digital system can be guaranteed to be entirely secure. Users acknowledge inherent technological risks associated with distributed systems and blockchain-based utility tokens.