Vikas Barkade

Seasoned security consultant specializing in advanced penetration testing and security assessments across web, mobile, API, network, and enterprise environments. Experienced in uncovering complex vulnerabilities, simulating adversarial attack scenarios, and guiding organizations toward stronger security practices. Known for combining technical expertise with clear communication to help development and infrastructure teams remediate risks effectively.
Key Contributions:
Web Application Security:

Delivered end-to-end penetration testing engagements, exposing high-risk flaws, including injection attacks, XSS, authentication gaps, and logic errors. Partnered with engineering teams to implement secure coding practices and reduce exposure.

Network Security :
Specialized in advanced network infrastructure and Active Directory security assessments, leveraging CRTP and CARTP methodologies to simulate real-world adversarial attack scenarios. Experienced in uncovering privilege escalation paths, misconfigurations, and lateral movement opportunities across on-premises and hybrid Azure AD environments. Skilled in delivering actionable remediation strategies that strengthen identity and access management, reduce the attack surface, and enhance overall enterprise resilience.
Mobile Application Security:

Performed security evaluations of Android and iOS applications, highlighting issues in data storage, authentication, and mobile communications. Provided actionable recommendations aligned with OWASP Mobile Security best practices.
API Security:

Assessed REST and SOAP APIs for weaknesses in authentication, authorization, injection handling, and data protection. Collaborated with developers to harden endpoints, and improve API resilience.
Thick Client Testing:

Conducted penetration testing and reverse engineering of desktop applications to uncover insecure storage, weak encryption, and flawed client-server interactions. Delivered remediation strategies to strengthen application logic and security controls.

Web Application Testing: Conducted comprehensive penetration testing of web applications, identifying critical vulnerabilities such as injection attacks, cross-site scripting (XSS), authentication weaknesses, and business logic flaws. Provided actionable remediation guidance to development teams to enhance application security. • Network Infrastructure & Active Directory (AD) Security (aligned with CRTP & CARTP certifications) Conducted comprehensive security assessments simulating real-world internal and external attack scenarios to identify vulnerabilities in network infrastructure, including firewalls, routers, and segmentation controls. Performed in-depth reviews of Active Directory environments (on-prem and hybrid Azure AD), identifying privilege escalation paths, misconfigurations, and lateral movement opportunities. Utilized tools and techniques aligned with CRTP and CARTP methodologies to uncover and demonstrate attack vectors and provided actionable remediation strategies to strengthen identity and access management. • Mobile Application Testing: Assessed the security of Android and iOS applications, identifying issues such as insecure data storage, improper platform usage, weak authentication, and vulnerabilities in mobile communications. Provided clear remediation steps and best practice recommendations to mobile development teams. • API Security Testing: Evaluated RESTful and SOAP APIs for security flaws, including improper authentication, authorization bypass, injection vulnerabilities, and sensitive data exposure. Worked closely with developers to secure API endpoints and improve the overall API security posture. • Thick Client Application Testing: Executed penetration testing of thick client (desktop) applications, uncovering issues such as insecure local storage, weak encryption, improper input validation, and flaws in client-server communication. Utilized reverse engineering techniques to analyze and test application logic and security controls.

Results-driven cybersecurity professional with hands-on experience in identifying, exploiting, and mitigating vulnerabilities across diverse platforms. Skilled in conducting penetration tests on web applications, mobile APIs, and thick client environments, with a proven ability to deliver actionable security insights to strengthen organizational defenses. Adept at simulating real-world attack scenarios, leveraging industry-standard tools and custom scripts, and collaborating with development teams to ensure secure software delivery.