Differences Vulnerability Assessment & Vulnerability Scanning


Both vulnerability assessment and vulnerability scanning are important processes that are used in network security in order to make sure that a system functions smoothly and does not get attacked and penetrated with incoming trojans & virus.

However, even though they looks quite similar, both vulnerability assessment and vulnerability scanning have major differences in actuality.

In the following few paragraphs, you will learn about what vulnerability assessment and vulnerability scanning really is and how it is used in order to provide protection and security to the network.

Here is a brief guide regarding both the different processes:
Vulnerability assessment information

Vulnerability assessment is basically a major process that comprises of a range of different sub processes.

Vulnerability assessment basically deals with the identification, quantification as well as the ranking of the different vulnerabilities that might be present within a system.

As a result, vulnerability assessment is not only restricted to use in network based companies.

Instead, a vulnerability assessment can be carried out of an energy supply system, a transportation system as well as communication systems, amongst various others.

Vulnerability assessment is a very important step for any company that wants to prevent unauthorized access to its systems to outsiders.

The first step in vulnerability assessment is to catalog all of the different assets as well as the capabilities of the system.

Then, a quantifiable value, such a rank is given to each different asset or resource in order to be able to estimate their importance to the company.

Then, a thorough vulnerability scan is carried out on the different resources that have been cataloged in order to determine where most of the vulnerabilities lie.

As a result, this allows the company to find out whether its crucial resources are vulnerable or not.

A vulnerability assessment also deals with remedial situations, as t helps in the mitigation or elimination of different kinds of serious vulnerabilities that might be found within a system linked to its most valuable resources.
Vulnerability scanning

Vulnerability scanning on the other hand is a much simpler process.

Basically, this is a completely automatic software that is being run in order to figure out the different vulnerabilities or flaws within a system.

Vulnerability scanning is quite simple actually, and scanning services are provided by numerous network security companies.

Vulnerability scanners are created by companies, and are linked to a set database of known flaws.

As new flaws are found, they are usually added to the database.