Security & Vulnerability Assessment

How Vulnerability Assessment Ensures Network Security?

In an organization, security and vulnerability assessment are two fundamental aspects that network administrators are highly concerned about.

Frequent network vulnerability scanning help businesses in identifying potential threats to the network’s security and vulnerabilities in the system.

Organizations can easily evaluate the weaknesses of their networks before hackers, which help them eradicate them and make the entire system stronger against foreign attacks.

The process involves two inter-linked aspects: vulnerability scanning and vulnerability assessment.

Vulnerability scanning is excellent as a starting point.

However; the true fruits of scanning are acquired only after you conduct vulnerability assessment, which is the process of addressing the problems found during scanning.

Steps of Security Vulnerability Assessment

Vulnerability assessment is a set of procedures.

The key objectives of vulnerability assessment include scanning, inspecting, analyzing and reporting of the level of risks associated with a system’s security.

The entire security system is assessed for discovering vulnerabilities existing on the internet-based and public networking devices.

Another purpose behind conducting security vulnerability assessments is to understand feasible mitigation strategies for addressing the risks.  

The details of key vulnerability assessment procedures are as follows:

1. Asset Identification- This is the first step and involves creating a list of all the economically valuable assets such as data, computers and people.

By organizing the lists with names, location and values, the process of asset finding will be simplified.

2. Threat evaluation- It involves finding out whether an organization is under threat of any kind that may harm its security.

It can be in the form of probably physical loss from lightening, thefts and/or network related harms like hackers attempting to hack servers and take data.

It is important to understand that 65% of network related attacks are made from the inside, that is, by the employees.

So, employees can be listed as potential threats as well.

3. Vulnerability appraisal- To properly address the detected threat, organizations need to conduct threat evaluation through a realistic appraisal.

It involves aspects like ensuring if the detected threat can really affect the organization.

For instance, power outages and floods. If the organization is not situated in a flood area then these risks won’t cause any specific harm. 

4. Risk assessment- This step informs the organization about the potential and probable outcomes of the identified risks/weaknesses.

For example, what will happen if a hacker is able to find confidential company documents or can successfully enter the server.

5. Risk mitigation- This step involves assessment of feasible techniques for mitigating risks and finding out the alternatives.

Management needs to review all the threats and devise a solution for preventing them.

For instance, in a flood area related organization companies need to find ways for elevating the structures.

Techniques of Security Vulnerability Assessment

Baseline reporting- It includes the recording of whatever is going on within the organization’s network at areas where threat is not detected.

It is important to prepare a baseline report for comparison’s sake in future since whenever the server gets compromised this report will help in making the comparison.

Software programs- Companies can develop software for minimizing the number of attacks.

Assessment tools used for identifying threats

Port Scanners: These scan all TCP/IP ports and evaluate the ones that are open and those which are easily exploitable.

Protocol Analyzers: These help in monitoring network traffic, and if it set on the correct filter, can find out what information is required, otherwise the information will be difficult to manage.

Vulnerability scanners: These inspect the entire system and identify weaknesses.

Honeypots and Honeynets: These serve as spying agents which are embedded in the system to lure attackers by presenting the system as vulnerable, which it actually is not. 

Vulnerability Assessment Guide

In a nutshell, vulnerability assessment is a procedure wherein an application, appliance, or specialist identifies, quantifies, ranks, and prioritizes the different vulnerabilities of a given platform, program, system, or network.

The best vulnerability assessment tools available are capable of evaluating networks containing fifty to two hundred thousand nodes.

They could even do detailed examination for coding flaws and system weaknesses that equal or even surpass the reports provided by run-of-the-mill penetration testing programs.

In Depth Inspection

A competently executed vulnerability assessment process normally allows users to do in-depth inspection such that each and every last security scan will find new services and equipment by default and include them into the assessment queue. The assessment program or device will then analyze every last node based on its recorded behavior, known attributes, and other reactions to your system's prompts.

In just a couple of hours' time (provided that there is no interruption of the scan or any occurrence of network downtime), a dependable vulnerability assessment process should produce comprehensive reports that identify and specify your network or system's programming bugs and security deficiencies.

 

System Security

Besides, it makes a lot of sense for white hat hackers (security researchers who are well-versed in constructive hacking) to go head-to-head against black hat hackers (cyber criminals who hack for their own purposes without any regard for other computer users) when it comes to identifying and assessing the different system weaknesses, bugs, glitches, security holes, and vulnerabilities in a given machine.

It's just that it's much more practical to depend on a vulnerability assessment gadget or program for minor threats, especially considering the fact that these tools are regularly updated by the very same IT security professionals anyway.

 

How to secure your network with Vulnerability Assessment

Can the Penetrator do vulnerability assessment?

Yes it does full vulnerability assessment.

Security Scanning your network

Find out how many security holes you have.

You can do full vulnerability scanning, vulnerability scan schedule and scan with several profiles.

The extended reporting comes in PDF, XML, HTML formats with full information.

A complete guide to vulnerability assessment

For those who are running a network or those who have to supervise the networks in their companies, it is vitally important that they carry out a thorough vulnerability assessment.

A vulnerability assessment is basically a process by which network managers are able to not only recognize, but also quantify and then rank the different vulnerabilities that might exist in a system.

Using the vulnerability assessment technique is vitally important for those who are looking to make sure that their networks remain protected, because depending upon the vulnerabilities that might exist in the system, anybody could gain access to the system.

That is the reason why making use of a proper vulnerability assessment technique is so important.

 

Vulnerability assessment

Vulnerability management is the cyclical practice of identifying, classifying, patching-up and diminishing vulnerabilities.

This practice commonly refers to vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks.

Weakness appraisal is the procedure of distinguishing, evaluating, and organizing (or positioning) the vulnerabilities in a framework.

Helplessness from the viewpoint of fiasco administration means surveying the dangers from potential perils to the base.

Appraisals are typically performed presenting to the accompanying steps: 

Cataloging resources and capacities (assets) in a framework.

Assigning quantifiable quality (or possibly rank) and significance to those assets

Classifying the vulnerabilities or potential dangers to every asset

Eliminating or diminishing the gravest vulnerabilities for the most extreme important

Vulnerabilities can be because of:

Equipment:

Vulnerability to moistness

Vulnerability to tidy

Vulnerability to dirtying

Vulnerability to unprotected stockpiling

Programming:

Deficient testing

Absence of review trail

System:

Unprotected correspondence lines

Frail system structural engineering

Faculty:

Deficient enlisting procedure

Deficient security mindfulness

Site:

Territory subject to surge

Inconsistent force source

Hierarchical:

Absence of general reviews

Absence of progression arrangements

Absence of security


 

What is Vulnerability Assessment?

Due to the fact that SecPoint monitors a wide range of networks in the financial, governmental, and private sectors, we have an extensive professional experience of the different real world attacks presently being performed throughout the globe. We then make use of this knowledge to extend and improve our attack block database.

What is Network Vulnerability Assessment?

 
All IP addresses are analyzed and detailed recommendations for the identified vulnerabilities are given.
When changes occur or new discoveries are identified, then the user will be notified by email. 

How Often Should a Network Vulnerability Assessment Be Initiated?

There is a high amount of new vulnerabilities—such as human configuration errors and other changes in the network structure due to expansion at most customer locations—are discovered on a daily basis.

It is recommended for you to perform a network vulnerability assessment on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis to ensure that you are being scanned for the latest threats and alerted immediately when you are at risk. 

With the Penetrator and Portable Penetrator, you can perform a vulnerability assessment on your system and find the bugs and security holes in it before the attackers do!

Understanding Vulnerability Assessment

However, to achieve a comprehensive report on vulnerability testing, the combination of both procedures is recommended.
In this article the focus would be on understanding the concept and basics of vulnerability assessment along with a comparative analysis of both testing techniques.
 

How to use Vulnerability Assessment?

Vulnerability assessment is very important for the survival and security of organizations.

It is a process which must be adopted at regular intervals by every business or commercial entity to protect its system from potential threats such as hackers. This process is usually deemed indispensable at workplaces where information technology is dominantly employed for running the system and storing databases.

Employer’s first priority is to protect their data and information from falling into wrong hands.

This is why it is important that a comprehensive vulnerability assessment procedure is conducted. 

 

Vulnerability Assessment Procedure

 

Difference between Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Assessment

Vulnerability assessment is like a tool used for discovering the prevailing weaknesses in a system.
However, this tool cannot differentiate between the flaws which are exploitable and those which are not.
 
This means, that vulnerability assessment can only detect or identify the flaws but cannot inform about which of them can be exploited by hackers.  
Exclusive vulnerability scanners are used for making this identification.
 
These scanners alert organizations regarding the preexisting flaws within the system codes and determine their location. 
Penetration testing, conversely, attempts to exploit the threats and vulnerabilities of a system for determining if any sort of unauthorized entry is possible or not.
It checks the system for probable malicious activity and manages to identify salient flaws that pose threat to the security of an application. 
 
The difference between both processes is that penetration testing, unlike vulnerability assessment, can determine which threat is exploitable and which isn’t.
Moreover, penetration testing is powerful enough to measure the severity of an exploitable threat and the extent to which it can harm the system/application.
 
Therefore, companies conduct penetration testing after the process of vulnerability assessment for understanding how severe and damaging a threat/flaw can be for the system if a real attack is made. 
Vulnerability assessment when gets combined with penetration testing can provide a detailed and comprehensive picture of the issues and threats that exist in a system and the potential risks associated. 
 

Advantages of Vulnerability Assessment

The benefits that it entails for the organization are various and wide-ranged such as it makes it stronger and secure.
This procedure helps an organization in identifying its assets and the real-risk that exist.
Furthermore, it is an extensive network of procedures which also guides the management towards the appropriate risk mitigation plan.
It ensures protection of assets and reduction in liability.
Lastly, and most importantly, it ensures that the entire system is protected from outside threats and the administration enjoys peace of mind. 
 

Vulnerability Assessment

Defenselessness evaluation is a considerable measure like danger appraisal, such that both are typically done utilizing the accompanying steps:

Characterization of framework capacities and resources.

Distributing significance, rank request, or quantifiable quality to the above assets.

Observing the regular vulnerabilities or conceivable dangers to every advantage.
 

All About Vulnerability Assessments

What is Vulnerability Assessment?

Vulnerability assessment is the process which helps in identifying, measuring and highlighting or ranking the prevailing vulnerabilities in a system.

An organization conducts vulnerability assessment to evaluate the system’s vulnerability to hacking and how it can be protected from hackers.

Networking systems in industries related to fields like information technology, transportation, energy supply, communication and water supply are highly prone to vulnerabilities.

However, the scope of vulnerability assessment is not restricted to these fields/industries and can be utilized for performance check and threats to an organization wherever required.

 

Importance of Vulnerability Assessments

Carrying out vulnerability assessment is among the most fundamental things an organization’s management needs to do.

It is important because it can help in determining the salient components within the management’s personal network that are the most vulnerable.  

Organizations would never want confidential information and data to be leaked and be misused by unlawful groups and hackers for which vulnerability assessment is indispensable.

It will ensure that system is strong enough to be protected from unwanted illegal intrusion.

Opposed to the common notion that installing anti-virus software and implementing patch management are key techniques for making system secure, it can be stated that system protection goes beyond these steps.

Installing anti-virus is actually the preliminary stage or basic step for securing your network.

In present age where hackers have become highly organized and equipped with advanced mechanisms/tools, they can easily influence the technology which is not covered by anti-virus software.