What is Vulnerability Assessment?
Networks need to keep pace with an ever-expanding remote workforce. A workforce that may not need a datacenter, nor a secure connection to the internet and cloud.
Networks that once resembled a simple hub and spoke now resemble meshed fabrics with entry points, users, clouds, and sites. As the network expands, so do the risks for cyber threats. Criminals use AI and machine learning to design and execute attacks. It’s no longer an individual armed with a keyboard but thousands of machines hunting and exploiting vulnerabilities with pre-scripted attacks.
A Hacker Will Eventually Find A Security Vulnerability
Security gaps exist and continue to increase as networks expand. The challenge for IT security experts is to identify their vulnerabilities and seal the gaps before they’re exploited.
Identifying vulnerabilities is more difficult than closing them. After all, changing access privileges, installing a patch, or even implementing a new security service is usually routine and straightforward when properly planned. IT professionals know what to do to close their gaps when possible.
The challenge is finding vulnerabilities that are unexpected, hidden, and unknown. To make matters worse, hidden vulnerabilities may even exist in new products and services acquired by IT. These vulnerabilities may not even be known to the vendor.
In the event of a data breach, businesses and public sector agencies face tremendous costs—and even the potential for criminal penalties—for privacy law non-compliance. A breach can also cause significant damage to a brand or to your agency’s reputation.
Read this white paper to find out how MDR can minimize the impact of a breach.
Vulnerability Testing and Assessment
A security vulnerability assessment is the responsibility of IT security teams. It involves identifying, assessing, and reporting any vulnerabilities in an organization’s networks and everything connected to them. A vulnerability assessment is a process to identify and quantify security vulnerabilities.
At a minimum, an assessment should include:
- Vulnerability discovery, which identifies and describes the security gap
- Background related to how the vulnerability may have occurred
- Information on how the vulnerability may be exploited by a cyberattack
Performing vulnerability assessments across an entire network require investments in time and money. Not to mention the resources needed to remediate gaps and implement the necessary safeguards to maintain a high security posture.
Many IT professionals have opted to use a professional cybersecurity provider to manage most security operations.
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Please contact our customer advocates to learn more about a complete cybersecurity posture with MDR (Managed Detection and Response) or SASE (Secure Access Service Edge).
