Vulnerability Analysis Concepts
Vulnerability Analysis is the concept of evaluating and addressing the security risks to minimize the chances of a threat. It is also known as vulnerability testing or vulnerability assessment. First off, it is crucial to understand the meaning of vulnerability. These are the present weaknesses or flaws within the architecture, procedures, implementation, or controls of a computer system. The purpose of the analysis is to prevent the chances of an actual attack taking place. The possibility of an intruder gaining access to the system is highly unlikely after a successful vulnerability analysis. Hackers are always looking for weaknesses that violate the security policy of a system. This analysis is important for an organization’s safety as it provides a way to locate and report weaknesses. Once the vulnerability is detected, the IT security team may mitigate the problem. Identifying unsecure authentication and inappropriate software is much easier when a system is evaluated frequently. The concept of a successful vulnerability analysis involves an assessment, report, and testing as measures that make up a holistic approach to evaluating a system.
Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing are five processes: goals and objectives, scope, information gathering, vulnerability detection, and information analysis and planning. The first process is to ensure that there is a specific aim for conducting the evaluation. IT professionals need to know what they are looking for to increase the effectiveness of the analysis. A network may have multiple vulnerabilities across different aspects hence the need to conduct specific analysis’ to avoid confusion due to vast results. This leads to defining the scope of the assignments as there are three possible scopes. Black box testing involves testing a network from an external point, while white box testing involves conducting tests from the internal network. Grey box testing, on the other hand, involves testing from either external or internal positions. The next process is to collect as much information as possible on the IT entity’s environment, whether it is an IP address or the network. Next, scanners are used to detect vulnerability over the collected information. Lastly, a plan is devised to counter the identified vulnerabilities. These processes make up the better part of the vulnerability assessment section.
Vulnerability assessment report creation is an important step that enables technicians to pay extra attention to the details. This report enables the IT security team to add recommendations that align with the initial assessment goals (Gonzales, 2018). It is relatively easy to sway from the objectives and goals when conducting a vulnerability analysis. A report links the assessment to the penetration testing phase to maximize the effectiveness of the final results. Risk mitigation techniques are also added to the vulnerability assessment report to give a range of possible solutions security personnel can select from. Findings such as gaps between results and discoveries are also recorded to correct abnormalities and vulnerabilities. Recording these findings on the report are very important as they build upon the understanding of the findings. A detailed report includes the name of vulnerability, affected systems details, description of the vulnerability in detail, date of discovery, score based on CVE databases, proof of concept of the vulnerability, and processes to correct the vulnerability (Gonzales, 2018). The vulnerability assessment report should include a blank field to fill in details of the time taken to correct, countermeasures, next revision, and the owner of the vulnerability.
Penetration testing is the part of vulnerability analysis that is used to intervene on the identified vulnerability issues. The first step for penetration testing is Setup whereby the documentation process begins, permission is secured, and tools are updated and configured. Next, the test is executed by running tools as well as captured data packets. The vulnerability analysis then takes place by defining and classifying system resources, identifying threats, and defining ways to minimize consequences. Reporting then takes place, and remediation follows. A vulnerability scanner is used during this phase, and it may be host-based, network-based or database based. Regardless of the type of scanner, the main aim is to detect vulnerabilities.
Overall, a vulnerability analysis is a reliable method that can guide an organization to strengthen the security detail on its network. Many a time’s security professionals are not able to know all the vulnerabilities affecting the network. With technological changes now and then, there is a need to conduct occasional vulnerability analysis’ to ensure there are no new flaws. Attackers are constantly exploiting systems to find vulnerabilities hence the need to show resilience in patching up weaknesses. Risks should be mitigated before they turn into threats. A proper vulnerability analysis will incorporate assessments to identify weaknesses while using a step-by-step approach to address all aspects of the system. Furthermore, the use of a vulnerability assessment report will ensure a smooth flow of processes from the beginning to the end without forgetting the goals of the analysis. The testing process then gives more information on the vulnerability, making it easier to select possible remedies. A vulnerability analysis allows IT professionals to strategize against cyber-attacks.
References
Gonzalez, K. (2018). A Step-By-Step Guide to Vulnerability Assessment. Retrieved from https://securityintelligence.com/a-step-by-step-guide-to-vulnerability-assessment/
Sreedharan, S. (n.d.). What is Vulnerability Assessment? Testing Process, VAPT Scan Tool. Retrieved from https://www.guru99.com/vulnerability-assessment-testing-analysis.html
