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Vulnerability Assessment vs. Penetration Test
What’s the difference between a vulnerability assessment and penetration test?
There are several key differences between a vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. If your organization uses these terms interchangeably, you may unknowingly have a gap within your cybersecurity program that prevents you from effectively protecting your business and its assets. It may also put you at risk of noncompliance with federal, state, or industry regulations.
VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT
A DeepSeas vulnerability assessment is a process where we identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses within your environment. This typically involves assessors scanning your organization’s infrastructure using automated tools.
Reasons to Perform a DeepSeas Vulnerability Assessment
Matching up critical vulnerabilities with critical assets
Generating a list of patches or other remediations that need to be applied
Identifying all the false positives and reducing occurrence of false negatives
Satisfying PCI, HIPAA, and NERC-CIP regulatory requirements
PENETRATION TEST
A DeepSeas penetration test is a process where we simulate a real-world cyber-attack on your organization’s targeted assets. Our penetration testers will use the same tools, techniques, and procedures that modern cybercriminals use. Whereas vulnerability scanning tools are unable to distinguish between flaws that can be exploited by attackers and those that can’t, penetration testing is designed to simulate as closely as possible the effect threats would have on your organization. This is accomplished by understanding viable threats with the associated risks, motivations, and targets.
Reasons to Perform a DeepSeas Penetration Test
- Testing your cybersecurity controls after they have matured
- Modeling real-world attack activities
- Exploiting weaknesses in configuration that are overlooked within patch management
- Identifying exploitable vulnerabilities in critical assets, including financial procedures, intellectual property, credit card applications, critical infrastructure, etc.
- Satisfying PCI, NERC, and other compliance requirements
- Undergoing recent, significant changes to your organization or infrastructure
Do I Need a DeepSeas Vulnerability Assessment or a Penetration Test?
The answer is likely both. It depends on the problems your organization is trying to solve, the maturity of your cybersecurity program, and the compliance requirements you need to satisfy. Both vulnerability assessments and penetration testing are critical to maintaining a strong security posture. Below are ways a vulnerability assessment differs from a penetration test.