Introduction To Network Vulnerability Assessment
Security is always a hot topic whether in computing or not. There is always a security factor in everything around us. There is a lot of news about data breaches for the past years. One way to prevent this is by conducting a network vulnerability assessment process.
What is a network vulnerability assessment process?
It’s a method of identifying, classifying, and defining vulnerabilities in a network. This includes the systems, applications, and devices on a network. Let’s breakdown and define the network vulnerability assessment process into parts.
Network in computing is a collection or group of interconnected computing devices. This way of sharing information is fast and reliable. Vulnerability assessment is the process of identifying threats, vulnerabilities, and security risks. Network vulnerability assessment looks for signs of weaknesses in networks, systems, and applications.
A network vulnerability assessment process helps organizations to prepare against various threats. This includes viruses, trojans, rootkits, spyware, ransomware, among others. Knowing the weaknesses or security holes before the attacker does is crucial.
Conducting a network vulnerability assessment process involves the use of vulnerability assessment tools. Majority of network assessment software offers vulnerability scanning. Some products only look for vulnerabilities but don’t recommend any solution. They provide detection but no solution in short.
You will learn the importance of doing a network vulnerability assessment process. You will later know the various types of vulnerability assessments. You will also learn the steps in a network vulnerability assessment process. Lastly, you will know the features to look for in a network assessment tool as well.
Importance Of A Network Vulnerability Assessment Process
Why do you need a network vulnerability assessment process for your business? Your organization needs this because of the following important reasons:
- It offers a clear understanding of your network environment.
- It provides the information you need about the security flaws in your network.
- It provides direction on how to check these risks and other evolving threats.
- It reduces the chances of an attacker breaching your systems.
- It suggests possible solutions to the security holes.
Those are the reasons why you should do a network vulnerability assessment process. We’ll discuss the different types of vulnerability assessments in the next section.
Types Of Vulnerability Assessments
Vulnerability scanning depends on the type of system or network that the client has. The network vulnerability assessment process utilizes many tools. It also uses various methods of identifying vulnerabilities, threats, and risks.
Here are the different types of vulnerability assessments:
| 1. Network-based scan | This type of vulnerability assessment identifies possible network intrusions and breaches. |
|---|---|
| 2. Host-based scan | This locates and recognizes weaknesses in workstations, servers, and other network hosts. This examines the ports and services that may also be visible on network-based scans. |
| 3. Wireless network scan |
This type of vulnerability assessment looks for vulnerabilities in wireless networks. This includes WiFi and public hotspots. A company uses WiFi for various reasons. A BYOD or bring your own device environment depends on Wifi connectivity. These are entry points for an attacker so you need to scan these as well. |
| 4. Application scan | This type of vulnerability assessment tests the web-based apps for vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. |
| 5. Database scan | This type of vulnerability assessment checks for weak points in a database. This is to prevent exploits like SQL injection from happening. |
You now know the various types of network vulnerability assessments. You will now learn the different ways on how to reveal network vulnerabilities.
Vulnerability Assessment Methods
You should choose the right method of conducting a network vulnerability assessment process. You do this after selecting a type of network vulnerability assessment. There are three vulnerability assessment methods to choose from:
| 1. Black box network vulnerability assessment | This simulates an attack coming from outside the network. Your security team tries to find ways to hack into your network over the internet. They’re not given any admin access nor privileges. |
| 2. White box network vulnerability assessment | This looks for security holes inside the network. The security team has admin access rights and privileges this time. This method also checks for security misconfigurations within the network. |
| 3. Gray box network vulnerability assessment | This method uses the other two approaches. The security team doesn’t have full access to the network, to begin with. They use a black box method when they get a piece of information such as user login credentials. |
Those are the three methods when conducting a network vulnerability assessment process. You will now learn the steps when doing a network vulnerability assessment.
Vulnerability Assessment Steps
A network vulnerability assessment process consists of some steps or stages. This is the standard way of doing things. Here are the vulnerability assessment steps when doing a network vulnerability assessment process:
| 1. Planning and defining the scope | Defining the scope of the network vulnerability assessment process takes place here. Planning the assessment objectives happen here as well. |
| 2. Gathering information on the network infrastructure | This is where all the information gathering about the network takes place. They call this "footprinting" |
| 3. Scanning, detection, and assessment of network vulnerabilities | This is where the scanning of vulnerabilities occur. Collecting the results of the assessment and the footprinting info also occurs here. |
| 4. Reporting the final results and identifying countermeasures | The suggestion of possible solutions to the security issues happens here. |
You now know the various steps when doing a network vulnerability assessment process. You’ll learn what features to look for in a network assessment tool in the next section.
Network Assessment Tool Features
Conducting a network vulnerability assessment process requires some tools. These tools will help in securing your company’s network from various threats. These are the features to look for in a network assessment software:
| Features | Description | Other Vendors | ITarian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vulnerability scanning | This is the most important feature to look for in a network assessment software. | This is a standard feature that most network assessment software vendors offer. | ITarian offers this feature and adds support for endpoint devices. ITarian’s network assessment tool generates a list containing issues and anomalies. It also suggests various resolutions. |
| Monitoring tools | You should provide your clients with an overview of their network. You can view what apps, computers, and other devices that a user adds to the network. | Not all network assessment software vendors offer this functionality. Monitoring tools are most of the time in a separate package or offer. |
ITarian offers extra features with their products. This is a cost-effective solution. ITarian is easy to use. Your clients can also add their networks via Workgroup, Active Directory, and IP range. |
| Post-assessment reports | You can generate post-assessment reports. These are also customizable. | Each vendor has their own style of presenting data. | ITarian has the tools you need in generating reports. ITarian creates a risk mitigation plan containing the remediation for each network problem. |
You have learned what a network vulnerability assessment process is. You also learned the importance of doing a network vulnerability assessment process. You’ve learned the types, methods, and steps of a network vulnerability assessment. For more information on network assessment, please click here.
