Vulnerability Assessment

Vulnerability Assessment

Every business contains an element of risk, Security risks are usually at the top of that priority list. Risk in technology is a real and present danger. Malicious break-ins into corporate computer systems are increasing year on year. The fact is that many information systems are not designed to be secure, Security through technical means is paramount. A business should know the vulnerabilities it has in its systems as an integral part of its risk management focus.

Performing a vulnerability assessment is vital to your business security baseline and can provide an accurate “point-in-time” representation of your organization’s security posture. However alone, this is not enough. A secure business should have a policy in place to ensure a consultant conduct a vulnerability assessment process on a continual basis. This is the only way to ensure minimizing the overall risk.

Threats originate from all parts of the world, as well as from within your own network, it is becoming ever more important for organizations to secure their resources. The benefits that can result from a consultant conducting frequent, pro-active vulnerability assessments are numerous.

The most apparent advantage is the ability to identify your known security exposures before potential attackers do. By having conducted continual assessments it is easy to identify possible security concerns that may be present on your network, both from an internal and an external stand point. Early detection is vital and introduces for you the opportunity to address the issues before the attackers can exploit those weaknesses which may cause serious damage to your companies assets and your reputation.

Another benefit of having completed routine vulnerability assessments is that it can assist in updating or creating a detailed network map of your enterprise. An organization should have an accurate idea of what systems are present in their environment. However, it should not be possible for someone to connect a new system to your network without informing the right people or going through the correct change management process. However if these machines were unofficially connected to the network such as employees personal laptops and rogue access points for example, the chances of them being hardened or secured is probably low. These rogue machines can introduce unwanted and unnecessary risks into your enterprise and need to be found and dealt with in a timely manner.

It is important to recognize that some of the exposures uncovered may actually need to be present for your systems and infrastructure to run correctly, from a business perspective. The services associated with these exposures need to be highlighted so that the risk can be managed and monitored. It will be possible to accurately develop a risk curve to illustrate how the security posture trends over time. Ideally the risk curve would be managed and reduced, reaching the point where the network security and business requirements meet.

Your existing controls may be effective, but may not be comprehensive enough to provide assurance of appropriate confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your business information. Vulnerability assessments are an important mechanism through which we can help your organization identify potential security exposures and enable you to engage a process to correct any deficiencies.

The internet is growing, and the ease at which just about anyone can launch a cyber attack in turn grows exponentially, it is becoming more important to secure potential exposures quickly. Finding and helping you address these exposures is our business and is becoming a race that is harder and harder for your alone to win, don’t let your organization fall behind.