Paper Sample on Vulnerability Assessment: Identifying Network Security Weaknesses

Introduction

Vulnerability assessment of the network systems is essential because it is the only viable method in which companies can identify the security weaknesses in their applications, systems, and networks. Vulnerabilities can originate from different areas such as a small misconfiguration, applications that are not patched, or when a router or a firewall accidentally provides excessive access to a portion of the network or the system. The cyber attackers are aware of the vulnerabilities and are always looking for opportunities to attack. Most of the cyber-attacks are aimed at the end-users because they have free will and the mouse. Therefore, it means that the endpoints are at the highest risk of being exploited (Allen & Cardwell, 2016).

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Internal Vulnerability Assessment

The internal vulnerability assessment is the evaluation of information technology from the inside. This type of assessment evaluates the different ways that the employees of the company can exploit the data sets and the network of the company. The internal vulnerabilities assessment is essential because it helps a company to have a remedy against internal attacks by employees and partners who are disgruntled (Parkinso & Hill, 2018). Furthermore, it protects the company against attacks that are not intentional that emanate from the deletion of sensitive data by accident. The assessment can also protect the company against malware, viruses, and other attacks that can breach the network's security. It is essential when a company has internal solutions that can identify the risks of data that can access the system and cost the company a lot regarding the cost and the exposure of sensitive data (Parkinso & Hill, 2018). The assessment identifies the vulnerabilities in the IT system and gives a report that is used to correct or prevent the attack from happening. The report is also essential because it helps determine the effectiveness of the management program called a patch. The internal assessment identifies the potential attacks on the security of the network, the vulnerabilities in the servers, network hosts, workstations, and the points of attack in the wireless network (Allen & Cardwell,2016). Besides, the assessment can identify incorrect configurations in web applications.

External Vulnerability Assessment

On the other hand, the external vulnerability assessment refers to the evaluation done on the public access areas to test its vulnerability and other security issues. The review is crucial because it allows the information technology team to correct any problem before any malicious attacker gets access to the network's sensitive areas. The assessment is done based on the fact that prevention is better than cure (Parkinso & Hill, 2018). The external assessment deliverables include listing the areas that have been detected to be vulnerable and the recommendations on the different ways of mitigating the problem. The recommendations give a roadmap on how the issues will be solved based on their priorities. It is usually recommended that organizations are supposed to conduct this kind of assessment for at least once a year. Apart from the evaluation being done once a year, it should also be done every time a new system configuration has been implemented( Allen & Cardwell,2016). Additionally, after the hardware used by the network has been changed.

Penetration test

A penetration test refers to the manual process in which an ethical hacker conducts an assessment of the different targets to exploit them. The penetration test refers to the situation where a cyber-attack is simulated against a specific computer system to assess the vulnerabilities that can be exploited.

The aim of the test is for the attacker to get unauthorized access through exploitation to use it to emulate the aim of the malicious hacker. A penetration test is usually broken down into several areas, as follows:

Certain legal operations make it possible for the tester to conduct illegal operations. They include the passwords that are not changed in the projects that are source-visible. The penetration test is also called the pen test. It can involve an attempted breach of several applications in the computer system, such as the application protocols and the backed servers to uncover existing vulnerabilities (Parkinso & Hill, 2018).The test provides insights which are then used to correct and fine-tune the security policies.

The main reasons why the assessments are done are first to ensure that organizations comply with the regulatory bodies on the security of their networks. Secondly, specific organizations are at a very high risk of being attacked by hackers. It is, therefore, vital that they conduct the assessment to ensure that they are always on top of things by ensuring that the information in their systems is secure. Lastly, it is crucial to conduct the evaluations for curiosity purposes so that an organization can clearly see the level of threats they face. Therefore, for an organization to ensure that its systems are safe external and internal assessments have to be done and the penetration tests.

References

Allen, L., & Cardwell, K. (2016). Advanced penetration testing for highly secured environments. Packt Publishing. New York.

Parkinson, S., Crampton, A., & Hill, R. (2018). Guide to vulnerability analysis for computer networks and systems: An artificial intelligence approach. Springer. New York.