Network Vulnerability Assessment

Why a network vulnerability assessment is important

A network vulnerability assessment is designed to identify potential weaknesses that can compromise the vulnerability of your network, data and devices. Vulnerabilities, breaches and cyberattacks can originate from outside your internal network by cybercriminals, and even within your network due to human error.

Your business may also be required to conduct network vulnerability audits in order to comply with industry regulations such as PCI DSS and HIPAA.

In order to keep your network and data safe, and comply with industry regulations, network vulnerability assessments are intended to answer key questions, such as systems likely to be breached, common entry points, the impact of a cyberattack on assets and what can be done to mitigate attacks.

What are the types of network vulnerability assessments

There are two types of network vulnerability assessments:

1. Vulnerability assessments identify where the weaknesses are.
2. Penetration tests simulate a cyberattack or social engineering attack, such as phishing, spear phishing or whaling.

In combination, these assessments test the effectiveness of your network vulnerability measures and measure the potential impact of an attack on specific assets.

What’s involved with our network vulnerability assessment?

Resource inventory

In order to determine which systems should be tested and in what priority order, we’ll help you take stock of all your networks, data, devices and other IT assets to help identify what you need and want to secure the most. This will also provide you with an overview of your overall network and the IT security controls around it.

Value assessment

Unless you have an unlimited budget for information security, you will likely need to limit the scope of your network vulnerability assessment to your most valuable and mission-critical assets, and especially with consideration for those than can affect regulatory and compliance requirements.

We can help you rank your assets based on their value, impact on regulatory compliance, and importance to running your business, and then classify each as critical, major or minor. The value ranking system involves answering the following questions about each asset:

• Would there be any financial or legal implications associated with exposing or losing this information?
• How valuable is this information to competitors?
• Is it possible to recreate this information if lost, and if so, what would be the cost in terms of time, money and resources?
• What impact does the loss of this information have on revenue or profitability?
• Could our day-to-day business operations continue without this information?
• To what extent would a leak of this information damage our reputation?

IT infrastructure vulnerability assessment

As secure as you believe your network to be, there are likely hidden or less obvious vulnerabilities that can be exploited. Some of your personnel can be increasing risks with poor security habits, such as weak passwords or clicking on links from unknown sources. You may have vendors who have access to your network to conduct business but who have inadequate information security policies.

Cybervulnerability risk can come from anywhere including inside and outside your organization, internal personnel with poor vulnerability habits, or third-party vendors with inadequate information vulnerability policies who have access to your network.

Our comprehensive network vulnerability assessment process includes:

• Network scans: A comprehensive scan of all your network's ports and other attack vectors, including Wi-Fi, Internet of Things, and other wireless networks. It will also identify accessible hosts and network services.
• Internal weaknesses: Our vulnerability consultants will assess your internal personnel for security knowledge and habits, as well as outsiders with authorized access to your internal network and sensitive data.
• Information vulnerability policy review: Review of your policies regarding bringing your own device (BYOD), employee training, and email usage.
• Network enumeration: The discovery of hosts or devices on a network that can fingerprint the operating system of remote hosts. Once an attacker knows the operating system, they can check CVE for a list of known vulnerabilities to exploit.

Defense testing

Once your network’s vulnerabilities are identified, we’ll test the adequacy of your security controls and risk mitigation techniques to prevent attackers from exploiting them. This will be done by conducting either a manual penetration test or by using automated ethical hacking tools.

Network vulnerability assessment report and recommendations

We’ll compile a comprehensive report that includes each vulnerability and what its risks, exploits and value are, along with the likelihood of occurrence, the impact on your business, and recommendations for control policies and procedures.

These controls can be both preventative and detective measures and can include a combination of technical, policy and physical solutions.

Network vulnerability monitoring

We can also provide monitoring of your IT environment for continuous protection of your data and devices. Our vulnerability experts will leverage our powerful technology combined with their extensive knowledge and expertise to detect, investigate and alert valid vulnerability threats. We can also generate reports to satisfy internal stakeholders and compliance auditors as needed.

Trust your network vulnerability assessment to us.

DynaSis provides network vulnerability assessment services for our clients in the Smyrna, GA area. You can count on us to conduct a professional and comprehensive assessment of your network vulnerability, and to recommend the right controls that will help ensure a secure and compliant IT infrastructure. Contact us today to speak to a network vulnerability consultant.