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When safeguarding your business, the possibilities are virtually limitless. You can install firewalls, antivirus software, and other security measures.
And the best line of defense is vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. But are they the same?
In this article, we will take a comprehensive look at the two services so that you can confidently select the one best suited to your needs.
According to Accenture’s cybercrime study, 43% of all cyberattacks are targeted toward SMBs. And only 40% of small and mid-size businesses survive more than 6 months after facing a cyber attack. Hence, the key is preparedness and prevention. This can be made possible through vulnerability assessments and penetration tests.
What is Vulnerability Assessment?
Vulnerability Assessment is an effortless concept to comprehend – it’s the practice of recognizing and evaluating any potential vulnerabilities in your website, application, network, or devices.
For this process to be effective though, a vulnerability scanner must be used; a tool that scans for weaknesses by referencing an expansive database that lists common weak spots and exposures.
What is Penetration Testing?
Penetration testing eliminates any doubt when it comes to the security of your infrastructure by imitating a malicious attack.
This process, carried out by seasoned security experts, uses hacking techniques to uncover weaknesses and pinpoint potential vulnerabilities in order to minimize any damage that could be caused if exploited.
By utilizing penetration testing, businesses can protect their data from cyber threats before it’s too late.
Who needs a Vulnerability Assessment?
Regardless of the size or nature of your business, conducting regular vulnerability assessments is essential if you are trying to maintain an online presence.
From multi-million dollar SaaS companies to budding e-commerce startups, everyone should have a system in place for constant scanning and protection from potential threats.
If certain regulations such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA, or SOC2 apply to your organization’s operations then security assessment becomes even more imperative.
Who needs Penetration Testing?
Penetration testing is the ideal approach for sophisticated businesses that handle a large volume of sensitive data. If your business has already implemented robust security protocols, but you are concerned about potential vulnerabilities in these measures, penetration testing can help identify and close any existing gaps.
As this procedure requires experienced specialists to dig through your system manually to uncover exploitable weaknesses, it is more costly than vulnerability scanning – thus making it suitable only for companies with generous security budgets.
Vulnerability Assessment vs Penetration Testing: The ultimate showdown
Let’s draw up five distinct categories and compare the performance of our participants in each one.
Speed of execution
When it comes to vulnerability scanning, speed is a main benefit. The process can be completed in mere minutes or up to several hours.
The penetration testing process requires considerable time and effort to complete. The entire process typically consists of seven distinct stages: planning, reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, post-exploitation analysis, and reporting followed by remediation.
A full pentest can take up to two weeks to finish; additionally, you may need more time for rescans after resolving any vulnerabilities that were discovered during the test.
Depth of testing
Despite the fact that a good vulnerability scanner can analyze over three thousand tests and identify thousands of well-known vulnerabilities from security channels such as OWASP and SANS, it still has its limits.
For example, automated vulnerability scanners are not capable of detecting business logic mistakes or environment-specific weaknesses – let alone false positives (flagged threats that do not actually exist).
Penetration testing is designed to locate difficult vulnerabilities that may be undetectable with traditional methods. It takes more than automated tools and scanners, it requires the expertise of seasoned security specialists who know how to detect hidden flaws in a supposedly secure system.
A qualified pentester has an invaluable set of instincts when uncovering weaknesses that can have catastrophic consequences if overlooked.
Risk analysis
Risk assessment of potential vulnerabilities is far more crucial than is generally acknowledged. It helps you target areas where remediation and resource allocation are most needed with precision. A vulnerability evaluation report furnishes an understanding of the CVSS scores for each weakness to determine its level of seriousness.
When it comes to security, penetration testing is undoubtedly the superior method. During a pentest, skilled testers identify weak spots in your system and attempt to exploit them. They can discern exactly how much access an attacker might gain with each vulnerability, what level of privilege they could acquire rapidly, and just how damaging any given attack may be if successful.
A penetration test offers an unambiguous return on investment, due to its comprehensive features and remediation capabilities.
Remediation support
A vulnerability assessment report endeavors to provide not just a diagnosis of the security flaws present in your software, but also recommendations for rectifying them.
By partnering with the right pentest provider, you can acquire a full-fledged Pentesting Report which includes step-by-step instructions on how to identify and repair potential vulnerabilities. Plus, if needed, even an engaging video POC (Proof of Concept) to assist your dev team in the remediation process.
Pricing
By comparison, vulnerability scans are significantly more cost-effective than manual pentest. With a tool that you can easily use anytime you like, the automated process will generate a high-level report; whereas security professionals can examine your codebase for any potential misconfigurations or other issues of concern. Although it’s not an exact measure in terms of assessing vulnerabilities versus penetration testing, this distinction is still important to consider as part of your overall cybersecurity strategy.
Investing in a quality vulnerability assessment can reach up to $200 monthly, whereas the expense of web app pentesting is around $400. Even more expensive are cloud and mobile app pentesting services, which typically cost significantly higher rates.
Final thoughts
Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing are two distinct disciplines, each of which has its own uses. But it’s important to remember that these methods are not mutually exclusive – they can also work in tandem for optimal security coverage. A vulnerability scan is a great starting point for hardening security posture, but it should be supplemented with regular web app pentesting for more thorough protection against cyber threats.
