The security assessment process is crucial and complicated but is one of the best methods of
ensuring an enterprise's applications, devices, systems, and digital infrastructure are secure and
free from threats. As modern hardware and software become more susceptible to hacking,
security threats, and other malicious behavior, it is now more critical than ever to reduce these
potential breaches and implement preventative measures. To do so, a security assessment helps
detect significant threats and risks within the infrastructure and enables institutions to take
necessary precautions.
Cybersecurity assessments map the various risks of different cyber threat types. For this reason,
these assessments are a critical tool to guarantee business continuity in the case of an attack. By
exposing issues within a system, your company can take the necessary steps to plug those gaps
so cyber criminals cannot compromise or steal critical information or perform malicious acts.
Today we take a look at the four main Cybersecurity Assessments available and recommended
for K-12 institutions to consider as their ongoing IT security hygiene gameplan.
There are four different types of security assessments, so it can take time to determine which is
most suitable for your organization by your in-house team. These security assessment types
include:
An IT audit reviews the current configuration to ensure it matches a specific compliance
standard. This is often based on documentation and technical aspects of the system. An IT audit
doesn't evaluate network security but only indicates how security is defined within the
organization. The resulting document shows if compliance standards have been achieved. These
audits are instruments that document compliance, which is proof of the company's network
security quality level. Typically, those institutions that are strict on safety are the most compliant.
An IT risk assessment determines which vulnerability level is acceptable and the risk of an attack
on those system exposures. This security assessment type reviews two risk dimensions: the
likelihood and impact, both of which can be measured qualitatively and quantitatively. When the
analysis completes, the team determines the best actions to take to mitigate the risk level to a
more acceptable ranking, where possible. The risk assessment results produce a list of prioritized
risks that must be mitigated and the recommended steps to reach this goal.
The term "risk assessment" is an umbrella phrase for identifying and mapping potential risks that
could harm a company's assets and how the firm wants to protect them. Since a company's
internal and external systems are significant assets, an IT risk assessment is always helpful to
conduct at random times.
Penetration testing performs a deep dive on a specific target. For instance, stored information
that cyber criminals could alter, sensitive customer data, or domain rights that are vulnerable to
hacking. The penetration testing will show whether the current security measures are sufficient.
In addition, penetration testing confirms that local written code, version management, and
software configurations are secure. To perform penetration testing, other assessments must have
been performed since this test is at a higher level and should be performed by experienced in-
house or outsourced testers to reach the best and most thorough results.
This test attempts to uncover as many vulnerabilities as possible within your systems. During
this assessment, testers review the potential severity of an attack on each part of your system and
the various recovery options. The vulnerability assessment then produces a priority list of
problems that must be addressed to keep the network safe.
The vulnerability test is relevant when extensive improvements, patches, or other assessments
have been performed on a system. This assessment aims to fix as many issues as possible while
prioritizing the most critical. Budgeting occurs after a vulnerability assessment, so there is
sufficient money to tackle the most crucial network vulnerabilities.
When implementing a cybersecurity assessment, it’s determined if potential exposure to cyber
threats exists within your network or system. Of the different types of security assessments,
finding the best option that fits your institution depends on the security level and previous tests
performed.
For this reason, it’s important to find a modern wireless security assessment team of
professionals capable of finding and exposing breaches in your system. Call the experts at Intech Southwest today to discuss which security assessment is suitable for your company and the next
steps for testing.
