VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT
Bolster your defences and protect your business against the latest cyber threats.
Trusted by leading organisations
What is a vulnerability assessment?
Uncover hidden risks
in your infrastructure
A vulnerability assessment identifies and evaluates potential weaknesses in your business’s systems, networks and applications. It involves assessing the vulnerabilities that potential threats, such as hackers or malware, could exploit.
An assessment scans and analyses your technology systems, identifying security gaps and prioritising vulnerabilities based on their severity.
Conducting a vulnerability assessment provides valuable insights into your security posture and the proactive measures you can take to address and mitigate any chinks in your armour.
It helps strengthen your defences and reduces the risk of successful cyber attacks or data breaches.
Vulnerability assessment benefits
Accessible solutions for
cost-effective security
Vulnerability assessment helps your business identify potential security weaknesses, allowing you to address them before they can be exploited. It offers several benefits, including:
- Risk mitigation
Identify and address potential security risks to reduce the likelihood of data breaches, financial loss and reputational damage. - Regulatory compliance
Ensure your business adheres to industry-specific standards and demonstrates a commitment to data protection and cyber security, which is crucial for meeting legal obligations and avoiding penalties. - Enhanced security posture
Strengthen your security posture and improve your ability to detect and respond to potential threats, minimising the likelihood of a successful cyber attack.
- Trust and reputation
Demonstrate a commitment to safeguarding sensitive information. People are more likely to engage with businesses prioritising cyber security, which can enhance your reputation and attract new customers. - Improved incident response
Gain valuable insights into potential vulnerabilities to develop effective incident response plans, ensuring a timely and efficient response to security incidents. - Resilient infrastructure
Improve your digital infrastructure’s resilience by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities to reduce the likelihood of disruptions or compromises that could impact operations.
Stay one step ahead
of cyber threats
What does vulnerability
assessment include?
Discover, analyse and prioritise,
all in one scan
Regular vulnerability assessments are crucial for identifying and addressing weaknesses in your digital infrastructure. You can mitigate risks and prevent potential data breaches or cyber attacks by conducting asset discovery, prioritising remediation efforts, and adopting continuous security practices.
A vulnerability assessment examines the security posture of your business’s digital systems to identify weaknesses and potential vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit. It includes the following steps:
Asset discovery
The crucial first phase in a vulnerability assessment identifies all systems, devices and components connected to your network, including mobile or IoT devices and cloud-based infrastructure. By gaining visibility of your digital ecosystem, we can assess and mitigate any potential vulnerabilities.
Vulnerability scanning
Automated tools are used to scan for known security weaknesses. These tools look for indicators such as open ports, outdated or unpatched software or misconfigured settings while conducting targeted probes to detect device-specific vulnerabilities.
Results analysis
The vulnerability scan analyses and prioritises vulnerabilities based on severity. Prioritisation ensures a targeted and efficient remediation process. It considers factors such as network exposure, customer-facing applications and databases with sensitive information.
Reporting
Technical documentation is produced to describe the results of the vulnerability assessment in detail. This enables you to plan the remediation process, and determine how to allocate resources effectively to address the most serious vulnerabilities first.
What cyber security challenges does
vulnerability assessment address?
Neutralising threats
before they take hold
Vulnerability assessment empowers your business to enhance its security posture, mitigate risks and ensure a robust defence against evolving threats. It’s an essential component of any comprehensive cyber security strategy.
Cyber security is a constant concern for many businesses. Vulnerability assessment plays a vital role in addressing this challenge. By leveraging advanced technologies and expertise, vulnerability assessment helps tackle the following cyber security issues:
Identifying
security gaps
Vulnerability assessment helps you identify security weaknesses and gaps in your systems, networks and applications. Conducting comprehensive scans and tests uncovers and assesses vulnerabilities, allowing for targeted remediation.
Extending internal capabilities
Vulnerability assessment extends your internal IT team’s capabilities. With limited resources, you can use vulnerability assessment to complement your in-house expertise, enabling your team to effectively cover more ground and address security risks.
Proactive threat prevention
By regularly assessing vulnerabilities, you can identify and address potential threats before they can be exploited. This proactive approach helps prevent security breaches and reduces the likelihood of a successful cyber attack.
Effective resource allocation
Vulnerability assessment helps optimise resource allocation by focusing efforts on areas of greatest need. Understanding the vulnerabilities present allows you to allocate resources to address critical risks and strengthen your security defences.
Bridging the
skills gap
Many businesses face a shortage of skilled cyber security professionals. Vulnerability assessment compensates for a lack of in-house expertise by providing automated tools to detect cyber threats within your organisation.
Optimising cost efficiency
Building and maintaining an in-house team of security experts can be expensive. Vulnerability assessment offers a cost-effective solution that can identify a wide range of vulnerabilities with a high level of efficiency.
Other types of penetration testing
CREST-approved
penetration testing services
As well as vulnerability assessment, our team provides the following penetration testing services:
Network penetration testing
Our network and infrastructure penetration testing assesses your networks and systems for vulnerabilities. It simulates exploitation safely to show the potential impact. We have extensive knowledge of enterprise environments, networking and security technologies.
Website penetration testing
Assesses your web applications and APIs for security vulnerabilities that may be exploited to compromise your applications. We use comprehensive OWASP testing methodologies and leading tools to provide assurance that your applications are secure.
Mobile application penetration testing
Mobile application pentesting provides an in-depth review of your applications’ security to ensure data is protected. Our team has deep experience in assessing iOS, Android and Windows platforms, and many mobile development frameworks such as React Native, Flutter and Xamarin.
Cloud penetration testing
Cloud penetration testing attempts to find misconfigurations that may expose your cloud systems and data to attack. It’s performed against environments hosted by a cloud service provider, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure.
IoT penetration testing
Internet of Things (IoT) penetration testing uncovers vulnerabilities in IoT devices, networks, and ecosystems, protecting against cyber threats. Simulating real-word attacks, we assess firmware, protocols, and configurations. This ensure secure, resilient IoT implementations.
All penetration testing services
Our penetration testing services are ideal for businesses who have commercial or regulatory requirements to complete testing, as well as businesses who prioritise cyber security and need independant technical assurance.
Frequently asked questions
Why is vulnerability assessment important?
Vulnerability assessment helps businesses identify weaknesses in their digital infrastructure, allowing them to prioritise and address security vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.
Who should perform vulnerability assessments?
Vulnerability assessments can be conducted by internal IT teams or outsourced to a specialist cyber security provider, like Sentrium. It’s crucial to have knowledgeable professionals with security testing and assessment expertise.
How long does a vulnerability assessment take?
The duration of a vulnerability assessment depends on the size and complexity of the business’s digital environment. It can range from a few hours for small systems to several days for more extensive networks.
Can vulnerability assessments guarantee 100% security?
While a vulnerability assessment will significantly enhance your security posture, it can’t guarantee absolute security. However, it will significantly reduce your cyber risk by identifying and addressing any existing vulnerabilities in your network.
How can vulnerability assessments benefit small businesses?
Vulnerability assessments are as crucial for small businesses as for larger ones. They help small businesses identify and address security weaknesses, protecting sensitive data and mitigating the risk of cyber attacks.
How often should vulnerability assessments be conducted?
You should conduct vulnerability assessments regularly, ideally quarterly or annually. However, the frequency may vary depending on your business’s size, industry, level of risk and compliance needs.
What are the steps involved in a vulnerability assessment?
A typical vulnerability assessment includes asset discovery, vulnerability scanning, result analysis and reporting. It’s a cost-effective process to identify and address a wide range of security weaknesses.
What happens after a vulnerability assessment?
After the assessment, a detailed report outlines identified vulnerabilities and recommended remediation actions. You can use this report to prioritise and fix the vulnerabilities.
What is the difference between vulnerability assessment and penetration testing?
Vulnerability assessments focus on identifying weaknesses in your cyber defences. Penetration testing goes further by exploiting vulnerabilities to assess your security controls’ effectiveness.
Are vulnerability assessments only necessary for businesses with an online presence?
No, regardless of online presence, vulnerability assessments are important for many businesses. Even if you don’t have a public-facing website or online services, attackers can still exploit vulnerabilities in internal systems and networks. It’s crucial to assess and address these vulnerabilities proactively.