Which of the following BEST represents the goal of a vulnerability assessment?
A.
To test how a system reacts to known threats
B.
To reduce the likelihood of exploitation
C.
To determine the system’s security posture
D.
To analyze risk mitigation strategies
Explanation:
A vulnerability scan is the process of scanning the network and/or I.T. infrastructure for threats and vulnerabilities. The threats and vulnerabilities are then
evaluated in a risk assessment and the necessary actions taken to resolve and vulnerabilities. A vulnerability scan scans for known weaknesses such as missing
patches or security updates.
A vulnerability scan is the automated process of proactively identifying security vulnerabilities of computing systems in a network in order to determine if and where
a system can be exploited and/or threatened. While public servers are important for communication and data transfer over the Internet, they open the door to
potential security breaches by threat agents, such as malicious hackers.
Vulnerability scanning employs software that seeks out security flaws based on a database of known flaws, testing systems for the occurrence of these flaws and
generating a report of the findings that an individual or an enterprise can use to tighten the network’s security.
Incorrect Answers:
A: A vulnerability scan is used to determine whether a system is vulnerable to known threats. It is not used to test how a system reacts to the known threats.Therefore, this answer is incorrect.
B: A vulnerability scan is used to determine whether a system is vulnerable to known threats. By determining the existence of vulnerabilities, we can reduce the
likelihood of the system being exploited. However, we first need to determine the existence of the vulnerabilities. Therefore, this answer is incorrect.
D: A vulnerability scan is used to determine whether a system is at risk from known threats. After determining the risk, we can develop a risk mitigation strategy.
However it is not the purpose of the vulnerability scan to analyze the risk mitigation strategies. Therefore, this answer is incorrect.http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/V/vulnerability_scanning.html