What does vulnerability assessment entail?

Vulnerability assessment is a systematic process aimed at identifying, quantifying, and prioritizing the vulnerabilities present in a system, network, or application. The main goal of this process is to detect potential security weaknesses that could be exploited by threats, allowing organizations to implement appropriate measures to mitigate those risks.

By focusing on identifying vulnerabilities, the assessment typically involves conducting scans, evaluations, and sometimes manual reviews to uncover areas where security might be compromised or insufficient. This is crucial for maintaining the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of systems and data.

While evaluating security policies, performing audits of user accounts, and implementing new software can play important roles in an organization's overall security posture, these actions do not specifically target the identification and prioritization of vulnerabilities. Instead, they are supportive activities that may arise after a vulnerability assessment has highlighted areas that require attention or improvement. Therefore, the identification and prioritization of vulnerabilities remain central to the process of vulnerability assessment, making it the correct focus of this inquiry.