Network Security Assessment: Meaning, Types, and Process to Conduct it

A network security assessment is a subset of a cybersecurity risk assessment.

Fremont, CA: A network security assessment is an audit designed to identify security vulnerabilities that could get exploited, cause harm to business operations, or expose sensitive information.

A network security assessment aims to protect the network, devices, and sensitive data from unauthorized access by identifying potential attack vectors from both inside and outside the internal network.

Furthermore, users may have a regulatory obligation to perform them depending on the industry. Credit card processors, for example, must comply with PCI DSS, and health care organizations must comply with HIPAA.

Network security assessments get classified into two types:

• Vulnerability Assessment

A vulnerability assessment identifies an organization's weak points.

• Penetration test

Penetration testing can simulate a real-world cyber or social engineering attack, such as phishing, spear phishing, or whaling.

How to Conduct a Network Security Assessment

A network security assessment is a subset of a cybersecurity risk assessment. The steps are as follows:

• Take Inventory of Resources

The initial step is to identify the assets to be evaluated and define the assessment's scope. It helps to prioritize which assets to assess first. For example, users might not want or need to evaluate every wireless network, web application, and Wi-Fi access point. And even if users wanted to, users might not have the budget.

• Determine Information Value

Because most organizations don't have an unlimited budget for information security (InfoSec), it's best to focus on the most mission-critical assets. Users should also consider what regulatory and compliance requirements the organization may have to meet.

To save time and money, spend time defining a data categorization strategy that specifies a consistent approach to assessing an asset's worth or piece of data.

Most businesses will include asset value, legal standing, and business significance. After user have formally incorporated the policy into the information risk management program, use it to categorize each asset as critical, major, or minor.