Network Vulnerability Assessment
Protect Your Network from Cyberattacks
Since 2003, ScienceSoft provides security testing and vulnerability assessment services to help companies locate and mitigate network vulnerabilities.
Network Vulnerability Assessment: Summary
Network vulnerability assessment includes scanning for, detecting, and analyzing security vulnerabilities within a corporate network infrastructure and aims to ensure its resilience to common cybersecurity threats.
It is required to carry out vulnerability assessment to comply with the majority of regulatory standards (HIPAA, PCI DSS, etc.). Usually, assessment is followed by penetration testing to exploit identified vulnerabilities and define most probable attack scenarios.
The assessment may take from 3-4 days (for a small network) to 2-3 weeks (for midsize and large networks). The process requires a team of a lead security engineer and a security engineer, and its cost starts from $5,000.
ScienceSoft’s security experts help midsize and large companies evaluate network security and unearth present security flaws. We can define the nature and criticality of network vulnerabilities and offer a remediation plan.
Network Vulnerability Assessment Methods
Depending on your testing needs, we apply black box, white box or gray box methods.
Black box
Scanning for vulnerabilities without any information on a target network. The external network perimeter is a starting point for scanning.
Assessing the network vulnerability ‘from the inside’ (having all the knowledge about the network).
Searching for vulnerabilities in the network, having some information about it (e.g., user login details), but without access to the entire network.
Network Vulnerability Assessment Plan
ScienceSoft plans network vulnerability assessment, according to the complexity and size of your network infrastructure and the type of the targeted environment (production, development, etc.). Below, our security team shares a sample plan for conducting vulnerability assessment.
- Defining network vulnerability assessment goals (e.g., network segmentation check, malware scanning, preparing for HIPAA compliance audit).
- Creating a checklist of the network segments and software to be assessed.
- Selecting a vulnerability scanning tool that can be configured to bypass specific network firewall rules and restrictions.
- Choosing between an external vulnerability scan (for the part of the network exposed to the internet) and an internal vulnerability scan (for the internal corporate network).
- Scheduling the vulnerability scan (usually for non-business hours).
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- Defining target IPs by specifying hardware or software they belong to.
- Adding the list of target IP addresses to the vulnerability scanning tool.
- Scanning the network for open ports and defining port ranges and protocol types (TCP or UDP).
- Setting up the aggressiveness level of the scan, its duration, and completeness notifications.
We typically set up scan aggressiveness at a medium level as a high scan may influence the performance of the entities you scan due to the increased consumption of network resources.
- Scanning the targeted networks and software via manually tuned automated scanning tool.
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At this stage, we perform manual analysis of the scan findings:
- To filter out false positives and validating the identified security vulnerabilities.
- To analyse root causes and potential impact of the found vulnerabilities.
We recommend reaching out for penetration testing to see whether a real-life attacker can exploit the detected vulnerabilities.
We draw up the final report on network vulnerability assessment, including:
- A list of detected vulnerabilities with their description and classification by their severity.
- Corrective measures for each vulnerability.
- Vulnerability assessment methodology and tools.
Our cybersecurity consultants opt for performing network vulnerability assessment quarterly (monthly or weekly in case of strict compliance requirements) and each time after introducing major changes to the network (e.g., adding or removing hardware and software components).
Consider Professional Network Vulnerability Assessment Services
ScienceSoft’s 19-year experience in information security allows us to expertly plan and conduct network vulnerability assessment.
Network vulnerability assessment consulting
We help plan the vulnerability assessment to suit your network specifics, choosing the optimal scope, techniques, and tools. We advise on how to deal with the assessment findings: exclude false positives, identify compliance gaps, define and prioritize corrective measures.
Outsourced network vulnerability assessment
Entrust the vulnerability assessment of your network to us and be sure that not a single security flaw will go unnoticed. Our experienced security engineers offer remediation guidance or practical aid to help protect your network and achieve full regulatory compliance (HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, etc.).
- In cybersecurity since 2005.
- An IBM Business Partner in Security Operations & Response since 2003.
- 200+ successful cybersecurity projects in banking, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, public sector, and telecoms.
- ISO 27001-certified security management based on comprehensive policies and processes, advanced security technology, and skilled professionals.
- Quality-first approach based on a mature ISO 9001-certified quality management system.
- Recognized as Top Penetration Testing Company by Clutch.
Our Customers Say
Network Vulnerability Assessment: Success Stories by ScienceSoft
IT Infrastructure Security Testing for an Asian Retail Bank
ScienceSoft tested the security of the bank’s network and digital channels and provided a detailed remediation plan to mitigate the uncovered vulnerabilities.
Network Vulnerability Assessment for a US Mobile Services Provider
ScienceSoft carried out vulnerability assessment of critical internal infrastructure objects of the Customer’s network, as a preliminary procedure before PCI DSS validation.
Network Penetration Testing for a US Insurance Service Provider
ScienceSoft's security engineers carried out black box penetration tests of the networks for a US-based insurance service provider.
Network Penetration Testing for a US Law Firm
ScienceSoft conducted network pentesting for a law firm and advised on how to fix multiple existing vulnerabilities to enhance the network security status.
Lead security engineer
- Leads the vulnerability assessment team.
- Mentors security engineers in vulnerability assessment techniques.
- Develops vulnerability scan schedules.
- Suggests remediation strategies for discovered security vulnerabilities.
Security engineer
- Performs comprehensive vulnerability assessments from configuring the scan to reporting scan results.
- Configures and operates vulnerability assessment tools.
- Reports on technical and procedural findings of vulnerability tests.
- Manually validates vulnerability findings for false positives and documents the findings.
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One security engineer is enough to tackle vulnerability assessment of a small network (up to 50 IPs). |
Benefits of Vulnerability Assessment by ScienceSoft
Precise assessment scoping
We analyze your request and study testing targets to define the optimal testing scope. We aim to save your resources by not going beyond the necessary scope.
Complete view of vulnerabilities
We detect maximum vulnerabilities in your network. We identify the most critical and less significant vulnerabilities, so that you can prioritize remediation activities and wisely allocate resources.
Regulatory compliance (GLBA, HIPAA, PCI DSS, etc.)
We have hands-on experience with major regulatory standards. We will provide you a detailed roadmap to fix security gaps to achieve compliance.
Avoiding financial and reputational losses
Timely detection of network vulnerabilities helps prevent most cyberattacks and avoid workflow disruption, downtime, legal issues and non-compliance fines related to security breaches.
Network Vulnerability Assessment Costs
Network vulnerability assessment costs may range greatly from project to project. Here we highlight essential vulnerability assessment cost factors:
- The complexity of the network infrastructure.
- Network size (the number of IPs, applications scanned, etc.).
- The types and number of assessment goals (e.g., network segmentation check, malware scanning, checking compliance with HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, etc.).
- Service provision model (one-time or long-term, as long-term relationships with a vendor may reduce subsequent costs).
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Note: In case of in-house network vulnerability assessment, additional costs also include vulnerability scanning tool licensing (usually charged as a subscription-based fee). |
Here is a sample vulnerability assessment project with $5,000+ cost:
- Assessment method: black box.
- Assessment goal: assessing compliance with HIPAA.
- The number of targeted IPs: up to 200.
About ScienceSoft
ScienceSoft is a global IT consulting and software development company headquartered in McKinney, TX. Since 2003, ScienceSoft provides vulnerability assessment and security testing services to help companies locate and mitigate network vulnerabilities and meet compliance requirements. Being ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified, we rely on a mature quality management system and guarantee data security to our customers during cooperation.