Security is essential for businesses

Network Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing are terms that, to the uninitiated, may sound complicated and perhaps bring back memories of events narrated in a TV series or cyber novel in which the protagonists are hackers involved in cyber crimes. A topic that is undoubtedly fascinating in fiction, but now too often coincides with the reality of our times. It is no coincidence that cybersecurity procedures have become essential for both public agencies and private companies. The Vulnerability Assessment, mentioned at the outset, is in fact the check-up of a company’s network computer systems, performed to ascertain their level of security, detect the presence of weaknesses and take corrective action so as to block possible intrusions and protect corporate and customer data. Unfortunately, too often the importance of this procedure is underestimated. Consider that the assessment should be performed at least once every 6 months or whenever changes are applied to the network structure.

Public and private

While for private companies these procedures are very important, for public entities they become essential, as administrations should follow the rules imposed by AGID (Agency for Digital Italy), which urges periodic verification of the network and related services. HyperGrid specializes in “Network Vulnerability Assessment” and “Penetration Test” activities, but what are the differences between these procedures?

Assessment and attack

Without getting into technicalities, Vulnerability Assessment is a process designed to assess the security of a corporate network during which all possible security holes are searched and analyzed in order to improve the ability to prevent attacks based on possible vulnerabilities. This is non-invasive, conducted in a mode called Black-box, in which HyperGrid staff perform the analysis without knowing the details of the network. This is followed by the White-box mode assessment, where the Client shares information about the network resources to be analyzed with HyperGrid staff. At the end of the procedure, a detailed report is provided with a description of each vulnerability identified and, of course, solutions to remedy it. The Penetration Test or Pen test, on the other hand, is the further verification, but unlike the Vulnerability Assessment (the purpose of which is to identify security holes), it is an invasive action in which a cyber attack is simulated toward a particular target to test its defenses and demonstrate the criticality of a particular flaw.

Whatever your company’s needs, Hypergrid can provide the right solution tailored to your security needs. For more information: info@hypergrid.it