Cybersecurity experts discuss penetration tests and vulnerability assessments quite a bit. Both are important tools in your cybersecurity arsenal, but they’re hardly interchangeable.

In fact, a penetration test often includes a vulnerability scan, so while it might seem like a dichotomy, it’s really just a matter of how far you’re willing to take your cybersecurity strategy and how much you care about protecting your digital assets.

In this article from EliteSec, we’ll help you distinguish between the two types of testing methodologies and figure out how far you need to go.

What is a Vulnerability Assessment?

When you conduct a vulnerability assessment, you’re basically just poking around for weaknesses in your cyber infrastructure.

This typically means that you’re using vulnerability scanning software. Such software allows you to systematically identify and classify weaknesses in your infrastructure based on the software’s knowledge of existing threats.

For most organizations, this is the least they can do to ensure that their It infrastructure is secure. But as you’ll see later, the minimum usually isn’t enough.

For those who are curious, here are some popular vulnerability scanning tools:

• Burp Suite
• Tenable Nessus
• Qualys
• OpenVAS
• nmap

Pros of Vulnerability Assessments

Here are some reasons why you might want to conduct a vulnerability assessment:

• They help you detect obvious security weaknesses early.
• You can figure out which patches to prioritize
• Many organizations run these tests for regulatory compliance purposes
• Gets the “easy targets” out of the way
• Easy to automate as well

Cons of Vulnerability Assessments

And of course, here are some of the cons:

• The testing software sometimes comes out with false positives
• The larger your network, the more resources you end up spending
• Despite how easy it looks to use scanning software, an expert is still preferred.
• Completely overlooks your unknown vulnerabilities, and thus, you aren’t prepared for zero-day threats.

What is Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing goes beyond known security vulnerabilities by using ethical hacker techniques. During a penetration test, the tester will behave just as a real-world hacker does and will try to attack your system with all the information they have.

That makes vulnerability assessments a critical initial step in the pen testing process. For pen testers, those scans allow them to research common vulnerabilities that they can exploit when they simulate the attack. However, the pen tester must also think and act independently. They must strategize the exact same way that a hacker would to figure out new ways of breaking into your system.

Here’s a brief summary of what the typical pen test looks like:

• Reconnaissance: The pen tester will do in-field research to find out everything they can about your system to eventually put together the pieces of a cyber attack.
• Vulnerability scans: As you already know, these will help the pen tester detect the “low-hanging fruit” first.
• Gaining access: With all the research compiled, the tester will try to gain access using every vulnerability they can.
• Maintaining access: For the sake of thoroughness, the tester will try to gain access from every angle. Not only that, but they want admin access to see how deep the damage goes.
• Reporting: At the very end, the pen tester will compile a report with a summary of the breaches they found and recommendations on how to address them.

The pen tester shouldn’t be any odd person from your IT team. Instead, you should choose a professional pen tester like EliteSec to carry it out. We’ve seen dozens of security postures before, and have experience giving businesses quick and actionable feedback.

Pros of Penetration Testing

Yes, as penetration testers ourselves, we’re a bit biased, but we still want to tell you why pen testing is so great:

• Gives you a dose of real life.
• Helps you find new and unique vulnerabilities
• Uses automated and human processes to get a full scope of how hackers work.
• Allows you to action the results with intelligent feedback from a professional.
• You can evaluate how your security measures perform in an adversarial scenario.

Cons of Penetration Testing

But to play devil’s advocate…

• A truly comprehensive pen test might be beyond your budget
• Qualified professionals can be difficult to find
• These tests can be extremely disruptive and time-consuming, usually taking weeks
• New risks could arise if you’re not careful

Key Differences Between Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing

You’re probably starting to get the idea but to drive the point home, let’s check out some of how penetration tests differ from vulnerability assessments.

Real-world Scenarios

As you can see, the main value of a penetration test is the fact that it presents your IT security posture with the opportunity for a real test. Vulnerability scans are really just an automated program running through your IT assets based on a database of known vulnerabilities. The thing is, the best hackers are clever, and they don’t usually bother with attacks that have already been tried.

Depth

Vulnerability assessments are a quick and easy way to check out the important parts where your security infrastructure is falling behind. But they often neglect to mention the “how”.

That is, the software will likely point out vulnerabilities in your security and common means of addressing them, but it doesn’t outline the process that a nefarious actor might go through to actually inflict these damages.

Human Impact

Pen testers have spent years mastering their craft. Vulnerability testing is rather unintelligent by comparison. One of the foremost jobs of a pen tester is to stay abreast of industry trends, particularly, the latest types of attacks. They will then test the most novel hacking techniques on your system. Or better yet, they might even synthesize brand-new techniques to become one step ahead.

Price

Any penetration tester worth their salt is going to charge a high but reasonable fee. Contrast that to vulnerability scanning software which will only charge a few thousand dollars. Both are expensive, but vulnerability scans will just cost less.

On the flip side, it’s usually better to have an expert run your vulnerability scans so that they can provide more detailed insights into why certain vulnerabilities pop up. Those expert hours will cost money too.

Our belief is that it’s better to pay what you need upfront to stay on top of things rather than suffer a threat and pay more both in money and reputation down the line.

Which One Should You Choose?

So, here’s the thing. There’s a right and wrong time for everything. A penetration test isn’t always necessary, especially if you have conducted one recently.

Generally speaking, if your goal is to maintain your cybersecurity at a minimum level, a vulnerability assessment will do the job. It can be enough to identify potential weaknesses if you’re short on time and can’t tolerate any disruptions.

But, that vulnerability assessment will never give you that same holistic view that the penetration test would. In fact, you could really be putting yourself at a disadvantage without one.

Let’s go over some specific scenarios you should consider before you make a decision.

These Two Are Not Mutually Exclusive

So first of all, let us stress that vulnerability assessments go hand in hand with pen tests. As we described earlier, the vulnerability scan is the second step in the pen test. They’re hardly mutually exclusive.

Basically, if you only want to explore different possibilities, just as the pen tester does, vulnerability scans can be a handy research assignment. And a much cheaper one too.

Not to mention, the vulnerability scan also includes a reporting phase. While the reporting isn’t as detailed as that of a pen tester, it will still recommend tactics you can use to solve the issue. They won’t be perfectly tailored to your company’s specific infrastructure though. After all, a penetration tester will consult with you beforehand to explore possibilities with you while keeping in mind how this affects their advice later down the line.

Regulatory Obligations

The bigger and more public-facing your company is, the larger the target on your back. For example, about 93% of healthcare organizations have gone through at least one breach in the last year. Sit back and think about that for a moment.

There’s a reason why most jurisdictions require healthcare, FinTech, and other organizations that hold sensitive customer data to conduct periodic pen tests. Sometimes, these are required multiple times a year. It can be pricy, but it’s just considered a cost of doing business. On the other hand, vulnerability assessments might be required at an even larger frequency!

The “Social” Aspect

If your employees often interact with the public, then don’t underestimate the threat of social engineering.

It’s an important real-life aspect of pen testing that vulnerability scans won’t cover. After all, the software can’t send an email, and it certainly won’t try to hand a virus-laden USB key to one of your employees so that they can hack into your system later.

Social engineering is more possible in some industries than others. If you’re a FinTech firm with 5 employees, it’s going to be a lot less likely to happen than at a dental clinic with 50. There are simply fewer targets available.

Our Final Verdict

If it’s already time for you to make a decision between the vulnerability scan and the pen test, here’s a simple question you can ask yourself.

“How do I know I’m prepared for a real-life cyber attack?”

That’s the million-dollar question, right? If you answer that you had a pen test 3 years ago and you were prepared back then, you’re mistaken to think that preparedness still applies to the present day. As we noted throughout the article, cyber threats are evolving.

And if you’re going with just a gut feeling, then you should at least try talking to a professional about your situation first. Identifying vulnerabilities and fixing the problem yourself is like identifying your own medical condition and performing surgery. Safe to say, some things are better left to the experts.

And if you want to talk to experts with a vast amount of cybersecurity experience across several domains, including healthcare and finance, sit down for a 30-minute no-obligation consultation with us at [EliteSec[(https://elitesec.io/).