What to Expect During a Security and Vulnerability Assessment

The truth is that no one likes to be told they “dropped” the ball. And part of a security audit is just that — an assessment of what you simply haven’t been paying attention to — and what, right now, demands your unmitigated attention. Right now, cyber threats are becoming more and more complex — more convoluted. They adapt, they evolve, and in many cases, become agents of destruction incredibly fast. 

How fast?  Faster than we can track them. The truth is that, regardless of what we like to think, as a whole, we are always on the defensive. Apple creates an update based on attacks reported by its users, and so does every other company. We patch things. We love to think we are proactive, but the reality is that we are reactive. Why? Cause there is always going to be one new, innovative, “bolt out of the blue” attack we simply couldn’t foresee. 

For those, there is nothing more than to brace yourself and hope it strikes someone else. But for everything else, there’s preventative risk management. A way to not only protect yourself against what you already know is coming but to mitigate the hurt in case a “bolt out of the blue” comes at you. This has become a cornerstone of every serious cybersecurity strategy. At the heart of this method lies the security and vulnerability assessment—a structured analysis of identifying weaknesses before they can be exploited. ENISA and national CERTs across the EU recommend regular assessments to detect systemic flaws, poor configurations, and vulnerabilities caused by outdated software or human error. Without these assessments, companies risk operating blindly, unaware of critical gaps in their digital infrastructure. 

Put simply, a security and vulnerability assessment is a security management process that assesses potential risks and vulnerabilities within IT systems. Its goal is to uncover weaknesses before attackers do and provide clear steps to fix them.

The Security and Vulnerability Assessment Process

The assessment process follows a structured path. Each phase builds upon the last, offering increasingly detailed insight into the organisation’s risk exposure and mitigation priorities.

This process applies to companies of all sizes and across all industries, especially those operating under strict regulatory obligations such as GDPR, NIS2, or ISO 27001.

1. Initial Evaluation

The first step is understanding the current cybersecurity mindset and, well, your posture. This includes a high-level review of:

• Network infrastructure

• Access control systems

• Cloud environments

• Endpoint security

• Security policies and procedures

Specialists will also determine whether the system contains known vulnerabilities, potential misconfigurations, or indicators of zero-day vulnerabilities—previously unknown flaws not yet patched by software vendors.

2. Identification of Vulnerabilities

Next, the team investigates the actual weak points in the system. These may exist in both internal and external environments.

Key focus areas include:

• Unpatched or outdated software

• Weak default passwords or shared credentials

• Misconfigured firewall rules or cloud permissions

• Third-party plugins or tools that introduce risks

The assessment will also evaluate:

• Internal perimeter defences

• VPN configurations

• Wireless networks and mobile device policies

This phase often uncovers overlooked issues, such as development environments exposed to the internet or backup files with weak access control.

3. Analysis

Once vulnerabilities are identified, they must be analysed to understand how and why they exist. This involves root cause analysis and impact modelling.

Assessors evaluate:

• Whether vulnerabilities are the result of technical flaws, poor maintenance, or human error

• The likelihood that a threat actor could exploit the weakness

• The potential consequences (e.g., data breach, service interruption, regulatory violation)

The output of this phase is often a detailed vulnerability matrix, categorised by:

• Attack vector (e.g., remote access, email, internal user)

• Affected systems

• Type of flaw (e.g., injection, misconfiguration, privilege escalation)

4. Prioritisation

Not all vulnerabilities carry the same risk. Some are trivial to exploit and yield high-value access — others are difficult to trigger or have limited impact.

Prioritisation ranks vulnerabilities based on:

• Severity (using CVSS scores or custom scoring models)

• Business impact (data sensitivity, financial implications)

• Exploit availability and attacker interest

This allows the organisation to focus remediation efforts on the most urgent issues first, avoiding the trap of “fixing everything at once.”

The deliverables at this stage typically include:

• A prioritised remediation plan

• Timeframes for patching or reconfiguration

• Risk acceptance documentation for non-critical issues

5. Fix Implementation

The final step is, well, fixing and patching things up. This involves patching software, tightening access controls, rewriting policies, or deploying new security tools.

This phase also includes validation, ensuring the fix has addressed the underlying issue. Follow-up testing is often conducted to confirm vulnerability resolution and system stability.

Security teams may also update playbooks, train employees on revised procedures, or introduce new detection rules into SIEM platforms.

Security and Vulnerability Assessment vs. Penetration Testing

Many organisations confuse vulnerability assessments with penetration testing. Though related, they serve different purposes within a cybersecurity framework.

Vulnerability Assessment

• Identifies known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations

• Uses automated tools and manual checks

• Provides a broad, organisation-wide view of weaknesses

• Focuses on detection, not exploitation

Penetration Testing

• Simulates a real-world attack scenario

• Aims to exploit vulnerabilities to demonstrate potential damage

• Often performed after a vulnerability assessment

• Useful for testing incident response readiness and resilience

Together, vulnerability assessment and penetration testing in cyber security offer a comprehensive approach to understanding and improving security posture.

Common Tools and Techniques in Security and Vulnerability Assessments

Professional assessments use a variety of tools, depending on the environment and scope. These fall into several categories:

Network-Based Scanners

These tools examine external and internal networks for:

• Open ports

• Unsafe protocols

• Misconfigured routers or DNS servers

• Insecure remote desktop services

Examples: Nessus, OpenVAS, Qualys

Host-Based Scanners

Focused on individual systems, these tools inspect:

• Operating system vulnerabilities

• Patch status

• Application versions

• Local misconfigurations

Examples: Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA), OSSEC

Application and Database Scanners

Web and database applications are frequent targets for attackers. These tools uncover:

• SQL injection flaws

• Cross-site scripting (XSS) risks

• Weak session handling

• Insecure database configurations

Examples: Burp Suite, AppScan, SQLMap

Cloud-Based Scanners

As organisations migrate infrastructure to cloud platforms, cloud-specific vulnerabilities emerge. Scanners assess:

• Improper IAM roles

• Misconfigured storage buckets

• Lack of encryption or logging

Examples: ScoutSuite, Prisma Cloud

How Often Should You Perform a Security and Vulnerability Assessment?

Security isn’t static. New vulnerabilities emerge, employees change, and systems evolve. As a result, assessments must be repeated to remain effective.

Best practices for frequency:

• Quarterly assessments for organisations with high-risk exposure

• Bi-annual assessments for stable environments with minimal change

• On-demand assessments after major software deployments, system changes, or security incidents

In regulated industries, these assessments may be mandatory, forming part of compliance frameworks such as ISO 27001 or PCI DSS.

Why Assessments Matter in Today’s Threat Landscape

ENISA reports that over 58% of successful breaches in the EU stemmed from known, unpatched vulnerabilities. In nearly all cases, the flaw was publicly documented, but no action was taken.

Security and vulnerability assessments directly address this issue by identifying and prioritising risks before exploitation occurs. When combined with governance and response planning, these assessments form the foundation of mature cybersecurity practices.

Key Benefits of Regular Assessments

• Uncover hidden weaknesses across digital infrastructure

• Improve prioritisation of cybersecurity resources

• Strengthen compliance posture under GDPR, NIS2, and other mandates

• Reduce breach probability and incident response costs

• Support cybersecurity insurance requirements

Make Security Assessments a Habit, Not a Reaction

Cyber threats won’t wait for your next upgrade cycle or policy review. The only way to stay ahead is through proactive evaluation of your digital defences.

A security and vulnerability assessment provides visibility, context, and action. It bridges the gap between theoretical risk and practical response.

It’s not enough to build firewalls and hope. True security requires ongoing scrutiny, cross-functional cooperation, and regular audits of the systems you depend on. The organisations that survive cyberattacks are those that prepare in advance—not those that scramble after the breach.

Integrate assessments into your quarterly or biannual planning cycle. Build institutional habits around testing, prioritising, and fixing.