-----Original Message-----
From: Sol Invictus [mailto:sol@haveyoubeentested.org]
Sent: Saturday, August 05, 2006 7:13 AM
To: Mark Ausley, CISSP
Cc: pen-test@securityfocus.com
Subject: RE: Vulnerability Assessment vs. PenTest
You guys are making this way too complicated.
The only difference between a Vulnerability Assessment and a
Penetration Test is the fact that a Pen test will verify that the
vulnerabilities are in fact exploitable by actually exploiting those
vulnerabilites.
Many services will perform a VA and never run any exploits and try to
pass it as a Pen test. If you have someone doing that, then they are
trying to overcharge you.
The price between a VA and a Pen-test can be significant.
Why is that?
it's the level of responsibility that the Pen-testers must take.
It's very important that your Service provider know the difference and
is able to explain the difference. If they can't do that then you
should not use their services. If they have a high priced VA then you
need them to justify the "value adds".
Sol.
On Sat, 2006-08-05 at 00:47 -0400, Mark Ausley, CISSP wrote:
A Vulnerability Assessment can vary in scale and complexity
but will
generally include the following:
1. External scan with Nessus, STAT, Retina, etc to obtain general
security posture of systems.
2. Internal scan with something like CIS tools, DISA scripts, Gold
Disk etc to assess the configuration of the systems and
their patch levels, etc.
There is some overlap between these first two steps.
3. Review system architecture and associated documentation.
4. Interview SysAdmins & Engineers on system operation.
5. Review existing policy, procedures, SOPs, etc.
6. Perform and document the risk analysis.
A PEN test on the other hand can include any number of the VA items
but usually include a much wider array of testing tools.
A PEN test is usually a few hours to a few days as opposed to a VA
which can take months to perform. Also, during PEN tests
you usually
have little knowledge of the target systems prior to the test. A VA
involves unrestricted access and knowledge of the target systems.
A PEN test usually has a pre-set goal. The scope of the testing and
its goal is usually spelled out to the tester and can be limited or
unlimited. A PEN test can be more likely to break or disrupt normal
operations than a VA and always requires official documents
indicating what is allowed.
PEN tests really illustrate the relationship of vulnerabilities and
how they can string together to open a hole in what
appeared to be a solid wall.
-- Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: James Harless [mailto:jharless@kidwellcompanies.com]
Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 4:57 PM
To: pen-test@securityfocus.com
Subject: Vulnerability Assessment vs. PenTest
Where is the line between a Vulnerability Assessment and a
PenTest?
In other words, which tests do you run which identifies your
assessment as a pentest rather than a VA?
And, related, do VAs still have value? Do you feel that a PenTest
includes everything that a VA would (and more)?
My thoughts are that a VA is just an effort to document all the
identified and potential vulnerabilities on a network. A
PenTest is
an attempt to identify those vulnerabilities and then
exploit some of
them to verify their weakness.
James
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