Hello,

I need two responses of at least 150 words each for the below students discussions for this week. Also in the bold below are the questions the students at answering.

1. Potential incidents represent threats that have yet to happen. Why is the identification of the threat important to maintaining security?

2. Penetration testing is a particularly important contributor to the incident management process. Explain why that is the case, and provide examples of how penetration test results can be used to improve the incident response process.

Student one:

Hello Class,

This week we will be talking about mitigating risks by identifying vulnerabilities and threats. And we will also be discussing penetration testing and the importance of it. Identifying vulnerabilities and threats, and conducting penetration testing are both important parts of risk management for network security in an organization.

R1. The importance of threat identification within an organization is crucial to proper network security. During the risk assessment process, the first step is identifying the hazard. In order to careful guard against hackers and vulnerabilities an organization must understand where its weaknesses are. It allows you go through the rest of the risk assessment steps and set up a plan to guard against them. Understanding common attacks that are a threat to the network is also important. What would you do if someone keeps trying to break into your house in the middle of the night? A not too bad idea would be leaving the porch light on all night so you can get a good look at them. It is the same thought in network

R2. Penetration testing can be an important part of risk assessment, because it can tell an organization just how secure its network really is. It is important because it allows the organization to see what a hacker would see. It also allows the organization to determine the weakness in the infrastructure, and software. Penetration Testing also helps ensure all safe guard controls have been properly implemented. Penetration testing will prove if they are effective or not and will provide reassurance of your network to upper management. Penetration Testing allow for testing of applications that are often avenues hackers take for the attack.

References

https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/media/press-releases/why-is-penetration-testing-necessary

https://codedx.com/the-importance-of-penetration-testing-and-vulnerability-assessments-for-web-applications/

-Brittany

Student two:

Potential incidents represent threats that have yet to happen. Why is the identification of the threat important to maintaining security?

The military has a very strong policy when it comes to planning especially something called Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB). In this step, the planners look at all aspects of the environment in which they will be conducting operations. This includes terrain, culture, and capabilities of the enemy in the area. This allows the unit to plan for what equipment they will need, what tactics, techniques, and procedures they should train on prior to entering the deployment theatre, and how many troops will be required to achieve mission success. All of these things apply to cybersecurity. Understanding the adversaries out there and their capabilities are increasingly important when talking about defending a network. This understanding can help predict the shape of future attacks and allow and enterprise to prepare in advance. Taking a proactive and aggressive posture, as opposed to the traditional sitting back and waiting for the attack to come, offers a lot of benefits to the preparedness of the response.

Penetration testing is a particularly important contributor to the incident management process. Explain why that is the case, and provide examples of how penetration test results can be used to improve the incident response process.

Penetration testing is an extremely important part of any well-articulated cybersecurity attack prevention plan and response plan. As mentioned above, the military has a robust and in-depth planning process. During the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP), the S-2 is usually responsible for the Red team or emulating the actions of the enemy. Like a penetration test, the goal is to look at the friendly team’s plan and see what the enemy will do to defeat it. This allows the team to refine their plan, shore up weaknesses that are identified, and develop contingencies should things go wrong. It’s the same when penetration testing is conducted. The response team can see their weaknesses and the potential effects of an attack and work to mitigate them. Then, when a real attack happens, they have already rehearsed the necessary steps for the response and can execute quickly and efficiently.

-Patrick