Can you describe the differences between a Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing?

One of the key functions cyber security professionals perform is to ensure that the organization's information is secure. They do this by constantly probing the system, similar to what a hacker would do to identify its vulnerabilities and determine how difficult it is to access the information. Interviewers will ask you about the methodologies you use to accomplish this, including vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Knowing the differences between these, how they are used, and the results you can obtain from them is a key requirement for this role.

"Vulnerability assessments and penetration testing are two ways you can determine the security of the organization's IT infrastructure. A vulnerability assessment will help identify access points within the system that hackers can use to infiltrate the network and steal the company's information. These flaws can then be remediated. Penetration testing is the process of finding specific vulnerabilities within the system's security. This is a more dynamic method of ensuring that vulnerabilities are identified and addressed."

"Every organization knows that their IT infrastructure has flaws or weaknesses. They want to find these flaws and prioritize the flaws for fixing. A vulnerability assessment enables them to do this effectively and efficiently. Penetration testing is the active process of finding vulnerabilities on a specific target within the network. The organization sets up all the security measures they can think of and would then test if there is any other way that their network can be hacked. Both of these techniques are effective, especially if used together."