CompTIA CASP+ Exam: Defining Risks in Vulnerability Assessments

Defining Risks in Vulnerability Assessments

Question

A security analyst is performing a vulnerability assessment on behalf of a client.

The analyst must define what constitutes a risk to the organization.

Which of the following should be the analyst's FIRST action?

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D.

C.

The security analyst is performing a vulnerability assessment on behalf of a client, and the analyst must define what constitutes a risk to the organization. This means that the analyst needs to identify potential threats to the organization's assets and determine the likelihood and impact of these threats.

Out of the given options, the analyst's FIRST action should be to create a full inventory of information and data assets (Option A). This will help the analyst to understand the organization's infrastructure, applications, data, and other important assets. By doing so, the analyst can determine which assets are critical to the organization's operations and need to be protected first.

Creating an inventory of information and data assets will also help the analyst to identify any existing vulnerabilities and determine the potential risks associated with each asset. This information will be used to prioritize the vulnerabilities and risks, allowing the analyst to develop an effective risk management strategy.

Ascertainment of the impact of an attack on the availability of crucial resources (Option B) and determining which security compliance standards should be followed (Option C) are important tasks, but they should come after the creation of a full inventory of information and data assets. Without this initial step, the analyst will not have a clear understanding of the organization's assets and their importance.

Performing a full system penetration test to determine the vulnerabilities (Option D) is an important part of a vulnerability assessment, but it should not be the first step. Before performing a penetration test, the analyst needs to have a clear understanding of the organization's assets, their importance, and the potential risks associated with them.

In conclusion, creating a full inventory of information and data assets should be the analyst's FIRST action when performing a vulnerability assessment on behalf of a client. This will help the analyst to identify potential threats, vulnerabilities, and risks, allowing them to develop an effective risk management strategy.