Network- and Host-Based Vulnerability Assessments: An Introduction to a Cost Effective and Easy to Use Strategy.

In today's business world, vital company information is accessed, stored, and transferred electronically. The security of this information and the systems storing this information are critical to the reputation and prosperity of companies. Therefore, vulnerability assessments of computer systems are routinely employed by businesses to obtain a complete evaluation of the security risks of the systems under investigation. However, the methods for performing vulnerability assessments are varied and cost prohibitive. The purpose of this research was to investigate a convenient, efficient, and cost-effective method for conducting vulnerability assessments. The results show that a successful method employs the strengths of two software packages, Nessus (Nessus Security Scanner) and SecurityExpressions, running from a mobile laptop computer.