Question

A security analyst is tasked with assessing a fleet of internal Windows servers for missing patches and insecure configurations. The team wants the most accurate, comprehensive picture of vulnerabilities that could be exploited by an attacker who has already gained a foothold on the network. Which scanning approach should the analyst select?

Accepted Answer

An authenticated (credentialed) scan using accounts with sufficient privileges to inspect installed software, registry, and configuration settings

Answer

An unauthenticated (uncredentialed) scan from an external perspective to model an anonymous internet attacker

Answer

A passive network monitoring scan that only observes traffic without sending probes

Answer

A port scan followed by manual banner grabbing on each responding service