Which procedure involves assessing both potential threats and existing vulnerabilities?

Risk assessment is a comprehensive process aimed at identifying and evaluating potential threats alongside existing vulnerabilities within a system or program. This procedure involves systematically gathering information about what assets need protection, what threats may affect those assets, and what vulnerabilities could be exploited by those threats.

By assessing both threats and vulnerabilities, a risk assessment provides a holistic view of the security landscape, allowing organizations to understand not just what could go wrong (the threats) but also how susceptible their systems are to these threats (the vulnerabilities). This dual focus is essential for developing effective risk management strategies, as it allows for prioritization of security measures based on a clear picture of risks faced by the organization.

In contrast, threat modeling primarily focuses on identifying and analyzing potential threats without necessarily considering current vulnerabilities. Vulnerability assessment zeroes in on finding and quantifying existing vulnerabilities without a direct tie to specific threats. Impact analysis is concerned with understanding the potential consequences or effects of an event on the organization rather than assessing threats or vulnerabilities directly. Each of these processes plays a role in security management, but risk assessment uniquely combines both threats and vulnerabilities for comprehensive insight.