What does a vulnerability assessment involve?

A vulnerability assessment involves a systematic approach to identifying, quantifying, and prioritizing security weaknesses in a system, network, or application. This process is crucial for organizations to understand their security posture and identify areas that require remediation before they can be exploited by attackers.

The assessment typically includes various activities such as scanning systems for known vulnerabilities, analyzing configurations, and reviewing practices against security best practices. By quantifying the vulnerabilities, organizations can prioritize which weaknesses to address based on the potential impact and likelihood of exploitation. This proactive approach helps in reducing risks and improving overall security.

The other options describe different processes that do not align with the objective and methodology of a vulnerability assessment. Exploiting security weaknesses involves an active attack, which is contrary to the assessment goal of identifying vulnerabilities without exploiting them. A random check of security measures does not provide the thorough analysis required for a proper vulnerability assessment, as it lacks a structured approach. Assessing employee satisfaction is unrelated to cybersecurity and focuses on HR-related evaluations. Thus, the correct understanding of vulnerability assessments is best represented by the process of identifying, quantifying, and prioritizing security weaknesses.