What is synonymous with hardening in cybersecurity?

In cybersecurity, hardening refers to the process of securing a system by reducing its surface of vulnerability. This involves implementing various strategies and practices to make systems, applications, and networks more resistant to attacks. Preventative control, which is synonymous with hardening, encompasses measures that are designed to prevent potential security breaches before they occur, such as configuring systems with the minimum necessary permissions, applying security patches, and disabling unnecessary services.

By effectively employing preventative controls, organizations can mitigate risks and bolster the security posture of their environments. This proactive approach is critical in reducing exposure to threats and minimizing the potential for successful cyberattacks. Preventative controls can include configurations that harden systems against exploitation, making them less likely to be compromised.

While the other options are relevant to cybersecurity practices, they do not directly relate to the concept of hardening in the same way. Risk assessment involves identifying and evaluating risks but does not imply the same action of securing systems. Incident response focuses on the actions taken after a security breach has occurred, and vulnerability scanning is a process of identifying potential weaknesses without necessarily implementing the measures that hardening entails.