Cybersecurity Assessments from ACS

Why ACS

Customized to your Needs

We know cybersecurity assessments aren’t one-size-fits-all. ACS security engineers will suggest the right option based on key factors like your business size, existing policies and procedures, regulatory compliance requirements, partner or vendor mandates, cybersecurity liability insurance requirements, and your industry’s specific threat landscape.

With your assessment complete, we’ll provide a strategic remediation plan to effectively secure your company.

OUR Services

Full Range of Assessments

A quality assessment is the first step in countering unrelenting cybersecurity threats: figure out your vulnerabilities before bad actors do.

Our security assessment offering is wide-ranging and includes:

ThreatID
Network assessments
Firewall assessments
Pentesting and vulnerability assessments including physical, social engineering, and cyber
Security gap analyses
Custom assessments

ThreatID

Our ThreatID assessment uses industry-recognized guidelines from The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This provides a baseline for evaluating your security posture. This survey considers all aspects of your business. These include your network, password policies, employee education, regulatory requirements, security practices, business continuity, and Incident Response.

ACS will evaluate your company’s answers and will give your company an overall security posture score. Our cybersecurity team will carefully analyze your current situation. You will receive a comprehensive report and tailored recommendations. These recommendations will focus on resolving vulnerabilities in order of greatest threat.

We recommend performing a ThreatID assessment at least once a year. Ideally, it should be done twice. This is to account for changes in your business and IT infrastructure and to counter new threats from malicious actors.

Network Assessments

Network security breaches are more and more frequent, and they’re not getting any cheaper, either. Protecting your network, devices, and data from unauthorized access and exploitation has never been more crucial – or difficult. That’s where ACS comes in. Our network assessments take two forms and help uncover, prioritize, and remediate internal and external threats.

Network Vulnerability Assessments

We will assess your entire network infrastructure. This will help us identify any cyber risks or vulnerabilities.
We can also determine the overall strength of your network security through a manual evaluation or by using vulnerability scanning software. ACS will perform network vulnerability tests regularly to counter new potential threats.

Network Pen Testing

Penetration testing or “pen testing” is an authorized, simulated attack against your systems by a contracted cybersecurity professional. Designed to mimic an actual cyber-attack, pen tests involve real “hacking” – but the kind you approve of ahead of time.

A "pen tester" is a penetration tester. They use the same tactics and tools as cybercriminals to gain access to your network. This helps them to identify security threats before cybercriminals can exploit them. There are two forms of pen testing:

Internal Pen Testing

What could an attacker do if they gained direct access to your internal network? An internal pen test provides insight into insider threats to proactively identify and address potential risks arising from within your organization.
Evaluating security measures and vulnerabilities is essential. This helps us to identify weaknesses that internal personnel or external threat actors could exploit. It is critical to prevent unauthorized access.

External Pen Testing

External pen tests gauge the effectiveness of perimeter systems and services such as web applications, servers, and network devices. The tests then determine how a hacker might gain access to your network.
Both types of tests are essential to effectively evaluate your organization's overall security posture. We conduct pen tests in a pre-approved, controlled environment. Your business provides guidelines for these tests.

A network penetration test provides valuable information. It reveals security gaps and how hackers could exploit them to gain access to your network. In the end, this test is invaluable for your business.

Firewall Assessments

Protecting against unauthorized access is essential for any cybersecurity strategy. If a bad actor gains access to one system, their chances of accessing other systems increase significantly. Analyzing your network can help identify potential security risks. These risks may include misconfigurations that could compromise the security of your networks. It is important to adequately isolate and protect sensitive data and essential systems.

Our Firewall Assessments go beyond surface-level evaluations and investigate every factor that can affect the security of your network. ACS security consultants analyze firewall rule sets, network architecture, and access controls. They provide invaluable insights into potential vulnerabilities. Additionally, they offer strategic suggestions for enhancing your security posture.

A firewall assessment is invaluable. It not only identifies vulnerabilities, but also equips your IT team with the knowledge, skills, and understanding to strengthen defenses. This helps to maintain the trust of your clients and stakeholders.

Vulnerability Assessments

Vulnerability Assessments are systematic processes that identify weaknesses in computer systems and networks. Through thorough scans of your software, hardware, and configurations, we’ll pinpoint entry points that malicious hackers could potentially exploit.

We understand that every business has different infrastructure needs. There are a variety of different types of assessments, we will collaborate with you to decide which assessment(s) is/are suitable for you.

Network Vulnerability Assessments

Network vulnerability assessments identify vulnerabilities in network devices, such as routers, switches, firewalls, and servers. They involve scanning network infrastructure to detect weaknesses, misconfigurations, or outdated software versions that attackers could exploit.

Web Application Vulnerability Assessments

Web application vulnerability assessments examine various aspects of the web application. These include the code, configurations, and server settings. The purpose is to identify vulnerabilities to common attack vectors. Examples of these attack vectors are cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, and insecure authentication mechanisms.

Wireless Network Vulnerability Assessments

Wireless network vulnerability assessments focus on identifying weak encryption, misconfigured access points, or other security flaws in wireless network implementations.

Social Engineering Vulnerability Assessments

Social engineering vulnerability assessments test employees' susceptibility to social engineering attacks. Examples of these attacks include phishing emails and vishing texts or phone calls. Social engineering tests help organizations like yours take stock of your first line of defense: your employees.

Physical Security Vulnerability Assessments

These assessments evaluate all things physical, including access controls, surveillance systems, and security procedures. Assessments can identify potential vulnerabilities, such as unauthorized access points, weak locks, or inadequate monitoring. These vulnerabilities could leave a company open to physical breaches in places like warehouses, office buildings, or server rooms.

ACS provides detailed reports after vulnerability assessments. These reports include information about the threats identified, their effect on your organization, and advice on how to fix them

Pen Testing Assessments

Penetration Testing, also known as "pen testing," is a process used by ethical hackers and cybersecurity professionals. They use targeted attacks to identify security weaknesses in a system or network. The objective is to imitate the actions of a malicious individual. We will assess the system's susceptibility to compromise, unauthorized access, and vulnerability exploitation. Are employees vulnerable to social engineering attacks? Is your network protection robust? How about your physical security?

A hacker can take many approaches to breach your systems. Pen testing helps uncover and mitigate them. Think of pen testing as a more advanced, hands-on approach to vulnerability assessments. Vulnerability assessments primarily focus on identifying and documenting vulnerabilities. Pen testing actively exploits those vulnerabilities (in a controlled, approved environment) to simulate real-world attacks. Pen tests range in their focus and scope, but mainly include:

Network Pen Testing

Network penetration testing purposefully uses malicious techniques. We use these techniques to test your network infrastructure -- routers, switches, firewalls, and servers – for vulnerabilities. Think: What would a hacker do if he were trying to access the network?

Web Application Pen Testing

Web application penetration testing simulates attacks on a system to uncover web application vulnerabilities to common attack vectors. Examples include injection attacks (SQL injection, XSS), insecure direct object references, or authentication bypasses.

Wireless Network Pen Testing

Wireless network penetration testing focuses on identifying and exploiting weaknesses. We test your wireless network configurations, encryption protocols, or access point settings to gain unauthorized access or compromise the network. Hackers often bypass defenses by compromising WiFi systems. Pen testing allows companies to identify security gaps before real-world hackers can exploit them.

Social Engineering Tests

Social engineering tests assess an organization's vulnerability by attempting to deceive employees into sharing information, credentials, or access. Pen testers may utilize methods like phishing emails, phone calls, or physical impersonation to uncover vulnerabilities. Social engineering exercises are crucial in gauging employee education levels and resistance to suspicious activity.

Physical Penetration Testing

Physical penetration testing involves attempting to gain unauthorized physical access. We test buildings, data centers, or sensitive areas by bypassing or circumventing security controls like locks, access cards, or surveillance systems.

Red Team Exercises

Red team exercises comprise a team of skilled ethical hackers performing an all-hands-on-deck penetration test. This approach combines many pen testing approaches including network, web application, social engineering, and physical assessments. They comprehensively assess your organization's overall security posture and response capabilities.

Once ACS has wrapped a penetration test, we'll give your company a full report. This includes any weaknesses found as well as detailed remediation steps.

Security Gap Analyses

Our four-step Security Gap Analysis process leverages extensive knowledge of security best practices. We have a deep understanding of risks, controls, and operational issues. We’ll help you uncover and address immediate risks and provide longer-term recommendations to improve your overall cybersecurity posture.

The ACS process:

1. Select an industry-standard security framework.

Based on your compliance and regulatory requirements, we’ll select an industry-standard security framework. Examples include ISO/IEC-27001, NIST CSF, PCI DSS, and others to measure your company’s current security posture. Our cybersecurity experts use a state-of-the-art program to ensure compliance with the selected framework. We identify gaps that your internal team, who works within your network daily, may have overlooked.

2. Evaluate people and processes.

Through conversations with your IT and leadership team, we’ll gather vital information about your systems. We'll explore your IT environment, application inventory, organizational charts, policies, and processes. We will then identify existing security policies, align your organization's future goals, and pinpoint any associated risks. Our focus extends to addressing human behavior, a critical aspect of reducing security threats caused by employee actions.

3. Data Gathering

Next, we’ll compare best-practice standards and relevant requirements against your organizational controls. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive look at your technical environment, existing protective measures, and overall security effectiveness. To do so, we thoroughly examine network devices, servers, and applications, taking samples to identify any gaps or weaknesses. We’ll also review automated security controls, assess incident response processes and communication protocols, and analyze log files.

4. Analysis

The final step is an in-depth analysis benchmarking your security program against best practices. Our team will generate your comprehensive IT security profile and highlight your strengths and weaknesses. We will then use these to create a security roadmap that considers risks, staffing, funding, and realistic timelines for security upgrades.

Custom Assessments

Cybersecurity is not one-size-fits-all. As a leading provider of IT security services, we specialize in crafting custom assessments designed to meet your unique needs.

Our team of experts will collaborate closely with you to develop assessments. Business, industry, and regulatory requirements are all highly considered during the process. We will never try to sell you something you don’t need.

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