What is the process of identifying vulnerabilities, threats, and risks to an organization's assets?

The process of identifying vulnerabilities, threats, and risks to an organization's assets is accurately described as risk assessment. This process involves systematically evaluating an organization's assets to understand what could potentially harm them. It includes identifying vulnerabilities (weaknesses that could be exploited), threats (potential sources of harm), and risks (the potential for loss or damage when threats exploit vulnerabilities).

Risk assessment typically involves several steps, including asset identification, threat identification, vulnerability assessment, and risk analysis. By determining the potential impact of risks, organizations can prioritize their security efforts and implement the necessary measures to mitigate or manage those risks effectively. This proactive approach helps in safeguarding the organization's information and resources.

Incident response, on the other hand, refers to the actions taken after a security breach or incident has occurred, focusing on dealing with the consequences rather than identifying vulnerabilities beforehand. Vulnerability scanning is a tool used within the broader framework of risk assessment to identify known vulnerabilities in systems, but it does not encompass the entire range of risk evaluation. Threat analysis is also more focused on understanding specific threats rather than the holistic assessment of risks and vulnerabilities within the organization's context. Hence, risk assessment is the most comprehensive and appropriate term for the process described.