During a kickoff meeting, a client expresses concern that active testing could disrupt critical industrial control systems. They ask the assessor to gather vulnerability information solely by monitoring existing traffic without sending any probes. Which vulnerability assessment type best fits this requirement?
A passive vulnerability assessment collects information by listening to existing network traffic and inspecting hosts without transmitting test packets or exploiting services. Because no direct probing occurs, the risk of crashing fragile or time-sensitive systems-such as industrial control devices-is minimized. Active network assessments, by contrast, generate packets and may cause disruptions. External black-box assessments focus on perspective, not traffic generation, and may still involve active probing. Credentialed host-based assessments log in to systems to run local scans, which also interact actively with the targets. Therefore, the client's request aligns with a passive vulnerability assessment.
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