Penetration testing vs anti-malware

Compare penetration testing and anti-malware software as methods of preventing network threats. [6 marks]

Mark scheme (6): Up to 3 marks per method; must compare, not just describe, for top band.

• Penetration testing: authorised simulated attack [1]; conducted by ethical hacker / specialist team [1]; identifies vulnerabilities before real attackers exploit them [1]; black-box vs white-box variants [1].
• Anti-malware: scans files against signature database [1]; uses heuristic analysis for new threats [1]; runs continuously / on-access [1]; only effective if signature database is up to date [1].
• Comparison (required for 5-6 marks): pen-testing is a one-off proactive audit, anti-malware is continuous reactive defence; pen-testing finds unknown weaknesses, anti-malware blocks known malware; both are needed in a defence-in-depth strategy.