Which technique is commonly employed to assess security architecture?

Penetration testing is a widely recognized technique used to assess security architecture because it involves simulating attacks on a system, network, or application to identify vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit. This method provides practical insights into how the security measures in place perform under real-world conditions. By attempting to breach defenses, penetration testers can highlight weaknesses in the architecture, whether they arise from configuration issues, software vulnerabilities, or inadequate security controls.

Penetration testing is primarily focused on evaluating the effectiveness of security implementations and ensuring that they function as intended against potential threats. This proactive approach allows organizations to prioritize remediation efforts based on the severity and exploitability of identified vulnerabilities, thereby strengthening the overall security posture.

In contrast, other techniques such as code review focus on analyzing source code for vulnerabilities, which may not give a complete picture of how the architecture behaves in a real attack scenario. Peer evaluation involves feedback from team members and may not be as rigorous as addressing practical attack vectors. Software development lifecycle analysis examines processes and practices for developing secure software but does not directly assess the current security state of existing systems. Thus, penetration testing stands out as the most effective technique for directly assessing security architecture.