vulnerability scanning

What is vulnerability scanning?

Vulnerability scanning is the use of software tools to identify and report on security issues (known as vulnerabilities) that affect your systems.

Vulnerability scanners often have many thousands of automated tests at their disposal, and by probing and gathering information about your systems, can identify security holes which could be used by hackers to steal sensitive information, gain unauthorized access to systems, or to cause general disruption to your business.

Armed with this knowledge, an organization looking to protect itself can then take action to remediate the security weaknesses discovered. This overall ongoing process of identifying and fixing your weaknesses is known as vulnerability management.

Vulnerability scanning vs. penetration testing

Both vulnerability scanning and penetration testing help uncover security weaknesses, but they’re used in different ways.

Vulnerability scanning is automated, continuous, and cost-effective. It’s great for identifying common and newly introduced vulnerabilities across your systems on a regular basis. Scans can run daily or weekly without slowing down your operations.

Penetration testing is manual and performed by security professionals. It’s more expensive and time-consuming, but can uncover deeper, business-specific vulnerabilities that scanners might miss. It’s best used periodically or before major releases.

Types of vulnerability scanning

1. Network-based scanners: These scan over the network to detect open ports and known vulnerabilities. They can be used both externally (simulating internet-based threats) and internally (to uncover lateral risks).
2. Agent-based scanners: Lightweight software is installed on endpoints to detect vulnerabilities even when devices are offline or remote. Ideal for modern, cloud-first businesses.
3. Web application scanners: These scan your websites and apps for issues like SQL injection or cross-site scripting (XSS). Authenticated scans go beyond the login page to find deeper flaws.
4. External scanning: From outside your network, mimicking real-world attacks.
5. Internal scanning: From inside your network, to detect threats behind your firewall.

Vulnerability scanning process

1. Define the scope: Identify which systems, applications, or environments you want to scan.
2. Discover assets: Maintain an up-to-date asset inventory to ensure comprehensive coverage.
3. Run scans: Use appropriate scanners (network, agent-based, or web app) to perform scans.
4. Review results: Analyze scan output to understand detected vulnerabilities.
5. Prioritize vulnerabilities: Focus on high-severity and easily exploitable flaws.
6. Remediate issues: Patch, configure, or otherwise mitigate the identified risks.
7. Monitor continuously: Schedule regular scans to catch new or reintroduced vulnerabilities

Start scanning with Intruder

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