Vulnerability assessment tools help organizations identify critical flaws in their attack surface. They determine the severity and impact of a vulnerability and help IT teams prioritize remediation.
They are used to scan wired and wireless networks for security weaknesses, including unauthorized changes to device networking configurations. They also examine misconfigured database systems and servers to detect SQL injections and other vulnerabilities, allowing attackers to gain unauthorized access.
Detecting Vulnerabilities
Vulnerability assessment tools identify vulnerabilities by comparing scanning results against a database of known risks. These databases, typically based on the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE), are compiled by security experts to help organizations identify their most pressing risk issues.
Vulnerabilities can occur in various ways, including misconfiguration, application code errors or software bugs. Cybercriminals can exploit these flaws to gain access to sensitive information or cause disruptions to business operations. These vulnerabilities must be detected and prioritized so they can be fixed before an attacker takes advantage of them.
To protect the organization effectively, security teams must promptly identify all vulnerabilities and understand their impact on business operations. The right vulnerability assessment solution will provide a snapshot of all identified vulnerabilities and a roadmap for addressing them.
Choosing a scanner that can assess efficiently without bloating or slowing down endpoints or systems is essential. A good tool, such as Fortinet’s vulnerability assessment tool FortiADC, will scan multiple network layers and detect the most commonly encountered vulnerabilities, such as a lack of IPS or firewall protections, unpatched software, and open ports. It will also fill in blind spots by leveraging passive assessment technology to discover vulnerabilities in off-limits network zones, non-scannable assets, and more.
Prioritization
Cybercriminals will exploit vulnerabilities that remain unaddressed and can lead to a cyberattack. Security teams need more time to deal with every exposure, so they need a tool that prioritizes them for remediation. A great way to do this is by analyzing the results of an automated scan of a company’s network and identifying which vulnerabilities pose the highest risk to the organization.
A good vulnerability assessment tool will identify and classify vulnerabilities based on their CVSS score, the universal standard for ranking security flaws. The product should also provide advanced remediation guidance so that it’s possible to understand what the vulnerabilities are and how to address them. It should also offer robust support options as part of its contract, including the vendor’s promised response time.
Finally, a good vulnerability assessment tool will be easy for the security team to use so that it can be used regularly and consistently. If the tool is too complicated or time-consuming, security teams won’t run it regularly. They will be missing out on an important capability that can help them protect their organizations from attacks.
Remediation Guidance
Vulnerability assessment or vulnerability analysis identifies, quantifies, and prioritizes vulnerabilities in your enterprise network. It helps you close security gaps and improves information security standards, significantly reducing the likelihood of hacking and other cyberattacks.
A vulnerability assessment tool scans your networks, applications, containers, hardware systems, and data to find flaws that cyber attackers could exploit to gain access to sensitive information or cause damage to the organization. Vulnerabilities are typically misconfigurations of network infrastructure, errors in software or code, and bugs or ambiguities in marketable products that create holes that hackers can use to enter your system.
When you identify the vulnerabilities, your team must create a unified report detailing each flaw and how cyber attackers could exploit it. This report should include the name of the vulnerability when it was discovered, what systems it affects, how the exposure will be remediated, and a proof of concept that demonstrates its potential impact.
Then, it helps you decide which vulnerabilities should be remedied based on their severity levels, such as remote code execution, elevation of privilege and wormable. A vulnerability scanning tool with a tiered scoring system for each category can help you prioritize issues quickly and efficiently. You can also configure the device to automatically deploy and apply patches to affected servers based on your preferred remediation strategy.
Vendor Support
Vulnerabilities are security weaknesses attackers can exploit. A vulnerability assessment is essential in protecting your network infrastructure, IT systems, and data. The best vulnerability scanners can help identify and prioritize vulnerabilities so your team can work on the most pressing ones first, making it easier to ward off looming threats.
Your vendor should fully commit to your business and regularly share patching information and updates. It is a red flag when they push upgrades and patches to your software without giving you a heads-up or if you cannot test them. These upgrades may include security fixes that address troublesome bugs or common attack vectors, leaving your IT assets vulnerable to cyberattacks or complete data loss.
If you’re not getting the support you need from your current vendor, consider switching to another solution. A well-rounded vulnerability assessment tool can scan your entire IT ecosystem and provide insights into risk. It can detect OWASP top 10, DB, and web application vulnerabilities and a security configuration management engine for monitoring end-of-life applications, unpatched vulnerabilities, insecure remote desktop sharing software, and active ports.
It can also prevent device misconfigurations and policy compliance violations and close the gap between vulnerability scanning and remediation by providing recommendations to resolve those issues.
