To help keep your sensitive data and systems safe, a comprehensive cybersecurity plan needs to have a vulnerability scanning component. This is a method of identifying chinks in your cyber armour before hackers do, giving you the opportunity to fill in the gaps before they can be exploited.
The systematic way in which vulnerability scanning brings to light the weaknesses in an organisational network helps you stay ahead of potential breaches. You avert damage before having to deal with the financial fallout and reputational damage, which is something we’re always trying to do for our clients here at Smile IT. Being proactive about cybersecurity is far more effective than being reactive.
It doesn’t just get the thumbs up from us, vulnerability scanning forms a key foundation to different cyber security frameworks, in particular the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) framework. NIST highlights continuous monitoring and quick remediation as essential practices, helping mitigate risks and support compliance. Vulnerability scanning ably supports this. For this, and many more reasons, we want to give you a bit of background about vulnerability scanning and how it works in this article.
Let’s start with the steps that comprise the process.
Vulnerability Scanning Steps
It’s typically broken down into five steps for thorough, actionable results that help organisations like yours achieve their security goals:
- Asset Identification: The digital assets within an organisation’s network are identified. Servers, endpoints applications, databases, devices and other hardware are rigorously noted, as anything overlooked could become a potential entry point for hackers.
- Vulnerability Detection: Once the inventory is in place, the automated scanning tool gets to work running tests on each asset. It compares the system configurations and software versions with an extensive database of known vulnerabilities. This enables it to pinpoint potential for exploitation.
- Analysis and Prioritization: If a vulnerability is detected, it gets analysed and prioritised. They’re categorised based on potential for exploitation, with critical weaknesses placed at the top of the fix list.
- Reporting and Remediation: A detailed report is created based on the analysis. It breaks down the vulnerabilities identified in the scan, how risky they are and what the recommended remediation methods would be. Steps like reconfiguring, patching and updating are executed to fix the issues.
- Rescanning: A rescan is important because it determines whether the fix was successful or if the issue still lingers. After the rescan, continuous monitoring can be implemented to ensure ongoing protection.
Different Types of Vulnerability Scans
There are different types of vulnerability scans for different situations. Each type comes with different capabilities. It’s a good idea to have an understanding of the scans on offer:
- Active Scanning: This scan sends data packets to systems or devices and uses the response to identify vulnerabilities. It provides in-depth information about misconfigurations, open ports or other exposed services. It can be a bit of a bandwidth hog because it actively interacts with your systems and can slow them down.
- Passive Scanning: This scan is a bit more non-intrusive because it doesn’t directly interact with systems. Rather, it observes data flows and network traffic to seek out vulnerabilities based on anomalies in those. While it doesn’t interfere with network operations, it can have a more limited scope.
- Internal Scanning: Focusing on systems within your network perimeter, internal scans will point out threats such as compromised employees and malware. They help you keep an eye on the implementation of your security policies and prevent breaches from within the organisation
- External Scanning: Business exposure to the wider internet comes in the form of cloud environments, web servers and public-facing apps. An external scan provides insights into the level of risk these are creating, helping mitigate it before it grows or results in a breach.
- Authenticated Scanning: In this scan administrative credentials are used to log in to systems with privileged access. Internal configurations and system components are then deeply analysed to find vulnerabilities that would be invisible to unauthenticated scans.
- Unauthenticated Scanning: This scan that closely represents what an attacker would be doing, because it doesn’t use any internal knowledge or privileges. It probes for vulnerabilities that would be visible from outside the system, identifying issues like open ports and exposed services.
Common Problems Detected by Vulnerability Scanning
There is a common range of problems that vulnerability scanning will highlight in your organisation’s network or tech. Here are some of the issues it could pinpoint:
Misconfigured Systems: Security misconfigurations are a frequent pest that carry heavy risk. Examples would be open ports or privilege settings that haven’t been set correctly. When your vulnerability scan picks up on them, you can set them right before a hacker exploits them.
Outdated Software and Applications: Unpatched or outdated software versions are vulnerable to attackers. Your scan will identify software that isn’t up to date and prompt you to run the necessary patches and updates.
Weak or Default Passwords: A weak password is an easy entry point into your organisation for a hacker. Strong passwords are a necessity, and a vulnerability scan will highlight which ones are letting your defences down.
Open Ports and Network Services: Unsecured ports provide entry points for attackers. Scanning tools detect open or vulnerable ports, so you can secure them before a breach happens.
Boost Your Cyber Security with Smile IT
It’s not just that cyber threats are getting more complex – they’re also relentless in their efforts to find ways past your defences. This makes an agile and up-to-date cybersecurity program a non-negotiable part of your business strategy. One of the key components of this should be robust vulnerability scanning.
Smile IT’s expert cybersecurity team and state-of-the-art scanning resources will provide your business with actionable insights into the weak points that hackers could exploit. We’ll identify and prioritise risks, and guide you through strategies, in alignment with the Essential Eight Mitigation Strategies advocated for by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).
The time is now to get proactive about your cyber security, so get in touch with a Smile IT team member today on 1300 766 720. We’re looking forward to helping improve your cyber security posture!
When he’s not writing tech articles or turning IT startups into established and consistent managed service providers, Peter Drummond can be found kitesurfing on the Gold Coast or hanging out with his family!