Regular scans for your network to identify, classify and prioritize your security weaknesses.
Talk with ExpertWith cloud and on-premise network environments continually growing through the adoption of new technologies, devices, applications and system configurations, keeping up with changes to your business’ attack surface can be difficult. Even with security controls and policies in place, new vulnerabilities can appear on a daily basis and must be quickly identified and monitored to keep your critical assets and confidential information safe.
In order to mitigate vulnerabilities, it is essential to regularly scan your network to eliminate weaknesses before they can be exploited by cybercriminals. AXO’s managed detection and response service (MDR), combines managed vulnerability scanning with complimentary threat detection technologies, proven security processes and 24/7 Security Operations Center professionals to proactively inspect your network and provide the level of insight needed to analyse results and provide actionable and prioritized remediation support.
Vulnerability scanning is the examination of computer networks to identify weaknesses in security controls that can leave organizations open to cyber-attack.
A vulnerability scanner, typically a highly-specialized software tool, searches for exposures in computers, devices and applications by collecting information and comparing it to a database of known flaws.
Despite being an important tool for highlighting necessary improvements to cyber security, vulnerability scanners are also used by black hat hackers to discover ways to gain unauthorized access to networks. Failing to proactively scan your environment could therefore give attackers the window of opportunity they need to stage an attack.
There are two types of vulnerability scan – internal and external. An internal vulnerability scan is conducted from within the corporate firewall and is designed to detect issues such as weak user credentials and unpatched or out-of-date operating systems, applications and software.
By contrast, an external vulnerability scan focuses on externally-facing IP addresses, detecting vulnerabilities including open ports, application-level weaknesses and weak credentials for protocols including SMTP, POP3, HTTP and VPN.
Conducting both internal and external scans is crucial to ascertain how an attacker may attempt to breach your environment and, once inside, how they would escalate their presence to compromise critical assets. Many industry standards, such as PCI-DSS, require both types of scan to be conducted.
Analyzing the outputs of the scans and developing a strategy to fix identified issues is complex, requiring dedicated security expertise that can be out of reach for all but the largest organizations.
Vulnerability scanning is frequently used by malicious hackers to target your business, so having tests regularly performed on your own network and remediating vulnerabilities on a regular basis allows you to avoid giving hackers an easy route of compromise.
AXO's SOC experts analyse the technical output of scans and provide comprehensible reports that describe the potential impact of each vulnerability as well as provide clear, actionable and prioritized remediation guidance. This removes the task of spending hours trying to understand complex reports and concentrate on fixing only the genuine security issues that require attention.
Combining vulnerability scanning with supplementary network monitoring technologies such as SIEM, Intrusion Detection and Endpoint Analytics will greatly enhance your organization’s ability to identify the latest threats and respond to them in a timely fashion.
Internal and external vulnerability scans can be run on request or at regular intervals, depending on varying customer requirements.
By assessing the resilience of in-place security controls and identifying areas where the greatest improvements can be achieved, regular vulnerability scans help channel future investments to greatly enhance network security.
