A Buyer’s Guide to

Vulnerability Management
Tools
 INTRODUCTION
Identify Vulnerabilities Before Hackers Do
In today’s IT landscape, networks are constantly threatened by cyberattacks, with an average
of 60 vulnerabilities discovered daily. Despite IT teams implementing robust antivirus and
malware protection, the increasing frequency of attacks makes detecting and patching
vulnerabilities more challenging and time-consuming.

Vulnerability management is crucial for any organization’s risk assessment strategy and
cybersecurity posture. While initially hidden, once a vulnerability is exposed and made public,
it poses a “race against time” threat scenario. Protecting systems from cybercriminals is critical
since they employ advanced tools to automatically scan networks for a single vulnerability that
can give them access. By taking a holistic, ongoing approach to proactively identifying, managing
and addressing network vulnerabilities, you can help your business avoid data breaches, costly
regulatory fines and reputational damage.

In this buyer’s guide, we’ll explore the definition of vulnerability in cybersecurity, the concept of
vulnerability management and its key aspects, the benefits of vulnerability management tools
and more.

VULNERABILITY IN CYBERSECURITY
A vulnerability is a weakness in a system or network that cybercriminals can exploit to gain
unauthorized access and wreak havoc. What happens next is anybody’s guess — the installation
of malware, the theft of sensitive data, damaged, deleted or locked data caused by a malicious
code and more. That’s why it is extremely important for organizations to monitor and manage
cybersecurity vulnerabilities since these gaps in a network can result in a full-scale
systems breach.

Now let’s look at how a vulnerability compares to a threat or risk (two other common
buzzwords in cybersecurity).

Vulnerability vs. threat

While vulnerabilities are gaps or weaknesses that undermine an organization’s IT security
efforts, threats are what an organization is up against — from malware attacks that plant
dangerous executables to ransomware attacks that lock an organization’s systems and data.
No two threats are the same; some are more likely to exploit a vulnerability than others.

Vulnerability vs. risk

Risk refers to the likelihood and impact of those vulnerabilities being exploited. While
vulnerabilities are specific weaknesses, a risk accounts for the probability of cybercriminals
exploiting a vulnerability and the incident’s potential business impact on the organization.

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 VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT IN CYBERSECURITY
Vulnerability management is the continuous process of identifying, assessing, documenting,
managing and remediating security vulnerabilities across endpoints, workloads and systems in a
network. In short, vulnerability management is a systematic approach to closing security gaps that
exist in a network before they can be taken advantage of by hackers.

WHY ORGANIZATIONS NEED VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT

Vulnerability management is a best practice that’s recommended to protect sensitive corporate
data. As such, implementing a robust vulnerability management process represents the starting
point of an effective program that can help boost an organization’s cybersecurity posture. With IT
teams stretched thin trying to manage daily operations, vulnerability management helps decrease
their workload and saves valuable time by automating the process of identifying potential
weaknesses and entry points for cybercriminals in their network. It is a solution that helps
organizations prioritize security concerns without the need for manual-intensive assessments or
external consultants.

If you’re running an organization, the goal of vulnerability management is to help you answer
questions like:

• How can the vulnerability be exploited?

• How difficult or easy would it be to exploit the vulnerability?
• What would be the potential impact on the organization if the vulnerability is exploited?
• Do any security controls already exist to protect the vulnerability from being exploited?
• For how long has the vulnerability existed on the network?

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT

AND VULNERABILITY SCANNING
Vulnerability scanning and vulnerability management are two distinct processes within the realm
of cybersecurity, each serving a specific purpose. As its name suggests, vulnerability scanning is
the process of identifying, classifying and prioritizing vulnerabilities in an organization’s network
that cybercriminals can exploit. It provides an overview of the weaknesses, misconfigurations,
open ports, malware and other security issues using automated tools. Once the scan is complete,
the results are analyzed to assess which areas of the system need to be addressed and strengthen
its overall security posture.

Sounds familiar? But not quite; vulnerability management is a broader term. It is an ongoing,
comprehensive process that continuously manages cybersecurity vulnerabilities in a network.
Vulnerability scans are a part of the vulnerability management process, where controls and steps
are created to help an organization establish a cycle of measures that ensures vulnerabilities are
quickly detected, assessed and remediated. Once complete, the
cycle repeats.

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 THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF VULNERABILITIES
Vulnerabilities come in all shapes and forms. Some of the most common types are:

• Outdated and unpatched software: This is the number one vulnerability identified by the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Unpatched systems and software are probably the
easiest targets for hackers. While every patch is aimed at eradicating a vulnerability, if a
system or software is left unpatched, it’s an open invitation to malicious activity.

• Missing or poor data encryption: It’s easy for hackers to intercept data shared among
systems in a network. On top of that, if the data is unencrypted or poorly encrypted, it’s
even easier for attackers to extract critical information.

• Operating system and security misconfigurations: System misconfigurations result

from improper security controls or settings on a network asset. One of the first things
cybercriminals do is scan a network for endpoints with system misconfigurations.

• Missing or broken authentication: Another common tactic attackers use is cracking or

guessing employee credentials. Missing or broken authentication makes the credentials
even more vulnerable.

• Poor cyber awareness and human error: An organization’s employees are its first line of
defense against cybercrime. However, employees with poor cyber awareness, or ones who
unintentionally jeopardize an organization’s security, are a huge vulnerability that is often
overlooked.

• Malicious insider threats: Employees with access to vital systems may abuse their
privileges and authority to share data, enabling hackers to infiltrate the network. Detecting
and mitigating these threats requires a combination of network access control tools,
monitoring and creating a strong security culture.

• Zero-day Vulnerabilities: Zero-day vulnerabilities are specific software flaws that

the attackers are aware of but that a company or user has not yet identified. Since
the vulnerability has not yet been identified or reported by the system manufacturer,
exercising caution and checking systems for vulnerabilities is crucial to reducing the risk of
zero-day attacks.

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 THE ESSENTIAL STEPS IN THE VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT
LIFECYCLE
The vulnerability management lifecycle is a defined and accepted framework that constitutes
six main interconnected steps that organizations must follow to systematically manage their
vulnerabilities and enhance their overall cybersecurity posture. It is important to remember
that each of these steps is part of an ongoing process.

The vulnerability management lifecycle typically includes the following steps:

STEP 01

DISCOVERY
Building an inventory of all assets
across the network and host details,
including operating systems and
open services. Additionally, IT teams
need to develop a network baseline STEP 02
and identify security vulnerabilities
on a regular, automated schedule.
PRIORITIZATION
Categorizing assets into groups
or business units and assigning a
business value to asset groups based
on how critical they are to business
STEP 03 operations.

ASSESSMENT
Determining a baseline risk profile
to eliminate risks based on asset
criticality, vulnerability threat and
asset classification.
STEP 04

REPORTING
Measuring the level of business risk
associated with assets according
to security policies. Based on these
insights, IT teams need to develop
STEP 05 and document a security plan,
monitor suspicious activity and
define known vulnerabilities.
REMEDIATION
Prioritizing and fixing vulnerabilities
in an order determined by business
risk. During this step, it's crucial to
establish controls and demonstrate
progress. STEP06
STEP 06

VERIFICATION
The final step, before the cycle
repeats, is conducting follow-up
audits to verify if threats have been
eliminated.

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 THE BENEFITS OF USING VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS
A vulnerability management tool helps organizations effectively manage security vulnerabilities
in their networks, systems and applications that cybercriminals could potentially exploit. Based
on different configurations and scripts, vulnerability management tools run tests on assets and
provide valuable insights about the vulnerabilities in an IT environment, degrees of risk from
each and ways to mitigate them.

Overall, vulnerability management tools help strengthen cybersecurity in a proactive and

informed manner. By running regular vulnerability scans, organizations can:

ENHANCE SECURITY MEET REGULATORY

Identify and address potential COMPLIANCE
issues to safeguard your data Generate reports highlighting
from breaches and ransomware and recommending mitigation
attacks. of non-compliant systems or
processes. This helps comply
with industry-specific security
regulations and avoid hefty fines.

OPTIMIZE EFFICIENCY MAINTAIN CUSTOMER TRUST

Resolve performance Regular vulnerability scans
bottlenecks, such as slow as part of a comprehensive
processing, unnecessary memory vulnerability management
consumption and unstable strategy enhances your credibility
internet connections, to improve in the eyes of stakeholders while
the efficiency of your business protecting their information.
applications.

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 KEY FEATURES OF A VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT TOOL
The ideal vulnerability management tool should have the following features:

• Internal vulnerability scans: Automate internal vulnerability scans inside an organization’s

network, receive alerts and generate detailed reports that help manage risks and enable
recurring services.

• External vulnerability scans: External vulnerability scans help target external IP addresses,
identify vulnerabilities and all the ports that can be accessed from the internet.

• Scheduled network vulnerability scanning: Configure scanners with customized

schedules, saving time and targeting specific IP addresses or excluding systems to optimize
IT operations efficiency.

• Unlimited scanner appliances: Deploy multiple scanners for network-wide vulnerability

scanning, centralized management and a faster scanning process.

• Automatic service ticket creation: Automatically generate service tickets for efficient
tracking and remediation of identified vulnerabilities.

• False positive management: Reduce “noise” and receive timely emails that help keep you
updated with a prioritized list of anomalies, changes and threats.

• Auto email alerting: Automatically receive targeted email notifications of scan results,
saving time and providing easy access to the latest information. These results can be filtered
by IP range or severity.

• Multitenant dashboard: Effortlessly manage multiple networks and individual sites from a
single, streamlined dashboard interface.

• Custom scan profiles: Configure scanning processes with specific port targeting that
enables users to perform low-impact scans and optimize scan durations.

• Authenticated scans/credentialed scans: Conduct thorough internal vulnerability scans

with authenticated credentials, detecting a wider range of security issues.

• Common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE) support: Utilize CVE IDs to effectively
search for and address specific vulnerability issues in scan results.

• Customizable report generator: Generate detailed reports that provide actionable insights
on discovered vulnerabilities and the effectiveness of vulnerability management strategies.

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 FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING A VULNERABILITY
MANAGEMENT TOOL
The following pointers cover what you should look for when purchasing a vulnerability
scanning tool:

Budget
Due to the wide range of prices for vulnerability scanners, you should
choose one wisely, depending on your organization’s budget.

Scalability
The vulnerability scanner should be able to scale with the organization’s
growth and changing IT requirements.

Compatibility
The vulnerability scanner tool should be compatible with the
organization’s existing IT infrastructure, including hardware, software
and network devices.

Vendor support
The vulnerability scanner tool should have a reliable vendor support
system that can provide assistance in case of any issues or questions.

Security
The vulnerability scanner tool should have robust security features to
protect the organization’s network data and prevent any unauthorized
access.

Ease of deployment
The vulnerability scanner tool should be easy to deploy and should not
require extensive IT resources for installation and maintenance.

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 VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT TOOLS AVAILABLE TODAY
Today’s vulnerability management tool market presents a wide range of products that promises to
deliver enterprise-class results. However, users can select the vulnerability management tool that
best fits their requirements, allowing them to find a solution that offers a suitable price point and
user-friendly interface. For instance:

VulScan is a full-featured internal and external vulnerability management platform priced to be

affordable for both MSPs and IT departments of any size. It includes a wide range of internal
scanning tools, including lightweight discovery agents which run inside individual computers, as
well as local and network scanners that can run as virtual machines. VulScan also includes a unique
feature that allows internal scans to be performed from a computer external to the network. For
organizations that don’t have their own external data center, VulScan also offers an option of hosted
external scanning service.

With VulScan, you can schedule scanners to run at any frequency at any time, and multiple scanners
can run simultaneously on larger networks to speed up scanning. Scan results from each site are
automatically consolidated and available to view through a web-based portal, with drill-in details
that include issue specifics and remediation advice. VulScan also includes advanced features such as
credentialed scans, trend reports, false positive management and direct integration with common
ticketing systems in the market.

While VulScan may lack some of the extra bells and whistles found in the expensive enterprise
solutions, it checks all the boxes that most IT technicians need and the RapidFire Tools developers
add new features on a monthly cadence. In terms of value, VulScan tops the charts for Vulnerability
Management Solutions.

Built from the ground up with a deep understanding of how IT security technicians work, Tenable’s
Nessus is designed to make vulnerability assessment simple, easy and intuitive. As a result, IT
technicians spend less time and effort assessing, prioritizing, and remediating issues. Its feature-rich
vulnerability management capabilities extend beyond traditional vulnerability scanning functions,
offering authenticated scans, compliance audits and seamless integration with other security tools
and platforms.

While it offers strong features, Nessus provides limited reporting output options to track
remediation needs. This forces IT technicians to manually consolidate the information from multiple
reports to form a comprehensive view for their clients. Organizations considering Nessus should
assess these factors carefully to determine if it aligns with their specific needs.

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 NeXpose is a vulnerability management tool designed for on-premise use. This tool was one of the
first headlining products that put its vendor, Rapid7, on the map. The NeXpose conducts a system-
wide scan to monitor and identify threats by updating its processes and rescans whenever a new
exploit is documented to enable real-time response.

However, when running ad-hoc scans, Nexpose has limitations since it requires IT technicians to
manually assign assets to specific sites or groups before initiating the scanning process. Moreover,
its extensive resource requirements, lack of integration options and high cost can hinder its
effectiveness and limit its suitability for some organizations.

A popular provider of cloud-based and compliance solutions, Qualys claims its vulnerability
management tool can, within a degree of accuracy exceeding 99%, identify the host operating
system, services running and opened ports. Qualys provides extensive reporting and analytics,
aiding in evaluating security posture and compliance status. Its robust vulnerability management
capabilities enable organizations to identify and prioritize vulnerabilities efficiently, facilitating
prompt remediation.

On the downside, some users have found Qualys resource-intensive, requiring significant
computing power and storage capacity. Furthermore, Qualys is complex, clunky and cumbersome
and requires additional development for IT technicians to set up and deploy rapidly. The complexity
of the platform can be overwhelming for novice users, necessitating a learning curve and potentially
additional training.

Founded in Seattle, Washington, in 2019, Hosted Scan is a company dedicated to making continuous
vulnerability scanning and risk management accessible to more businesses. Hosted Scan Security
states that they have built a solution that can import targets from various providers, keep track of an
updated list of servers all in one place to generate aggregated reports and provide real-time email
alerts for new vulnerabilities.
But it is worth noting that Hosted Scan Security lacks the capability to scan for internal
vulnerabilities, limiting its effectiveness in identifying risks within the network. The platform
also doesn’t offer any comprehensive false positive management options, providing only basic
vulnerability status choices without features like exclusion notes or IP/hostname tracking.

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 SUMMARY
Vulnerability management is essential for a robust cybersecurity strategy and enables cybersecurity
professionals to proactively identify, assess and mitigate vulnerabilities in systems, networks and
applications that malicious actors could exploit. The goal of vulnerability management is to provide
valuable insights into an organization’s security posture, highlighting areas of concern that require
immediate attention and establishing a cycle of processes that effectively mitigate them. Overall,
leveraging vulnerability management empowers organizations to stay ahead of emerging threats,
bolster their cybersecurity resilience and safeguard their valuable data assets.

When comparing vulnerability scanning options available on the market, there are many free
scanners available for the do-it-yourselfers who want to build their own solutions. But these home-
grown solutions usually require ongoing internal maintenance and troubleshooting and can barely
keep up with the increasing threats. On the flip side, the market is dominated by enterprise-class
solutions that are very expensive and complicated to set up and use on a regular basis.

With its impressive range of features, flexibility and scalability, VulScan has emerged as the #1
rated tool for use by MSPs and IT departments within small to medium-sized businesses worldwide.
VulScan provides a complete package of all the essential features that helps you to identify and
effectively manage vulnerabilities from anywhere.

To discover the power of VulScan and schedule a demo, visit:

https://www.rapidfiretools.com/network-vulnerability-management-demo/

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