Vulnerability Scanning vs Penetration Testing

For companies looking to build out their security program or ensure an existing program meets best-in-class security standards, starting with vulnerability scanning, and then layering in pen testing can be an ideal approach. 

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Vulnerability Scanning

Vulnerability scanning is the automated process of identifying security weaknesses, vulnerabilities, or potential exploits in a computer system, network, or application. This process helps organizations detect security gaps that attackers could use to gain unauthorized access or cause damage. The goal of vulnerability scans is to identify and categorize current security risks so that security teams can address the most critical risks first.

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Vulnerability scans check for known vulnerabilities, such as unpatched software, outdated versions, or insecure configurations, which could be exploited by attackers. The results of these scans highlight areas of weakness that can be remediated to improve a company’s security posture. A key element of vulnerability scanning is that these scans can and should be carried out frequently–weekly is ideal–as part of a continuous risk management approach used alongside other security practices like penetration testing and threat assessments.

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The analysis and presentation of the scan results, which focus on rating each vulnerability, and oftentimes providing remediation steps, are what provide the most value to the organization. The ability to boil down to the essentials of a scan and provide concise, actionable outcomes makes all the difference by helping teams avoid alert fatigue and resolve issues faster.

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Key Aspects of Vulnerability Scanning

1. Automated Detection: Scanners use databases of known vulnerabilities to assess systems, looking for things like outdated software, misconfigurations, or unpatched vulnerabilities.
2. Types of Scans:some text
   • Network Scanning: Examines network components (routers, servers, firewalls) for vulnerabilities.
   • Web Application Scanning: Focuses on web applications to detect issues like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and insecure access controls.
   • Host-based Scanning: Scans specific devices or endpoints for vulnerabilities in the operating system, applications, and files.
   • Database Scanning: Targets databases for configuration issues, access control weaknesses, and known vulnerabilities in database software.
3. Risk Assessment: The scanner typically ranks vulnerabilities by severity, helping security teams prioritize which vulnerabilities need immediate attention.
4. Reporting: The tools that carry out scans document the findings, severity levels, and recommended actions, to help security teams prioritize remediation steps..
5. Continuous Monitoring: Automated scanning allows organizations to maintain an up-to-date understanding of their security posture, and to detect new weaknesses that may emerge.

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Penetration Testing

Penetration testing – also known as pen testing or ethical hacking –  is the simulation of a real-world cyber attack in order to test an organization’s cybersecurity capabilities and expose vulnerabilities. A common misconception is that pen testing is synonymous with vulnerability scanning. These are related but complementary operations with key differences. One such difference is that pen tests are far more comprehensive than vulnerability scanning and are traditionally point-in-time assessments. Vulnerability scans are often part of a host of tactics and tools used during the pen testing exercise.

Pen testing not only evaluates your organization’s security vulnerabilities, but also tests the people and processes that are likely to be threatened by an attacker. The pen tester uses their knowledge of cyber attacks to simulate the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) an adversary might attempt in order to provide an organization an analysis of how an attack could theoretically occur based on the current vulnerabilities of a given security system.

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Approaches to Pen Testing

Each pen test will have a unique methodology and goal and may include one or a number of the approaches below:

1. Black Box Testing: The tester has no prior knowledge of the system or network, mimicking an external attacker with limited information.

2. White Box Testing: The tester has full knowledge of the system, including source code, network infrastructure, and architecture.

3. Gray Box Testing: The tester has partial knowledge of the system, like login credentials or certain network architecture details.

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Both vulnerability scanning and pen testing aim to expose weaknesses in your organization’s network before malicious actors can take advantage of these weaknesses. Each has its own place in a well organized security program: you can think of vulnerability scans as ongoing attack surface analysis meant to identify new weaknesses as they arise, whereas pen testing is a specific point-in-time exercise circumscribed by a specific set of goals and approach and designed to provide much more in-depth findings than a vulnerability scan. At Capablanca we recommend organizations perform both ongoing vulnerability scans and penetration tests, at a minimum of every six months. Our approach, which blends the best of the long-established fundamentals with new technologies and approaches, focuses on providing continuous value beyond point-in-time assessments and setting the right foundations for a comprehensive security approach. 

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