Choosing the Best Type of Security Scan for your Business

Determining what type of security scan is best for your organization can be tricky. Both vulnerability scanning and penetration testing can provide value to any organization and are used widely across industries. This article will help educate you on the differences between the two and how to use their full capabilities to keep your business protected. 

Vulnerability Scans

 A routine, automatic scan that assesses computers, network, or applications to discover weaknesses.

Penetration tests

Also known as a pen test, are an authorized simulated cyberattack a computer system that deeply scans to evaluate the security environment with a goal of breaching network systems and data

which is best for your business?

Determining what type of scan is best for your organization can be tricky. Both vulnerability scanning and penetration testing can provide value to any organization. A vulnerability scan provides value through its quickness and repeatable capabilities because it is an automated scan. Performing a vulnerability scan can provide a baseline for individual security issues that can be fixed via patches or changing default credentials. It gives the IT Team a to-do list for items that can be quickly fixed.

A penetration test provides value through its in-depth results. It will provide additional clarity on how multiple systems working together can leave an organization vulnerable. This can lead to implementing better policies and procedures to improve the security posture of the organization.

To establish a strong security posture, incorporate vulnerability scans preferably on a weekly basis to fix the easy items such as missing patches or open ports. Next, schedule an annual pen test to learn of any exploitable vulnerabilities that may exist in operating systems, services and application flaws, configurations, or end-user behavior.