Almost every organization is susceptible to network security risks. Hackers are always looking for new ways to exploit network vulnerabilities, so businesses need to be proactive about identifying and mitigating these risks. One approach is to use network vulnerability scanning. This procedure entails scanning your network for vulnerabilities and hacking opportunities and assessing your protection against increasingly sophisticated cyber security threats that may emerge in the future. In this blog post, we will discuss network vulnerability scanning, its importance, and some of the best network vulnerability scanning tools available on the market today.
Network Vulnerability Scanning: Understanding What It Is
Network vulnerability scanning is the process of identifying potential security risks in a network by looking for vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit. These vulnerabilities can exist in both the network infrastructure and in the devices that are connected to it. By regularly scanning for these vulnerabilities, businesses can identify and fix them before they are exploited.
Importance of Network Vulnerability Scanning
In today’s business environment, network security risks are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. As such, it’s important for businesses to regularly scan their networks for vulnerabilities so they can identify and fix them before hackers exploit them. By doing so, businesses can avoid costly downtime, data breaches, and other negative consequences resulting from network security breaches.
Network Vulnerability Scanning Tools: Top 3
There are various scanning tools on the market, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. The most popular network vulnerability scanning tools available in today’s marketplace include:
- Astra’s Pentest
- Intruder
- Nikto
Businesses may profit from network vulnerability scanning software in a variety of ways, including the following:
- Identifies network security risks before hackers exploit them
- Can fix vulnerabilities before they cause downtime or data loss
- Makes an assessment of your network’s protection against future threats
- Helps improve your network’s security posture
- Helps with the compliance with industry regulations
- Reduces the cost of network security breaches
- Protects your brand reputation
- Helps increase customer confidence
How Does Network Vulnerability Scanning Work?
Network vulnerability scanning works by using various techniques to identify potential vulnerabilities in networks and devices. These techniques can include network mapping, port scanning, and banner grabbing. Once potential vulnerabilities have been identified, network vulnerability scanners will attempt to exploit them. If successful, the network vulnerability scanner will generate a report detailing the risks that were found.
What Do Network Vulnerability Scanning Tools Detect?
Network vulnerability scanning tools are designed to detect a variety of potential security risks, including:
- Misconfigured devices: Many devices are left unsecured, allowing attackers to access other networked devices. In most situations, attackers utilize misconfigured equipment to gain access to a target network. This is also a fantastic approach to gaining insider knowledge. It’s all too easy for a single failed device to jeopardize the entire network.
- Unpatched systems: Systems are frequently neglected to be updated, which exposes them to assaults. Attackers may easily use this security hole. Unpatched systems are vulnerable to faults, allowing cybercriminals to introduce viruses, Trojans, and Ransomware easily. These types of services also raise risks for organizations and consumers.
- Insecure protocols: Older versions of network protocols are often left unsecured, providing opportunities for attackers. Network protocol vulnerabilities may enable attackers to sniff network traffic or even hijack network sessions. This is a significant security loophole that might result in data loss or theft and service interruption.
- Weak passwords: One of the most common network security risks is weak passwords. Attackers can easily gain access to networked devices using weak passwords. In many cases, attackers will use brute force methods to gain access to networked devices. This is why strong passwords and their replacement regularly are so crucial.
Further Exploring the Top Tools
- Astra Pentest
Astra Pentest’s Vulnerability Scanner is a comprehensive vulnerability assessment tool that combines years of security testing knowledge. The vulnerability checker performs 3000+ checks to accurately assess your security state. It investigates the OWASP top 10 and SANS 25 Common Vulnerabilities, as well as ISO 27001, HIPAA, SOC2, and GDPR requirements.
You may also get a dynamic dashboard that allows you to examine the security status of your organization. You can assign vulnerabilities to members of your team, review vulnerability status, and keep track of compliance status all from the same location. With the connection of the vulnerability scanner with GitLab, GitHub, Slack, and Jira, the process becomes even simpler for you.
- Intruder
Intruder is a network security solution that can identify and block more than 10,000 security vulnerabilities such as WannaCry, Heartbleed, and SQL Injection. It also informs you about ports and services that should not be exposed to the internet by displaying them in colour-coded risk profiles.
Apart from the standard versions of Management, Incident and Problem reporting, Intruder also has some unique features. Intruder is integrated with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Slack, allowing it to track which systems you have exposed to the internet and notify you if new vulnerabilities are detected. Integration with Jira will enable bugs to be quickly sent to your development team.
- Nikto
Nikto is a renowned, open-source web scanner that’s used to check for possible problems and vulnerabilities. It scans a wide range of items on web servers, including several potentially harmful programs or files.
Nikto is also employed to determine whether the server’s version is current and whether it detects any outstanding problems that might be affecting the server’s performance. People tend to overlook this tool, but it still has a lot of other functions. For example, Nikto can check for HTTP, HTTPS, and HTTPd variants as well as other networking protocols.
Conclusion
Network vulnerability scanning tools are important for finding and fixing security risks on your network. Using a scanner allows you to discover and fix potential dangers before they become major issues. Many different types of scanners are available, each with its own set of capabilities. When selecting a scanner, think about your unique requirements.