Vulnerability scanners enhance the efficiency of identifying weaknesses within network systems and applications.
They streamline the assessment process, which saves both time and resources compared to a manual assessment.
Within the vulnerability scanning nature, we see different aspects of the software where it's really
kind of scanning not just the web application or the web interface as much as it is scanning the assets
involved in the network as a whole.
This could be anything from firewalls to servers to switches.
The variety of network hardware that is capable of scanning is very robust, depending on not just the
tool you're utilizing, but the software it's interacting with.
This helps to facilitate complex compliance and regulatory standards, and it also helps to integrate
with other seamless tools where it provides an overall security posture and workflow, allowing us to
really kind of get to the bottom of where our network lies and the vulnerability or weaknesses and even
flaws that are associated with our network as a whole.
The first such tool we can use is called Nessus.
Now, Nessus is a paid version of a vulnerable vulnerability scanner developed by tenable and is designed
to identify security vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and compliance issues within our networks.
This tool can scan different workstations, firewalls, different devices, and it is a credible, vast
database that uses both unauthenticated and authenticated scanning options.
It allows for a deeper analysis with administrative controls, both local agents and endpoints, and
it provides a detailed report to identify those vulnerabilities.
It uses a priority list to base on severity of the weaknesses it finds, and it also provides a prioritization
to remediation efforts.
It also supports integration with other security tools and platforms like your Soar or even your SEM,
and enhances our overall security posture.
Now, the great thing about Nessus is that it is a very easy to use tool.
You plug in some IP addresses or a range of IP addresses.
It goes to town and you identify exactly how you want to configure the tool, and it just works.
It's incredibly easy to use, incredibly efficient, and incredibly user friendly when it comes down
to it.
It also, with that vast database, is able to identify and pinpoint specific vulnerabilities that are
kept up to date by developers on a day to day basis.
The other tool is Open Boss.
Now, Open Boss is the Open Vulnerability Assessment System, which is an open source vulnerability
tool or scanning device that detects vulnerabilities within systems and networks as a whole.
It's to identify or use to identify weaknesses such as Misconfigurations outdated software vulnerabilities,
all of which can be used by attackers to attack the system or the network as a whole.
While it's not a paid version, which means that it doesn't have the constant ongoing support that something
like Nessus does, it still provides a great database of different vulnerabilities or flaws within the
system, and is kept fairly well up to date, as open source developers continue to add to the database
and search for specific vulnerabilities associated with it.
However, because it's free, it's not as easy to use as something like Nessus, and we'll see that
when we go through the tool step by step.