Vulnerability Scanning Vs. Penetration Testing
Which is Better?
Vulnerability scanning and penetration testing are the two most confusing terms of the same service. However, both serve crucial but different functions necessary to protect the entire ecosystem of networks in an organization. The problem arises when business owners use one when they need the other. Thus, they miss out on the vital elements of a secure network.
In this blog post, we will discuss different aspects of vulnerability scanning and penetration testing and how they differ to help individuals better understand each one.
Let’s dive deeper!
What is Vulnerability Scanning?
Vulnerability scanning is an automatic process of identifying the vulnerabilities related to the security of networks and applications. It is professionally done by the designated IT department of any organization but it can also be performed by an adversary, checking for open ports, listening services, etc.
A vulnerability scanner identifies the type of system, then performs various checks that relate to known vulnerabilities on that system. This includes scanning all the open ports and applications running on the device.
The scanning process involves various techniques that are used to check the response that a device, network, or application within the target scope. Based on the output from the device, the scanner then compiles the results within a database and pulls in risk scores for the vulnerabilities that are present.
The end result is an output, usually a report, that details the discovered services, applications, etc. along with all of the vulnerabilities found during the scan. The report also details the recommended resolutions like installing missing service packs, applying security patches, or updates to code to fix a flaw.
Benefits of Vulnerability Scanning
Vulnerability scanning has its own set of benefits that help organizations identify and quantify security vulnerabilities. Let’s look at some of them below:
- The primary benefit of vulnerability scanning is finding the known security exposures and fixing them before a hacker can take advantage of them.
- Identifying the vulnerabilities associated with specific devices and the entire network as you create an inventory of devices on the network. The purpose and system information is always considered while creating an inventory.
- When you create an inventory of all the devices in the organization, vulnerability scanning also helps you with a detailed assessment of needs and making upgrades as per future requirements.
- As we discussed the process of vulnerability scanning above, we know that the scanner matches the results with the database and assigns risk ratings. This helps with prioritizing remediation of the discovered vulnerabilities.
- The best part is that once the scanners are configured, you get continued updates making it a repeatable process that secures your network and application from cyber threats.
Read Also: Guide to Penetration Testing
What is Penetration Testing?
Penetration testing or pen testing is a simulated cyberattack on your organization’s network or application, and thus, it is called ethical hacking.
Pen testers take the steps a malicious actor or threat group would, performing reconnaissance on your organization, then finding vulnerabilities to exploit in order to gain access to the network. Ethical hackers tend to check for exploitable vulnerabilities in a targeted network or device they find during the reconnaissance phase.
They scale planned attacks against a company’s network infrastructure as a part of a holistic security strategy considering the network, devices, and web applications. Pen testing usually involves repeated attempts to breach several application systems and devices to uncover vulnerabilities such as inputs susceptible to code injection attacks.
The pen testers use specific tools and techniques that cybercriminals also to check the impact an attack may leave on the business. It helps pen testers and organizations understand whether the system is robust enough to resist an attack from various authenticated and unauthenticated sources.
Once the pen test is complete, the pen tester compiles the results into a report with recommendations to prevent the exploits they were able to perform. This allows the organization to review and take the necessary steps to prevent those same exploits from being used by a malicious actor.
Benefits of Penetration Testing
Organizations generally have software and systems from the beginning with the objective of eliminating security flaws. Still, a penetration test gives you insight into how well your security controls are doing at defending your infrastructure. It also comes with other benefits mentioned below.
- Pen testing gives a clear idea of existing exploitable vulnerabilities in a given network, device, or application. Based on the criticality of the vulnerabilities, you can categorize the security flaws to help you intelligently manage vulnerabilities and prioritize remediation.
- When it comes to security breaches, there is no permanent solution. However, pen-testing has a proactive approach that uncovers the weaknesses and lets the organization decide whether they want some extra security layers to be implemented.
- Penetration tests give you a peek into the systems that aren’t working, outdated policies, tools that are providing better ROI, and changes the security posture. We can say that it acts as a quality assurance check for the organization’s security program.
- Attacks evolve with time, and so do security practices. Penetration testing helps organizations know whether they are meeting the regulatory requirements or not. Also, the auditors would know in detail whether the mandated security measures are working properly, or not.
Read Also: Risk Assessment Vs Vulnerability Assessment
What are the Key Differences Between Vulnerability Scanning and Penetration Testing?
Vulnerability scanning and penetration testing are commonly used in the cybersecurity space to protect data, reputation, and revenue against security threats. However, both these terms are often confused with each other and misunderstood.
Let’s discuss the major points of differences:
1. Nature of Process
Vulnerability scanning relates to identifying known vulnerabilities while pen-testing scales a planned attack to exploit the weaknesses.
Vulnerability scanning is used to create both offensive and defensive cybersecurity strategies, On the other hand, penetration testing is considered an offensive cybersecurity strategy.
2. Frequency
It is best to perform vulnerability scanning at least once in three months. However, if you are looking forward to making some major changes in the network infrastructure then you may need it on a monthly or weekly basis.
Penetration testing depends on the type of test you are conducting in the organization. Usually, there are two broad categories of pen testing: internal and external testing.
Most industries require both and should be performed on a regular basis. Since it is a planned attack it requires time and resources, thus we would recommend you to conduct penetration testing at least once a year.
3. Costing
When it comes to cost, you will find various pricing models that depend on the package that a vendor offers. Moreover, the environment in which vulnerability scanning is conducted also adds up to the cost.
On average a vulnerability scanning can range from $2000-$2,500 considering the above factors and the number of IPs, servers, and applications to be scanned.
On the other hand, the cost of penetration testing majorly depends on the goal of the test as it will influence the tools, time, and resources to be used.
The reason is that the goal may double the tools and software to be used which eventually adds up to the overall cost of the exercise.
On average it costs anywhere between $4,000-$100,000. Moreover, if you go for high-quality professionals, then it may range from $10,000-$30,000.
Read Also: Cost of Penetration Testing
4. Time
Vulnerability scanning can be automated and can take up to 20–60 minutes but depends on the number of IPs to be scanned. The more IPs scanned, the longer the scan takes.
As we discussed above, penetration testing is a complete simulated cyber-attack using similar tools that a hacker would use, it takes more time as compared to vulnerability scanning.
It may take up 1–3 weeks depending on the number of systems tested. However, if you are testing an individual app, process, or system it will take less than one week.
5. Regulation Requirements
If we talk about the regulation requirements, then vulnerability scanning has to comply with specific standards that majorly include PCI DSS 11.2.
On the other hand, penetration testing has to comply with PCI DSS 11.3. For external testing, it is PCI DSS 11.3.1 while for internal testing it is PCI DSS 11.3.2.
6. Value
Vulnerability scanning uncovers exploitable vulnerabilities either within the network or outside the network. On the other hand, penetration testing gives you complete visibility of situations a malicious entity may cause damage or attack the system that gives a clear picture of the extent of risks associated.
Vulnerability Scanning Vs Penetration Testing — Which is Better?
Vulnerability scanning targets the known vulnerabilities and is considered a best practice but it cannot give the full visibility of threats that exist in your device, applications, or network.
Penetration testing shows the real-world attack vector as to how it will impact an organization, assets, data, humans, and physical security. Moreover, it gives you a complete picture of how effective your existing security controls are against the evolving cyberattacks.
While penetration tests can be expensive, they are worth the effort because you are letting a professional examine every corner of your entire network infrastructure to uncover holes that exist and could allow an attacker in.
If you are looking for professional pen testers, consider checking SecureTriad: a leading Cyber Security Services Company. Here you will get penetration testing experts who will give you a complete report of risks, considering those you can begin preventing and responding to cyber threats.
Originally published at https://securetriad.io on June 29, 2021.
