Finding and fixing vulnerabilities before attackers can take advantage of them is a proactive defensive measure essential to any security program. Core to this process is a vulnerability assessment (VA) tool, which discovers and scans assets, endpoints, and containers connected to your local, virtual, and cloud environments. This guide is designed to help you evaluate the many solutions and vendors on the market based on their ability to address the challenges that come with modern infrastructures and an evolving threat landscape, and their compatibility with your team's unique needs.
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In this guide, we equip prospective buyers to address the following capabilities with vendors:
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Solution Architecture
The solution architecture lays the groundwork for your vulnerability management program and can affect your ability to optimize scanning performance and quickly scale your deployment.
Solution Architecture:
- Flexible Deployment
- Distributed Scanning
- Internal & External Scanning
- Agent-Based Assessment
- Endpoint Monitoring
- Scalability
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Network Vulnerability Assessment
Network vulnerability assessment is important for identifying risks in your environment, but an effective security program requires a comprehensive solution that does more than just list vulnerabilities.
Network Vulnerability Assessment:
- Discovery
- Unified Vulnerability & Configuration Assessment
- Authenticated Scans
- Network Changes
- Scanning Frequency
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Prioritization
A common challenge among security teams is determining which vulnerabilities and assets to focus on first based off of their criticality to your business and what attackers are actually doing in the wild.
Prioritization:
- Risk Scoring
- Business Context
- Threat Feeds
- Vulnerability Validation
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Remediation
Remediation is the most critical step of a vulnerability management program. Unfortunately, this is also where many programs fall flat. Solutions must assist in fostering necessary—yet elusive—collaboration between security, IT, and development teams to address vulnerabilities as soon as possible.
Remediation:
- Planning for Remediation
- Role Assignment
- Remediation Analytics
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Reporting
Vulnerability scans can produce an overwhelming amount of information, so it's important to be able to identify what's really important and present it in a clear, concise, and actionable format.
Reporting:
- Consolidated Reporting
- Report Templates & Customization
- Asset and Vulnerability Filtering
- Asset Groups
- Remediation Validation
- Dashboards
- Database Queries
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Compliance & Configuration Assessment
Insecure configurations (i.e. "misconfigurations") and missing controls are a leading source of risk, which is why some vulnerability assessment solutions also provide the ability to scan for configurations, controls, and policy compliance.
Compliance & Configuration Assessment:
- Compliance Assessment
- Configuration Assessment
- Controls Assessment
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Administration
In addition to its features and capabilities, a solution should be easy to manage and maintain for its end users.
Administration:
- Role-Based Access
- Exceptions Management
- Application Updates
- Coverage Updates
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Integration
Your vulnerability assessment tool should be a data-rich resource that helps extend protection to every corner of your ecosystem and maximizes value from the other elements in your tech stack (like your SIEM, firewall, IT ticketing system, and more).
Integration:
- Virtual & Cloud Environments
- IT Security Solutions
- Enterprise Ticketing Solutions
- Automation and Orchestration Tools
- RESTful API
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Vendor
We're not saying that all the planets and stars have to align, but your vendor's strategy, roadmap, and track record should reflect the same priorities possessed by you and your team. Inquire into how the vendor will partner with your organization at the beginning of and throughout your relationship.
Vendor:
- Market Analysis
- Company Focus
- Customer Satisfaction
- Training & Certification
- Managed Services
- Application and User Vulnerability Assessment Tools
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Additional Considerations
(So you don't overlook any pieces of the puzzle.)
Additional Considerations:
- Pricing
- Managed Service
- Metrics for Success
- (And more!)