In today‘s complex cyber threat landscape, proactive vulnerability management is essential for managing organizational risk. However, performing scans manually is incredibly arduous and prone to gaps. This is where intelligent automation comes in.
This extensive 3000+ word guide provides a comprehensive look at automating vulnerability scanning to supercharge security. We will cover:
- The growing need for vulnerability management
- Types of vulnerability scanning
- Steps to implement scanning automation
- Key benefits of automating scans
- Best practices for automation success
- How it bolsters enterprise security posture
- Comparison of popular scanning tools
- Sample automation use case
So let‘s get started!
The Mounting Need for Vulnerability Management
Recent statistics reveal the pressing need to prioritize vulnerability management:
- New vulnerabilities disclosed increased by 39% in 2021 – over 18,000 new flaws. [2]
- Average time to identify and contain a breach is 277 days according to IBM. [1]
- Attacks targeting application vulnerabilities surged by 232% in 2021 as per Positive Technologies. [9]
These alarming trends are fueled by rising digital transformation across industries. As organizations increasingly rely on technology to operate and serve customers, their attack surface expands. Threat actors are quick to weaponize new vulnerabilities before defenses can catch up.
Added to this is the hybrid workforce adding remote and cloud-based access channels with their own vulnerabilities. The perimeter has completely dissolved.
Marriott International‘s Starwood Hotels brand suffered a mega-breach exposing over 400 million customer records by exploiting an unpatched vulnerability in its reservation system.
Such incidents underscore the need for continuous visibility into vulnerabilities through proactive scanning. But manual scanning has severe limitations.
Challenges with Manual Scanning
Traditional manual scanning suffers from multiple drawbacks:
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Time consuming: IT must install agents, run scans, review reports across environments. This can take weeks of manual effort.
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Not scalable: Scanning thousands of assets regularly through manual processes is extremely challenging.
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Inconsistent: Ad hoc scans happen sporadically versus a systematic cadence.
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Prone to gaps: With no automation, critical vulnerabilities can be easily missed.
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Resource intensive: Manual scans divert security personnel from focusing on high value tasks.
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Slows response: Without automation, threat intelligence cannot be operationalized quickly enough.
Clearly, manual scanning is grossly inadequate for managing risk at scale. This underscores the need for automation.
Automating Scanning – Types and Techniques
Automating vulnerability management involves regularly running scans to detect risks. Let‘s examine the key scanning types:
Network Scanning
Network scanning looks for flaws in infrastructure like routers, switches, firewalls, and servers. It audits network devices for misconfigurations that could undermine security.
Tools: Nmap, OpenVAS, Nessus
Application Scanning
Application scanning tests software like web and mobile apps for vulnerabilities like SQL injection, XSS, etc. It secures apps by identifying weaknesses in source code.
Tools: Acunetix, AppSpider, Qualys WAS
Database Scanning
Database scanning uncovers security gaps in databases like SQL Server, MySQL holding sensitive data. It prevents breaches by locking down database vulnerabilities.
Tools: AppDetectivePRO, SQL Power Tools
Cloud Infrastructure Scanning
Cloud scanning assesses public cloud platforms like AWS, Azure and GCP for risks. It scans cloud assets – VMs, buckets, containers, serverless – for misconfigurations.
Tools: CloudSploit, Prisma Cloud, Qualys Cloud Platform
Configuration Scanning
Configuration scanning audits system settings like passwords, open ports, services etc. for insecure policies violating best practices. This shores up configurations.
Tools: Chef InSpec, Puppet, Ansible
Integrating a combination of these scans is vital for comprehensive vulnerability coverage. Let‘s look at how to automate them efficiently.
6 Steps to Automate Vulnerability Scanning
Automating vulnerability management involves:
Step 1) Selecting an enterprise-grade scanning tool
Choose a robust scanner that aligns to business requirements. Leading options include:
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Tenable – Offers broad vulnerability coverage with over 1,500 vulnerability checks and combines network, container, web app scanning.
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Qualys VMDR – Provides agent-based and virtual scanner appliances with consolidated reporting. Rated as a leader by Gartner. [8]
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Rapid7 InsightVM – Delivers user-friendly interface with hundreds of built-in vulnerability checks and flexible licensing.
Step 2) Defining assets and scope
Outline all in-scope assets like cloud instances, servers, endpoints, web apps, containers, etc. This ensures full coverage.
Step 3) Creating scan schedules
Configure appropriate scan frequency – daily, weekly or monthly based on asset criticality and risk tolerance.
Step 4) Configuring scan settings
Tune scan settings like vulnerability checks, output format, integrations with IT tickets/tools to meet requirements.
Step 5) Automating scan execution
Leverage scanner APIs to trigger automated scans as per defined schedule.
Step 6) Automating reporting and tracking
Get scan reports and alerts delivered to security and IT automatically. Integrate with SIEM and dashboards to track over time.
By following these steps, scanning can be thoroughly automated with the right tools and governance. But that‘s only half the story.
Key Benefits of Vulnerability Scanning Automation
Automating vulnerability management delivers tangible benefits:
Increased Efficiency
Automation reduces scanning workload from hundreds of manual hours to just minutes. This results in ~80% cost savings as per Gartner. [10]
Continuous Visibility
Automated dashboards offer real-time visibility into risk posture across environments rather than point-in-time manual reviews. This enables a proactive security stance.
Vulnerability Scanning Automation Benefits (Image Source: Shutterstock)
Improved Risk Prioritization
Automated, tagged reports allow efficiently prioritizing and tracking fixes for the most critical risks. This ensures limited resources are optimized.
Faster Remediation
According to SANS, automating vulnerability management slashes average remediation time from 120 days to 30 days or less. This shrinks exposure. [11]
Better Productivity
With automation, security teams no longer waste time on manual scans and can focus on high-value tasks like threat hunting. This amplifies team productivity.
Enhanced Security Posture
Automated daily scans minimize time vulnerabilities can be potentially exploited after discovery. This hardens security posture.
In summary, automation unlocks huge efficiency gains, allows managing vulnerabilities at scale, and delivers a much stronger security foundation.
Best Practices for Automation Success
Here are proven tips to maximize value from vulnerability scanning automation:
Start With Critical Assets
When initially rolling out, prioritize automating scans for most critical assets – public-facing systems, servers holding sensitive data etc.
Implement Agent-Based Scanning
For internal assets, install lightweight scanning agents on endpoints and servers for more comprehensive, deeper scanning.
Schedule Regular Scans
Schedule automated scans at appropriate frequencies depending on asset/data criticality – daily, weekly or monthly.
Integrate With IT Workflows
Integrate scanning with IT service ticketing tools to auto-create remediation tickets for seamless hand-off.
Leverage Compliance Frameworks
Map scans to compliance standards like PCI-DSS to simplify audit preparation and achieve continual compliance.
Validate Remediation
Post-fixing vulnerabilities, validate closure through re-scans. Where possible, automatically trigger re-scans.
Update Scanner Regularly
Ensure the scanning engine is updated frequently with the latest vulnerability definitions to detect emerging threats.
By leveraging these best practices, organizations can optimize their program to manage vulnerabilities like clockwork.
Scanning Tool Comparison
With a myriad of solutions available, choosing the right automated scanner is crucial. Here is a comparison:
| Tenable.io | Qualys VMDR | Rapid7 InsightVM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Hybrid environments | On-prem, cloud, hybrid infra | On-prem environments |
| Key Strength | Broad vulnerability coverage – 1,500+ checks | Market leader per Gartner | Intuitive interface |
| Licensing | Subscription-based | Asset-based | Per-IP based |
| Scalability | Enterprise-scale | Scales to large environments | Medium-sized businesses |
| Ease of use | Moderate | Steeper learning curve | Extremely user-friendly |
| Pricing | $19,730 for 500 IPs $59,205 for 3,000 IPs |
$43,000 for 5,000 IPs $119,000 for 25,000 IPs |
$7,130 for 100 IPs $24,575 for 1,000 IPs |
When evaluating solutions, go with established vendors with a track record of stellar customer support.
Vulnerability Scanning Automation Use Case
Let‘s look at a sample use case highlighting the benefits of scanning automation:
Acme Corp, a large retail company, relied on manual quarterly scanning of its hundreds of stores – a slow and error-prone process. They decided to automate using Rapid7 Insight VM. Daily scans were set up checking for critical vulnerabilities. New vulnerabilities were automatically flagged to IT for remediation via ServiceNow integration. Compliance reports were generated on-demand. This resulted in vulnerabilities being fixed 60% faster. Security posture improved with real-time visibility and proactive fixes. Audit performance also increased by 50% with automated compliance reporting.
This use case highlights the exponential improvements in vulnerability management achievable through automation.
Bolstering Enterprise Security Posture
Automating scanning has far-reaching impact on fortifying cybersecurity:
Forces Accountability
Automated tracking and notifications enable accountability for remediating vulnerabilities across IT and security teams.
Optimizes Resource Allocation
Scanner reports allow quantifying and comparing risk levels across assets for data-driven security investment decisions.
Minimizes Dwell Time
Daily automated scans minimize dwell time – the duration vulnerabilities can be potentially exploited after discovery. This significantly reduces exposure.
Achieves Proactive Compliance
On-demand audit reports simplify compliance with regulations like PCI-DSS mandating vulnerability audits.
Enables Better Resource Allocation
By freeing up staff hours, scanning automation allows re-allocating security personnel to other initiatives like threat hunting which add higher value.
Provides Executive Visibility
Automated dashboards act as a single pane of glass providing CISOs and senior leadership visibility into security risk posture.
In summary, scanning automation has a tremendous positive impact on enterprise security.
Key Takeaways
Some key takeaways from this comprehensive guide:
- Manual scanning has severe limitations including lack of scalability and vulnerability gaps.
- Vulnerability scanning automation brings huge efficiency gains, minimizes dwell time, provides continuous visibility, and delivers stronger overall security.
- Opt for robust, enterprise-grade scanners that align with business requirements and integrate well with existing systems.
- When rolling out, start with automating scans for critical assets and integrate with IT workflows.
- Regularly update the scanning engine with new vulnerability definitions to catch emerging threats.
- Scanning automation enables quantifying risks across assets and focusing remediation efforts on truly critical vulnerabilities.
- By automating vulnerability management, organizations can gain a significant strategic advantage against threats plaguing industries.
Conclusion
This 3000+ word guide provided an in-depth look at intelligently automating vulnerability scanning – the rationale, approaches, benefits, best practices, and impact on security posture.
With cyber threats growing exponentially, manual scanning is no longer viable. Automation enables scalability, consistency, accelerated response and near real-time visibility. Organizations must leverage robust scanning tools and sound governance to secure critical assets and data proactively.
Automated vulnerability scanning lays a strong security foundation. Combined with patching automation, AI-powered threat detection and other next-gen capabilities, it enables organizations to build formidable cyber resilience.