Scanning has been the backbone to digital document management system for a long time. With scanning lots of document management process from content creation, editing, storing, retrieving, sharing, securing information as well as purging unnecessary information has become possible. This has not been the end; today, we have what we call vulnerability scanning tools that can benefit business enterprises. These tools allow you to screen networks and systems for any vulnerabilities and sends reports to the computer through notifications for fixing. The scanning tool ranks vulnerabilities based as critical, minor, or major. Vulnerability scanning tools help with IT regulations compliance. However, there are multiple vulnerability scanning tools in the market, making it difficult to decide on the one that suits your business document management needs. Below are some ways to determine your choice of a vulnerability scanning tool for your enterprise:
- Know the types of vulnerability scanning tools
Scanners are the ultimate scanning tool. When looking for a vulnerability scanning tool, it will be good to research and know with depth the types of scanning tools that exist in the market. Once you have understood, then making a choice will be easy. The types of vulnerability scanners are as follows:
Software-based
This type is common for medium and large sized corporations. These vulnerability scanning tools are suitable for configuration audits, target profiles, penetration tests, and complex vulnerability analyses. Whereas some software based loophole scanning tools are good with Windows products, they can also work well with mobile devices. They can scan workstations, network devices, servers, and databases.
Software-based scanners have a better interface than their previous interface version. Reports of target analyses and remediation actions of these interfaces are quite useful. Their reporting is high quality since they are also able to assess new trends and sort information on varied criterion. Software-based vulnerability scanners are essential to big business, which have a regular check of their system.
Cloud-Based
These are on-demand vulnerability scanning tools. The good thing about them is that they are easy to use since they come as Software as a Service (SaaS). You do not require any installation or maintenance of the system to keep it working optimally. You will only subscribe to the vulnerability scanning service online and further go ahead to configure scans. Cloud-based vulnerability scanning tools come with free-flowing monitoring of all your systems. Like software-based scanners, cloud-based scanners allow you to download updates and vendor purchases for defined vulnerabilities. This scanning tool also comes with scanning thresholds to overloading devices during scanning preventing crashes. This is a cheap vulnerability scanning option and suitable for small and growing business enterprises. Moreover, they still offer detailed reports on your scanning exercises.
- Know PCI DSS Vulnerability scanning requirements
Your vulnerability scanning tool should also help you comply with industry requirements like PCI DSS. PCI DSS requires you to do both external and internal vulnerability scans in your system. For external scans, you will have to screen your system from outside your IP to be able to identify weakness in your system. On the other side, internal scans will involve scanning hosts on a network to identify internal weaknesses.
- Know frequency at which you will do vulnerability scans
Even as you plan to secure your system, it will be appropriate to look out for costs incurred on how frequent you do scans. Regulations such as PCI DSS require that you run quarterly vulnerability scans. You are also required to do scans every time you change software, do updates, and change equipment. This can be an expensive expedition when you are planning to cut costs to keep your business afloat.
- Look out for false positives of the vulnerability scanning tool
False positives refer to moments when your scanning tool tries to tell that there is a vulnerability when there is no such thing. This will mean that you will have to spend a lot of time confirming whether the issues exist. Look for a vulnerability scanning tool with less false positives.
- Amount of vulnerabilities searched
There are multiple vulnerabilities your system can face which you may be aware of, but some are not common. Look for a scanning tool with 500,000 plus searches so that you are assured of accurate searches every time. You do not want to experience a breach when you are sure that your scanner did it right.
- Look for an approved scanning tool vendor
Even as you look for excellent vulnerability scanning tool, it is worth noting that, whomever that will sell it to you needs to be a trusted vendor. A number of things that can prove whether someone is an ASV, also termed as an Approved Scanning Vendor as follows:
An approved vendor has a system that tunes scan engines. Scanning can be cheap; however, if you have to spend on solving false positives, it might end up being expensive. An ASV will tune scan engines for accurate results reducing false positives in your system.
Availability of customer support. A 24 hour-7 day support is beneficial for any vulnerability scanning tool’s success. Customer support will be significant whenever you have challenges with your system and could enable you to get the best out of your system.
- Ask yourself whether the tool will meet your business needs
It will not make sense to buy a tool that is not compatible with your business. A vulnerability scanning tool is an excellent option to achieve effective open source management with your business’ document management system.
No one vulnerability scanning tool can be perfect. You need to go out of your way to seek the one that will serve your enterprise perfectly. The above directions will give you a clear image of what you need. Analyze the types that exist, know their PCI DSS requirements, look of their false positives, range of vulnerability searches (500,000 searches is recommended) and finally look for a solution that meets your business needs.
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