Penetration Testing vs Vulnerability Scanning

Penetration Testing vs Vulnerability Scanning: A Comparison

For an enterprise, both penetration testing and vulnerability scanning are useful for protecting systems and networks from cyber attacks. However, people often confuse the two and assume they are the same thing.

Below, we present a “penetration testing vs vulnerability scanning” comparison to equip you with more knowledge to more effectively protect your business.

In order to do so, let’s first see what these two terms mean:

What Is Vulnerability Scanning?

Vulnerability scans, also known as vulnerability assessments, are automated tests that assess your computers, networks, and applications for weaknesses that threat actors might be able to exploit.

These scans are passive, meaning that they simply identify vulnerabilities. They don’t attempt to find out how these weaknesses might be exploitable; they simply report them.

Since they are automated, you can schedule them to run annually, quarterly, or even monthly. However, if you’re making any changes to your system, it is advisable to run a vulnerability scan at the time to ensure that the change is not introducing any risks.

Vulnerability Scan Reporting

At the end of each scan, you get a detailed report of the vulnerabilities found. The problem is that, since it’s automated, you may get several false positives. Alternatively, the scan might miss larger security flaws.

However, since the scan is only reporting vulnerabilities, you’ll receive a risk rating for each one, which allows you to assess the identified weaknesses and prioritize actioning fixes.

Benefits of a Vulnerability Scan

While vulnerability scans are not completely perfect, they do offer some very substantial benefits, such as:

Quick overview: A general look at any weaknesses in your system that could be used by threat actors.

Inexpensive: Automated scans can save you time and expense in mitigating the damage from cyber attacks.

Automated: The scans can be scheduled at regular intervals.

Fast results: These scans don’t take very long to complete and can point out any exploitable flaws that you might need to fix.

Limitations of a Vulnerability Scan

Since a vulnerability scan is automated, it has certain limitations. 

False positives: A vulnerability assessment will always come up with some false positives, i.e., something that’s identified as a weakness, but is really not.

Requires manual checking: Since the scan is automated, conducted by AI, and generates false positives, you need a human to go through the results and determine priorities.

Incomplete information: The assessment only identifies vulnerabilities, but doesn’t tell you whether the vulnerability is actually exploitable.

What Is Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing, or pen testing, is a service where analysts—known as ethical hackers—simulate a hacker who is trying to get into the system. 

The ethical hacker will employ the tools and methods—like password cracking, buffer overflow, SQL injections— used by actual threat actors to see the likelihood of someone being able to get through your security to access your network and information.

Since it’s a person who is carrying out the attack, they’ll use their skills and creativity to find exploitable weaknesses in your systems and network.

Penetration Testing vs Vulnerability Scanning

As you can see, the main difference between pen testing and vulnerability scanning is that the former is carried out by a person while the latter is automated. However, there are a few other differences as well.

Pen testing also gives you better insight into how the identified vulnerabilities can be exploited, whereas vulnerability assessments will only point out the weaknesses.

Vulnerability scans take less time and little technical knowledge to perform while penetration testing can take longer and requires deep technical knowledge and skill. For these reasons, penetration tests can be more expensive than vulnerability scans.

Because of its cost and intense nature, pen testing should be carried out once, maybe twice a year. Vulnerability scans, on the other hand, can be conducted every quarter.

Similarities Between Pen Testing and Vulnerability Scans

Both Pre-Emptively Identify Exploitable Weaknesses

Cybercriminals scan businesses to find any exploitable vulnerabilities. When they use those weaknesses to attack your system, you can lose money, data, and even control of your apps and services—not to mention your company’s credibility. 

By identifying exploitable weaknesses before threat actors do, you’re taking steps to ensure the holes are patched.

Both Help You Strategize Fixes

Both vulnerability scans and pen testing reveal critical vulnerabilities that need to be fixed. They tell you which weaknesses should be dealt with immediately and which ones can be taken care of later.

That way, you can allocate resources more efficiently and effectively.

Both Assess Your Network’s Security

Once you’ve tested the weaknesses across your devices, applications, and network, you can find out how cyber secure your organization truly is. That, in turn, allows you to take the measures needed to make your business safe from all types of attacks.

Both Save You Money Long-Term

Since both services help you find holes in your security before fraudsters do, you can prevent attacks from taking place. That means your business no longer has to spend money on mitigating the effects of an attack. 

You’ll also avoid fines that could result in legal action after a data breach.

Both Protect Your Clients’ (and Your Own) Data

Businesses are expected to protect their customers’ personal data, which means you need the appropriate technical security in place to securely store sensitive information. Both these assessments are a way of ensuring that your customers’ data is adequately protected. 

Both Help You Stay Up to Date With Your Security

Cybersecurity continues to evolve to keep up with threats. As a result, certain measures that were secure in the past might not be as effective now. Vulnerability assessments and pen testing enable you to keep up with the latest security trends.

Build a Reputation for Cybersecurity

Constant vigilance means your business develops better cybersecurity for your clients and customers. That, in turn, helps your reputation. 

Vulnerability Scanning and Penetration Testing With Rootshell Security

If you seek complete protection for your business’s online resources, get in touch with us. Rootshell Security offers comprehensive CREST-certified penetration testing services as well as The Rootshell Platform, a solution that helps you consolidate the results of your vulnerability finding efforts.

Get in touch with us to identify how your business might be at risk and manage your systems’ vulnerabilities better.