Vulnerability Scanning: What It Is And What It Does

Nearly every industry and government IT security standard around the world, including the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, the Center for Internet Security (CIS 20), Australia’s Essential 8, the Department of Defense’s CMMC and PCI requires vulnerability scanning. 

This almost universal requirement for network vulnerability scanning stems from its core function of identifying weaknesses in computers and networks that could be exploited by bad actors from either outside or within an organization. 

The majority of successful data breaches are the result of attacks against known vulnerabilities: security gaps in software code, packet construction anomalies and unsafe default configuration are all examples of the kinds of weaknesses that hackers look for to gain access and control over computers and networks.