Editor's note
The business case for adopting a vulnerability management tool is quite evident. All businesses experience security breaches and have defensive weaknesses, and vulnerability management helps mitigate those risks and breaches.
What's less clear is which vulnerability management tool security administrators should select for their organization. This buyer's guide outlines what vulnerability management tools do to protect a company's assets and lays out the benefits of adopting such tools. It presents key criteria for businesses to look for when purchasing vulnerability management tools, and then offers a comparison of the top tools in the market today.
Selecting vulnerability management tools is not as easy as defining the need for them. Business size and type matter in this decision. A manufacturing plant has different financial means than a small chain of hardware stores. Enterprises have vastly different infrastructures and security needs than small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). Knowing which features and capabilities match up best with a company's size, infrastructure and industry is the key to selecting the most appropriate vulnerability management tool.
Even with the full arsenal of security tools at their disposal -- firewalls, intrusion detection systems, VPNs and endpoint protection -- companies are still susceptible to security breaches, and there are seemingly new threats every day. Often, these threats exploit existing, known vulnerabilities that organizations should already have addressed. All vulnerability management tools scan networks searching for these cracks in the fortress. They provide detailed reports on breaches or attacks that are discovered and provide security admins with remediation techniques to address them.
It's clear what vulnerability management tools can do to protect assets. But what can they do for a company's other resources? The best vulnerability management tool saves a company time. It provides continuous or daily scans of both internal and external networks, running on an automated basis. Some vendors provide preconfigured, automated scans that can help cut down on the time spent running them.
Vulnerability management tools also offer perspective. Once the tools discover and define a flaw, they produce reports that diagnose the issue and prescribe a solution. Some vendors offer a prioritization feature which assesses the risk attached to each discovered vulnerability and the cost of each solution. This gives a company context into what kind of attack it is dealing with and how the attack can affect the company financially and legally.
This buyer's guide is designed to help security admins make the right decision for their company when it comes to selecting the best vulnerability management tool.
1Business cases for vulnerability management tools
The business case for vulnerability management tools may be an obvious one, but organizations are still attacked every day. The number of successful threats and intrusions is staggeringly high. No matter if it's a small business or a global enterprise, the need for a vulnerability management tool is apparent.
2Evaluating vulnerability management tools
Selecting the right vulnerability management tool begins with knowing how to evaluate one. Ease of use, enterprise features and support for mobile and cloud infrastructures are just some of the key criteria to consider.
3What are the best vulnerability management tools for you?
The top vulnerability management tools in the market each have their own unique features and do different things well. See how they compare to each other in terms of price, reporting and keeping abreast of current vulnerabilities.
4Deep dives in vulnerability management products
To see if a vendor truly meets your businesses' needs, read these in-depth vulnerability management tool overviews.
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Beyond Security's AVDS scans tens of thousands of IPs for vulnerabilities
With a low false positive rate of 0.1%, Beyond Security's Automated Vulnerability Detection System leads the pack of vulnerability management tools in terms of efficiency. Read Now
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Core Insight uses modeling and attacker simulations to help businesses determine threats
Core Security's enterprise-focused Core Insight provides a single view into all of the vulnerabilities across an organization. Read Now
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Critical Watch's cloud-based or virtual vulnerability management products provide vulnerability scor
Using a scorecard, Critical Watch's FusionVM product helps businesses assess the potential risk of threats and enables them to manage remediation. Read Now
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Nexpose, by Rapid7, exposes and prioritizes vulnerabilities in physical, virtual, mobile and cloud e
Easy setup, configuration and a robust support community make Nexpose a user-friendly vulnerability management tool. Read Now
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SAINT 8 Security Suite assesses both internal and external targets
SAINT provides businesses vulnerability scanning along with penetration testing and enterprise-level remediation ticketing. Read Now
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Find a comprehensive vulnerability management tool in Tenable Nessus
Tenable Nessus scans the entirety of an enterprise, including web, mobile and cloud environments. Read Now
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Tripwire's suite of vulnerability management tools offered as cloud-based or virtual appliance
Tripwire leverages vulnerability data to help companies prioritize and exploit vulnerabilities. Read Now
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Qualys offers three different builds of its vulnerability management tool
Offered in three forms, enterprise, midsize, and small, Qualys offers vulnerability management to businesses of all sizes. Read Now