External Vulnerability Assessments

Hackers and online attackers are always in pursuit of exploiting security vulnerabilities to hack enterprise systems for ransom. They do so by stealing sensitive information, installing malware and viruses, integrating supply chain attacks, or participating in cyber espionage.

To protect a network, one of the best solutions is to perform vulnerability scans on a regular basis. A vulnerability assessment searches for, identifies, and reports any vulnerabilities in the organization’s IT framework.

There are different types of vulnerability assessments. These include:

  • External vulnerability assessments
  • Internal vulnerability assessments
  • Unauthenticated scans
  • Authenticated scans

What exactly is an External Vulnerability Assessment?

As the name indicates, an external vulnerability assessment is performed outside the network you want to test. These assessments check the strength of the external IP addresses of your enterprise’s entire system. Through this scan, you can find the list of ports open, along with its vulnerabilities. These external assessments are helpful when an organization wants to check the strength of externally facing threats.

Benefits of an External Assessment

An external assessment is a proactive approach that helps protect and organization from external threats. These assessments identify weak points that can potentially lead to a breach. These scans can help determine and remediate any issues. You can evaluate any new servers that have been set up since the last assessment and identify if they pose any problems. Since external assessments are a proactive approach, they should be a part of your ongoing cybersecurity program.

How Often Should an External Assessment be Performed?

It is best to undergo an external assessment at least once a month. More than once will simply overdo the scanning process. While running these scans, make sure you look for any new IP address or suspicious activity that may appear. This can be a sign of a potential external threat or breach. If you find any anomalies, ensure that they were approved by a formal process while being implemented in a secure, authorized way. These external scans should be performed on the regular basis to help manage and eliminate the possibility of overlooking any threats.