## What are vulnerability scans?

Vulnerability scanning refers to an automated way of finding common vulnerabilities in information systems, typically by scanning ports over the network and listening to services behind them.

A good vulnerability scanner detects a wide range of different services and is always up-to-date with information about the latest known vulnerabilities.

Tools like Nessus are able to automatically scan devices on the Internet, determine which ports are open on the devices, identify services, and then use various techniques to detect vulnerabilities related to that specific service that Nessus is aware of.

**When using vulnerability scanners such as Nessus, especially authenticated scans, it is important to be cautious as misuse or careless usage can cause harm to systems and networks.**

### Who uses vulnerability scanners?

Vulnerability scanners can be used by anyone who wants to find known vulnerabilities in the target information system. This includes both the organization's own IT/security team, external security experts, and even criminals.

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## Why perform vulnerability scans?

Vulnerability scans can be an important part of organizations' cybersecurity strategies, as they provide a convenient way to identify and assess potential security risks in computer systems, networks, and applications.

### Performing Regular Scans

By performing vulnerability scans regularly, even completely automatically, it is possible to maintain a basic understanding of the security status of devices in the computer network and quickly detect if the information system suddenly becomes vulnerable to a known attack as a result of a change in the system itself or the disclosure of a new vulnerability.

### Vulnerability scanning vs. Security assessment

The main value of vulnerability scans comes from automation. You can create a scan profile once and set a time for the scan to be performed. You can then focus only on the scan results and, for example, automate parsing of the results with other tools. This is fast, efficient, and effortless.

In traditional cybersecurity auditing, typically more manual work and expert inspection of the target's security are required, which takes more time but produces more results.

Automated tools such as Nessus are a good way to create and maintain a basic situation picture, for example, of an organization's system security, but they are still quite simple and do not replace the expert's review of system security.

Therefore, these two different approaches are not opposed to each other but rather support each other, and often an expert uses tools like Nessus when performing security audits in extensive environments.


What are vulnerability scans and why are they done?

Nessus is a widely used security assessment tool designed to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in computer systems, networks and applications.

Nessus is a widely used cybersecurity assessment tool designed to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in computer systems, networks, and applications.

What are vulnerability scans and why are they done?

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