An unsecured network can cause a lot of damage to your business and increase the chances of data breaches. Thus, looking after your network security must be the primary responsibility of the administrators in a corporate IT environment. Each business must invest in tools or look for processes that will help in fixing vulnerabilities.

With the rise in cyberattacks and threats, investing in a continuous security solution is worth the cost. A data breach can expose all your personal or sensitive information without authorization. Also, it can lead to unhappy customers and is highly advantageous for your competitors. Instead of bearing so much loss, it is best to go for Vulnerability Management Software that can save you from losing sensitive data.

In this post, we will discuss a few Vulnerability Management Tools, how they work, and their key features. 

What is Vulnerability Management Software?

You might have come across many tools like antivirus software and firewalls that help save your systems from attacks. But, vulnerability management software is a bit different and follows a different approach to cybersecurity. 

Vulnerability management is a cybersecurity process that helps identify, evaluate, treat, and report security vulnerabilities found in a system or software.

It performs proper scanning and looks for weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the network. Further, it guides the operators by offering remediation suggestions to reduce the chances of data breaches. By adopting this technique, you can stay ahead of your competitors and prioritize possible threats.

Another advantage of investing in vulnerability management tools is that you can assign and monitor the threat levels to weaknesses. This feature may help you address the most significant issues at first. As such, you can prioritize the threats as per your need.

 Also, in some cases, these tools automate all the processes and provide solutions automatically via patches and other features.

How Do Vulnerability Management Tools Work?

Vulnerability Management tools follow different approaches to identify and fix vulnerabilities in a system:

• Vulnerability scanners The approach makes the process to find vulnerabilities, security holes, and patches easier by scanning all endpoints. It accesses all the possible vulnerabilities in the internal and external networks that attackers can exploit.
• Penetration testing This approach involves an actual attack similar to what hackers would do in most cases. It involves thinking like the hackers and targeting the areas from the hacker’s point of view to see how and which defense areas can be breached.
• Breach and attack simulation (BAS) Αn advanced testing method that identifies vulnerabilities and weaknesses by acting like attackers. The BAS tools also enable the operators to prioritize fixes.
• Vulnerability assessments Αnalyze and evaluate if there is any known vulnerability and prioritizes solutions. It looks for an organization’s overall security posture and reviews weaknesses.
• Patch management Corrects the errors and fixes vulnerabilities as prioritized by the vulnerability management tools.

Vulnerability management tools adopt some of the above-listed approaches to prioritize threats and offer remediation. A few products also automate these functions to reduce the burden on security staff.

Key Features of Vulnerability Management Tools

Here are a few advanced features that most of the vulnerability management tools comprise that help fulfill all your company’s security needs and requirements. To determine which specific cybersecurity solution is best for your organization, consider the one that comprises most of these features:

• Scan and monitor potential vulnerabilities and bugs continuously
• Profile and rule system monitoring
• Set up Notification rules
• Display vulnerability severity levels in the dashboard and reports
• Risk scoring
• Alert options
• Advanced Authentication Functionality
• Policy assessment
• Centralized management of agents and vulnerability scanners
• Network access path analysis
• Supports scanning of network perimeter and internal network
• Attack surface visualization
• Patch management
• Customizable reporting
• Automated updates and remediation
• Attack vector analytics and modeling

A few vulnerability management tools also offer asset discovery features. To test if a vulnerability management tool matches your requirement, lookup for the above-listed features and compare the tools before making the final call.

The Best Vulnerability Management Tools

Vulnerability management tools reduce data breaches and offer a way to identify and fix vulnerabilities before the damage. We have shortlisted some of the best vulnerability management tools that will help spot incipient attacks before they occur and provide data protection at all times. Have a look!

1. ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus – FREE TRIAL

ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus (VMP) is a vulnerability remediation software solution that assists businesses and organizations in identifying and patching security issues in their networks and systems. The platform offers various tools for identifying vulnerabilities, evaluating their risks, and formulating plans to remediate them.

Key Features:

• Automated vulnerability scans
• Indepth reporting for various compliance standards
• A mix of manual and automated remediation tools

For instance, a company could utilize Vulnerability Manager Plus to scan its network for vulnerabilities on a regular basis. If the scan detects any vulnerabilities, VMP can produce a report or alert and prioritize them based on the level of risk they pose. The company can then develop a plan to fix the vulnerabilities, enhancing the overall security of its network and systems.

Website Link: https://www.manageengine.com/vulnerability-management/

Download: Click here to download your ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus 30-day free trial.

2. Heimdal Security – FREE TRIAL

Heimdal Security enables businesses to streamline their vulnerability discovery, prioritization, and remediation from a single platform.

Key features:

• Combined security and vulnerability management
• Risk scoring
• Support for 120+ applications
• Combined patch management automation

Heimdal Security provides a comprehensive vulnerability management solution that enables organizations to proactively identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in their software applications. The solution offers real-time threat detection, behavior-based malware detection, email and DNS filtering, and proactive software updates to protect assets from potential cyber threats.

The platform incorporates asset tracking capabilities, allowing system administrators to view and manage software inventory in one accessible dashboard. This feature allows organizations to implement proactive vulnerability management and ensure their software applications remain up-to-date with the latest security patches and updates.

Whether you’re looking to scale your vulnerability management efforts, or build a process from scratch, Heimdal Security gives administrators the tools they need to manage cybersecurity threats across their environment.

Download: Get started with the 30-day free trial.

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3. Invicti

One of the popular vulnerability management tools that offer security advice at all stages of the CI/CD pipeline and help reduce the risk of attacks. Invicti is best suitable for DevOps and is used in every stage of building Web applications. The tool plays a key role in building the application, pushing it through the new development phase, and checking on live systems.

Available as a cloud platform, the main purpose of designing Invicti was to support the CI/CD pipeline. It uses its approach to discover possible pitfalls and security glitches. 

Another feature of Invicti is that it provides automated security throughout your SDLC and saves time. By investing in Invicti, you can easily discover and prioritize vulnerabilities. Also, seamlessly assign the prioritized vulnerabilities for remediation.

Pros

• Supports the CI/CD pipeline
• Supports Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) and Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) scanning approach
• Scans for security glitches and pitfalls in the codes under development
• Automates security throughout SDLC and saves time
• Offers full visibility into apps
• Helps in discovering lost web assets
• Provides real-time monitoring and risk management
• Supports 50+ integrations
• Supports combined signature and behavior-based testing for discovering vulnerabilities
• Allows controlling permissions for unlimited users
• The tool helps developers to write more secure code to prevent vulnerabilities

Cons

• Invicti does not support patch manager

Website Link: https://www.invicti.com/web-vulnerability-scanner/ 

4. Acunetix

Acunetix is a web application scanner that discovers and fixes the vulnerabilities responsible for putting your applications at risk of attacks. It provides Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) and Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) scanning and can detect multiple vulnerabilities in minutes. 

You can also prioritize your high-risk vulnerabilities and schedule scans with the help of this tool. Also, it enables operators to pinpoint vulnerable locations and fix them. Another advantage of Acunetix is that IT professionals have to no longer manually confirm the real vulnerabilities. Instead, the tool prioritizes and automatically eliminates false positives.

It also offers all the solutions and information to the developers necessary to resolve the security flaws. Acunetix Deep Scan crawler, Acunetix Out-of-Band Vulnerability Tester, and AcuSensor are a few additional services included in the Acunetix bundle.

Pros

• Allows scanning 7,000+ Web vulnerabilities
• Supports a Web application discovery module to chain all services
• Scans code written in JavaScript, .NET framework, and PHP
• It provides scanning of the internal network and internet-accessed Web applications
• It is designed for the CI/CD pipeline
• Supports static, dynamic, and interactive application testing features
• The tool is compatible with HTML5, JavaScript, and Single-page applications
• Audits all complex and authenticated applications
• Detects out-of-band vulnerabilities automatically
• Supports integrated vulnerability management features
• Compatible with Windows and Linux platforms
• Acunetix offers fast scanning, quick reports, and intelligent automation

Cons

• It does not support patch manager or configuration manager

Website Link: https://www.acunetix.com/vulnerability-scanner/ 

5. OpenVAS

OpenVAS stands for Open Vulnerability Assessment System, an open-source project that does not support advanced features. Yet, it is a great choice if you are looking for vulnerability management tools. It is a free tool that helps detect vulnerabilities. 

It is a full-featured vulnerability scanner with a GUI interface that analyzes IT networks for vulnerabilities and offers daily security status updates. It also enables the operators to set priorities and remediate solutions. 

The active community of OpenVAS can be easily contacted using a community message board. In addition, the tool provides a live security feed, and its database comprises network vulnerability tests (NVTs). 

Pros

• A free, open-source vulnerability assessment tool
• Around 26000 Common vulnerabilities and exposure (CVE) coverage
• Best suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises
• An all-in-one scanner
• Frequently updates scan engine
• All test routines are available with source code
• Performs regular audits and scans
• Offers automatic setup and future upgrades
• It has a web-based Graphical User Interface (GUI)
• Provides product documentation for tool usage
• It has an activity community and forum support
• Supports performance tuning for large-scale scans

Cons

• No policy management
• Fewer CVEs are covered
• The learning curve can at times be frustrating for the enterprises

Website Link: https://www.openvas.org/ 

6. NinjaOne

NinjaOne is another popular tool that gives a clear picture of the vulnerabilities in managed environments and modernizes IT operations. With the help of NinjaOne, the operators can easily monitor, manage, and support multiple devices and users from any location at any time.

It has an easy-to-use dashboard that provides clear visibility and helps reduce IT complexities. Designed for MSPs, NinjaOne offers patch management features, IT asset management, remote access, endpoint management, and backup features to protect critical data from cyberattacks. 

Users can also automate IT ticketing workflow with the help of NinjaOne. Furthermore, the tool is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. 

Pros

• Manages interaction tracking
• Supports license management
• Patch management
• Software management
• Offers automatic scanning of vulnerabilities
• Allows testers to perform tasks faster and efficiently
• Offers Uptime and User Activity Monitoring
• Supports Third-Party Integration
• Delivers endless customization

Cons

• Being an in-house project, you might have to wait longer for new features and updates
• Lacks customer support team to resolve problems

Website Link: https://www.ninjaone.com/rmm/endpoint-security/ 

7. Tenable

Tenable’s Cyber Exposure Platform is trusted by a large number of enterprises worldwide for its excellent results and features. It follows a risk-based approach to discover, identify, and resolve weaknesses found across the websites and applications. Tenable offers full visibility into your system’s entire infrastructure.

The tool also enables the organization to find even the rarest variants without any failure. Using threat intelligence, the operators can predict the severity of the vulnerabilities to your system’s security. Furthermore, it provides comprehensive reports and actionable insights to act on detected critical risks.

Tenable makes it easier for IT operators to communicate and compare cyber exposure while managing risks simultaneously.

It adds security to the Active directory and disrupts attack paths. If you are looking for a simple and automated vulnerability scanning tool for your web applications, invest in Tenable’s Cyber Exposure Platform. 

Pros

• Offer complete visibility and control of the OT network
• Actionable insights and reports
• Managed on-premises
• Highly scalable vulnerability management tool
• Offers automated vulnerability scanning
• It helps track dynamic IT assets, including cloud instances, virtual machines, etc.
• Provides Advanced Automation features
• Threat Intelligence to prioritize weaknesses
• Continuous scanning and vulnerability assessment
• Operators can easily detect and assess hard-to-scan devices
• Cloud connectors provide full visibility to public cloud environments
• Supports Prebuilt integrations and APIs
• Supports third-party systems
• Eliminates blind spots and provides instant insights
• Offers Real-time alerts and notifications
• Highly customizable dashboards
• Offers wide coverage and continuous monitoring of applications and cloud infrastructure

Cons

• Operators face the challenge of switching between interfaces to access a few functionalities.

Website Link: https://www.tenable.com/products/tenable-io 

8. Qualys

Qualys Cloud Platform provides endpoint security and enables organizations to detect and monitor assets automatically from a single dashboard. It has an intuitive dashboard that collects data from all types of IT assets and analyzes it to detect vulnerabilities.

With the help of Qualys Cloud Platform, operators can stay prepared for the threats. As and when any threat or suspicious activity is detected by the tool, it immediately notifies the operators. They can address threats before they cause any major damage to the system. 

Moreover, it offers a complete and continuous view of the IT assets to detect vulnerabilities at all times. No matter if they are deployed in the cloud or on-premises, the tool offers continuous monitoring of the IT assets. 

Pros

• It helps eliminates network weaknesses
• Provides endpoint security
• Detects all known and unknown IT assets automatically
• Offers full visibility into on-prem, endpoints, clouds, containers, and OT
• Offers a real-time analysis of threats and misconfigurations
• Alerts on noticing compromised assets and network irregularities
• Prioritizes the risky vulnerabilities
• Automatically deploy patches to remediate vulnerabilities
• Offers control of all your IT assets
• Eliminate false positives
• Provides cloud security, instant visibility, and compliance control
• Tests threats throughout the development cycle

Cons

• Offers low scans and unexpected downtimes
• Qualys Cloud Platform is expensive
• Susceptible to false positives
• Independent modules can affect the licensing costs
• Stability issues have been reported due to separate module updates

Website Link: https://www.qualys.com/lp/vulnerability-management/ 

Conclusion

With the rise in cyberattacks and threats, it is a must to look after network security to save your business from losses and damage. A data breach can lead to unhappy customers and expose all your sensitive information. Thus, increase your system’s security by investing in Vulnerability Management Software.

Vulnerability management tools help in the identification, evaluation, and reporting of security vulnerabilities found in the system. These tools enable organizations to perform proper scanning and monitoring of IT assets and networks to look for weaknesses and vulnerabilities. After analyzing the vulnerabilities, the operators can also prioritize them and remediate solutions. 

Another advantage of choosing a vulnerability management tool for your enterprise is that you can assign and monitor the threat levels to weaknesses.

By installing any of the above-listed tools, you can stay ahead of your competitors and save your system from the risk of threats and attacks.

You can find many Vulnerability Management Software on the market today, but we have listed some of the best tools with their pros and cons. Go through the above-listed to choose one for your system’s security as per your need and budget.

Also, keep a few factors in mind when choosing a tool for your business. Make sure that the scanner runs on demand and can be scheduled. Further, it is an easy-to-manage software package that offers good results and detects threats faster.