Continuous Vulnerability Scanning Within Your Remote Network

By now, you are likely tired of reading similar blogs and watching the same webinars about how the workforce is scrambling to set up secure remote workstations for the employees they have remaining. The words “threat” and “risk” have been used continuously to inspire dread and instill fear in you on a multitude of platforms that infect every area of our lives, from our health to our livelihood. You have likely been reading about the “new normal” and wondering who and/or what will be left standing after this storm. Coming from an overly rational and analytic viewpoint, embrace the importance of the ability to adapt and be open to learning new things that will keep you afloat in this world. Now is certainly the time to explore those traits.

When it comes to many of our jobs, computing remotely is now and will continue to be a bigger part of our future. As an introvert, I am cheering! But I understand that others may be a bit perturbed by this notion. Security is here to stay and there is no better time to continue (or begin) to utilize and expand a comprehensive security policy to protect our businesses with confidence that best practices are being utilized.

As the US unemployment rate continues to reach near Great Depression levels, it is understood that a percentage of bad actors will be looking to gain control of your assets.

Performing continuous vulnerability assessments/scanning is a practical solution to deploy into your remote network environment. What do I mean by continuous? I mean it is always on, getting real-time results without the need for a physical connection. Vulnerability assessments are an integral part of IT security best practices and are a safe and effective way to determine the overall security posture of a computing network, providing immediate results and patch solutions. Reports provide you with confirmed and potential risks that leave your network vulnerable to intrusion – the threat, impact, and solutions. Using a Cloud Agent to scan your servers and endpoints which is remotely deployable, centrally managed, and self-updating gives you a continuous view of your assets and delivers visibility and security solutions for assets that are not easily scanned from the network. Cloud Agents provide a continuous view of assets for vulnerability management, policy compliance, file integrity monitoring, indication of compromise, and asset inventory without the need for scan windows or firewall changes. Installing a Cloud Agent on a host as opposed to running a vulnerability scan via an appliance keeps resource usage extremely low, as running a cloud agent scan does not perform local processing or analysis. For example, Cloud Agents are useful for systems whose hosts frequently change IP addresses, remote hosts, hosts that are not always powered on, and hosts that live in IaaS platforms such as AWS and Microsoft Azure.

While I am almost certain you have had enough of the hysteria and constant playing on your fears, rest assured that there are preventative solutions to secure your workforce. Vulnerability assessments are a rational (and virtual) place to start, with the assistance of a knowledgeable security professional. Contact us today to learn more and discuss your unique situation!