The importance of vulnerability management for enterprises needs no introductions. Along with the routine ITOps - scanning, detecting, and mitigating vulnerabilities make up a significant chunk of the IT team's responsibilities. With the stakes being so high, enhancing the process to make it seamless and adaptable to the growing threats is a key priority.
To ensure that your IT teams have the right tool to drive your vulnerability management in cruise control, you need a platform that not only detects issues but also fits seamlessly into your day-to-day workflows.
Below is a checklist of the key features to look for in a vulnerability assessment tool. For organizations planning to invest in one, we recommend you explore the guide, enabling you to make an informed decision:
A top-tier tool must automatically and continually discover every asset across your organization - servers, endpoints, network devices, cloud components, containers, databases, and even IoT devices.
Below is a list of must-haves that your vulnerability tool should be able to scan:
Cyber threats evolve daily. To be on top of the threats and exploits, your tool should sync with real-time threat intelligence feeds and CVE databases such as:
This ensures timely detection of emerging threats, including zero-day vulnerabilities.
IT teams are often overwhelmed by hundreds of vulnerabilities. When it comes to prioritizing mitigation, not all high severity vulnerabilities are likely to be exploited.
On the contrary, there are vulnerabilities with lower severity levels that should be patched immediately to prevent exploitation.
Hence, prioritizing vulnerabilities based on context and risk should be a multi-fold approach, using:
Manually scanning endpoints for vulnerabilities is a sure-shot way of letting threats be exposed. With the rapid rise in zero-days, faster scanning and mitigation of vulnerabilities serves as a key pivot point in securing the network. Hence, IT teams should look for vulnerability assessment tools with automated capabilities for:
Detection is half the job done. When it comes to vulnerability assessment, prompt detection of vulnerabilities paves the way for a smooth remediation process. An ideal vulnerability assessment tool should provide integrations with remediation tools that provide:
Alternatively, you can also choose integrated vulnerability assessment and remediation tools that provide a single console to scan, detect, and remediate vulnerabilities and system misconfigurations.
Reporting is essential for audits, management updates, and internal tracking. Your tool should offer:
Growing businesses need scalable solutions. As the number of endpoints grows in your network, it becomes far more complex to monitor the assets, let alone secure them. As the saying goes, "You can't secure what you can't see".
So to ensure that your network is monitored and secured, opt for a vulnerability assessment tool that offers:
As important as it is to have functionalities, it is also crucial to have intuitive dashboards with a lower learning curve - boosting user experience and faster policy deployments. Taking that into account, it is essential to consider the following:
As regulatory requirements grow increasingly complex, having built-in compliance support is no longer optional. A robust vulnerability assessment tool should help streamline audits and regulatory reporting by offering the following capabilities:
ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus offers an automated vulnerability management process - starting with asset discovery and scanning, vulnerability prioritization and risk-based remediation through built-in patching and other workarounds.
Prioritized risk scores help focus on what truly matters, while compliance reports are automatically mapped to standards like HIPAA and PCI DSS. Whether you're securing endpoints, servers, network devices, or managing remote endpoints, the platform adapts to your environment without adding complexity.
Start a 30-day free trial to see how it simplifies vulnerability assessment and speeds up your response.