Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) face a myriad of challenges in protecting their digital assets and infrastructure, but they also have many defense tools and strategies at their disposal. Among them are vulnerability scanning and penetration testing, which are often confused with one another because they both serve the common purpose of identifying weaknesses in an organization’s security posture.
But just because they serve the same purpose doesn’t mean they are interchangeable. In fact, understanding the unique roles and benefits of both vulnerability scanning and penetration testing is essential for SMBs to build a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.
What is the Difference Between Vulnerability Scanning and Penetration Testing?
| Vulnerability Scanning | Penetration Testing |
| Primarily an automated process | Primarily a manual process |
| Uses software tools to scan for known vulnerabilities | Attempts to exploit identified vulnerabilities |
| Less time-consuming and expensive | More time-consuming and expensive |
Both vulnerability scanning and penetration testing aim to identify vulnerabilities in an IT infrastructure. Vulnerabilities, in this context, refer to weaknesses or flaws in systems, networks, or applications that could be exploited by cybercriminals to gain unauthorized access, disrupt operations, or steal sensitive data.
Vulnerability scanning is primarily an automated process that uses software tools like Nessus, Rapid7, Trivy, or Tenable to scan for known vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflows, memory corruption issues, SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), directory traversal, file inclusion vulnerabilities, Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), XML External Entity (XXE) attacks, Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), open redirects, and input validation errors.
Vulnerability scanning software is then able to produce detailed reports that list the vulnerabilities discovered during the scan, ranking them based on severity to help organizations prioritize which vulnerabilities to address first.
Penetration testing, on the other hand, goes a step further by attempting to exploit the identified vulnerabilities. The goal is to show the actual level of damage a skilled attacker could achieve as well as provide actionable insights for remediation and mitigation.
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The active exploitation during penetration testing is typically performed manually by skilled cybersecurity professionals, although some automated tools can also be used. Because penetration testing involves manual effort, it is generally more time-consuming and expensive than vulnerability scanning. Important: Both vulnerability scanning and penetration testing focus on known vulnerabilities and their ability to identify zero-day vulnerabilities—vulnerabilities that are unknown to the public and the software vendor—is limited.
Vulnerability Scanning vs. Penetration Testing: Which Is Better for SMBs?
Neither vulnerability scanning nor penetration testing is inherently superior because each serves a slightly different purpose.
Vulnerability scanning shines as a regular activity within the cybersecurity practices of SMBs. Its automated nature makes it possible for organizations to ensure that systems are up-to-date with the latest security patches and that any new vulnerabilities are quickly identified.
Moreover, vulnerability scanning is often a mandatory requirement for compliance with industry standards and regulations such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC2, and CMMC 2.0, so it’s not really a question of “if” but “how” SMBs should implement it.
For many SMBs, penetration testing isn’t necessary because their IT environments tend to be straightforward enough that thorough and regular vulnerability scans, combined with other cybersecurity best practices, can provide sufficient protection against most common threats.
However, SMBs that operate in more complex IT environments or handle highly sensitive data can sometimes benefit from the human expertise penetration testers offer in finding unique exploit scenarios and demonstrating their real-world impact.
That’s why we at OSIbeyond recommend SMBs to:
- Implement regular vulnerability scanning as a fundamental part of their cybersecurity strategy, aligning it with relevant industry regulations and compliance frameworks.
- Use penetration testing on an as-needed basis, such as when significant changes are made to the IT environment or when handling highly sensitive data.
- Remember that while both vulnerability scanning and penetration testing are valuable tools, they are just one part of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that should also include other best practices such as employee training, access controls, incident response planning, and more.
For more information about vulnerability scanning and penetration testing, contact us today to speak with one of our cybersecurity experts. We can help you assess your current security posture, identify potential vulnerabilities, and develop a comprehensive plan to keep your digital assets and infrastructure safe from cyber threats.