When you’re in charge of website security for a business, preventative measures are crucial for protecting your assets. But navigating the many options can be challenging. You’re likely inundated with presentations for new security tools, requests to approve new initiatives, and the task of staying up-to-date on one of the fastest-moving industries in the world.
One thing you’ve undoubtedly thought about is the difference between penetration testing and vulnerability scanning.
While both cybersecurity measures are meant to prevent issues, they’re very different. For instance, you’ll likely need human involvement to execute a penetration test, whereas a vulnerability scan can be automated. Additionally, the cost of each service differs greatly.
Below, we’ll define both approaches and discuss their main benefits. Then we’ll explore their key differences in depth. Finally, we’ll wrap up by answering some frequently asked questions on penetration testing vs vulnerability scanning.
What is vulnerability scanning?
To grasp the key differences between vulnerability scanning and penetration testing, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of each approach. Let’s begin with vulnerability scanning.
To put it simply, vulnerability scanning is the process of analyzing networks, systems, and software to identify cybersecurity weaknesses. Typically, vulnerability scanning is automated and performed on websites or applications.
As mentioned earlier, vulnerability scanning is a preventative security method. If you’re a website manager or developer working for a large enterprise, knowing these vulnerabilities allows you to take measures to prevent actual damage. As a result, you can minimize the impact of potential cyber threats.
Now, you might still be wondering — what can vulnerability scanning reveal? When it comes to WordPress, one of the main things a vulnerability scanner will check is whether any installed plugins and themes are associated with security risks.
Additionally, a more advanced vulnerability scanner will be able to detect users with weak passwords, exposed databases, and more. Similarly, it can reveal vulnerabilities that lead to SQL injection attacks.
It’s also important to note that vulnerability scanning is a requirement for all websites that process payments, under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). While this isn’t a law, it’s a global standard in the ecommerce industry.
Complying with the PCI DSS can help protect your business or enterprise from litigation in the case of a cyberattack in which sensitive user data is compromised. So it’s highly recommended to abide by it.
Similarly, any companies that are involved in the financial industry are required to safeguard customer data under the Gramm‑Leach‑Bliley Act (GLBA). Regular vulnerability scanning can also help you comply with this law.
The benefits of vulnerability scanning
Now that you have a basic understanding of vulnerability scanning, let’s dive a little deeper into the benefits of employing this cybersecurity strategy. They include:
- Quick and continuous assessment. Vulnerability scanning can be — and usually is — automated. The velocity of a test will depend on your software and the size of the database it uses, but any quality option will be quick and provide an option to schedule regular scans.
- Identifying common and known vulnerabilities. Typically, vulnerability scanning software depends on a database of common and known vulnerabilities and security threats. This frees up your team’s time to work on more advanced security measures and unique vulnerabilities that may exist in your systems.
- Early detection of preventable issues. Vulnerability scanning identifies problems before they occur. This enables your team to prioritize and patch the most important threats instead of cleaning up a major disaster after a nefarious actor exploits a vulnerability.
- Compliance with consumer standards and laws. Vulnerability scanning is extremely important for enterprises and ecommerce sites. That’s because they are subject to standards and laws like the PCI DSS and GLBA.
- Affordability and easy implementation. You can find a software solution to run vulnerability scans. This makes it much cheaper than other security tactics that require cybersecurity professionals or developers to conduct complex tests.
These are just some of the many benefits of adding vulnerability scanning to your overall web security strategy.
Still, it’s important to note that this is only one part of a larger process. After you conduct a vulnerability scan, it’s up to you to come up with solutions for any weaknesses and susceptibilities that were discovered.
Spotlight on WPScan, a WordPress vulnerability scanner
As we’ve discussed, there are plenty of advantages to using a WordPress vulnerability scanner. For enterprises, these benefits are even more significant. Ultimately, implementing web security measures like a vulnerability scanner can help protect your business from serious reputational damage and loss of revenue.
In fact, research shows that 81 percent of consumers believe it’s a company’s responsibility to protect their data. Therefore, even a single data breach can wreak havoc on your bottom line.
If you’re looking for a complete analysis of your site’s security standing — inside and out — you’ll want to check out WPScan.
WPScan provides powerful enterprise solutions that use black box testing to scan your website for over 43,000 WordPress vulnerabilities.
WPScan CLI Scanner gives you an outside view of your site from a potential hacker’s perspective, identifying weak points that bad actors could use to gain access. It’s a type of pen testing tool that helps you spot vulnerabilities in your security before someone else.
It looks for username enumeration, media file enumeration, weak passwords, registration settings, and much more. For instance, it checks to see if the WordPress readme file is present and if WP‑Cron is enabled.
What’s more, WPScan has an impressively low false positive rate of only three percent. All in all, this tool can be an excellent addition to your overall WordPress hardening checklist, serving as a first step that dictates where your team focuses their time to protect your company.
Enterprise organizations can also use the WPScan plugin to get an inside look at vulnerabilities resulting from plugins and software installed on the site. It combines this information with WPScan’s vulnerability database to generate a comprehensive report on all known vulnerabilities for anything you have installed.
If your company isn’t quite big enough to necessitate a WPScan enterprise plan, Jetpack Protect is a good alternative for small businesses wishing to identify any internal threats. It can help detect malware and uses the WPScan database to identify security threats automatically.
What is penetration testing?
Now that we’ve covered vulnerability scanning, let’s talk about penetration testing, which is also sometimes referred to as “pen testing”. In a nutshell, penetration testing involves web security experts or developers attempting to hack a system, website, or application.
In this way, pen testers simulate a real‑world cyberattack, and can expose vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the system. This is a type of ethical hacking, which is authorized by the owner of the website or application in question.
A pen tester is only as good as their knowledge. Therefore, they’re usually highly qualified IT experts with extensive experience with the systems they are testing.
Ideally, penetration testing is carried out by a third party, or at least someone who knows nothing about the specific website or application they are testing beforehand. This enables them to more accurately recreate a real‑life cyberattack.
Pen testing is a two‑part process. These ethical hackers first must identify any vulnerabilities and then attempt to exploit them. Sometimes, pen testers will use automated tools and even social engineering as part of their efforts.
To prevent any actual harm to the real organization being tested, a pen test is typically conducted (at least partially) in a controlled environment, like a staging site. As with vulnerability scanning, pen testing is required to comply with the PCI DSS.
Benefits of penetration testing
There are countless benefits to pen testing. As with vulnerability scanning, it can help safeguard your reputation and profits. The other main benefits of penetration testing are:
- Conducting a comprehensive assessment of security measures. Pen testing involves both identifying vulnerabilities and trying to exploit them. This means that a pen test can provide a full picture of the real risk a business is dealing with.
- Uncovering complex vulnerabilities. In addition to identifying the more common security weaknesses, pen testers can simulate more elaborate security threats. As a result, they can uncover more nuanced vulnerabilities that might be overlooked by automated software.
- Gaining insights into the potential impacts of successful attacks. Since a pen tester also attempts to exploit vulnerabilities, they will be able to give their clients a sense of the possible impacts of a successful cyberattack. For example, they may be able to recreate a hacking event in which all of your customers’ credit card data falls into the wrong hands due to a database exposure.
- Complying with consumer standards and laws. Penetration testing is also a requirement if you want to be in compliance with certain consumer laws and standards like the PCI DSS.
- Ruling out false positives. After a pen tester identifies a vulnerability using software or some other method, they may attempt to exploit it, and fail. In this way, they can rule out “false positives”.
As you can see, there are lots of advantages to penetration testing. Ultimately, it can be a great strategy to employ after you’ve used a vulnerability scanner, as long as you have the budget.
Key differences between vulnerability scanning and penetration testing
At this point, we’ve taken a close look at the definition of vulnerability scanning and pen testing, and we’ve gone over their main benefits. Now we’ll consider penetration testing vs vulnerability scanning and compare their key differences.
1. Speed of execution and time frame
When it comes to vulnerability scanning vs penetration testing, one of the major distinctions is the speed of execution and time frame.
If you’re using an enterprise‑level vulnerability scanner, it should take minutes to hours. The exact length of time will depend on the size and complexity of your website. On the other hand, a penetration test will usually span days or even weeks.
2. Human involvement vs automation
As mentioned earlier, a vulnerability scan can be conducted entirely by software. What’s more, if you’re using a high‑quality solution like WPScan, the rate of false positives is extremely low.
Meanwhile, a pen test is always led by a human. Most penetration testers are experienced and knowledgeable IT professionals and web security experts.
3. One‑time vs continuous assessment
Since a penetration test is completed by a person (and is much more costly), it’s usually an occasional event. For instance, a company may hire a pen tester annually.
On the other hand, you can usually configure your vulnerability scanner to run at regular intervals, like once a day or once a week. This is highly useful, since vulnerabilities and security threats are constantly evolving. The more frequently you are scanning for them, the better.
4. Depth of testing
A vulnerability scan can be an excellent first step in a larger security plan. Or it may be part of your website security audit.
Still, a vulnerability scanner relies on a database of known vulnerabilities and security threats. Therefore, it can be somewhat limited in comparison to the unique vulnerabilities a pen tester may be able to identify in your systems.
In other words, there’s no replacement for human intelligence. Therefore, a penetration test will undoubtedly be more in‑depth, and provide a more comprehensive assessment of your current security measures.
5. Scope and coverage
If your site runs on WordPress, a good vulnerability scanner will typically check for things like security threats caused by installed themes, plugins, etc. If it’s a particularly advanced tool, it may look for weak usernames, database exposures, etc.
While some vulnerability scanners can be impressive in their scope and coverage, they won’t be able to surpass what a pen test can offer. That’s because a pen tester takes it a step further by attempting to exploit a weakness once it’s been identified.
As an example, if they find an outdated plugin with vulnerabilities, they could then attempt a SQL injection, thereby corrupting their subject with malware. Once they understand how the attack can be successfully made, they can suggest fixes to avoid real hacking attempts.
6. Cost implications
When it comes to penetration testing vs vulnerability scanning, the cost difference is significant. If you only need a vulnerability scanner for a small website, you could use a free security tool like Jetpack Protect, which includes one.
For an enterprise, you will likely have to pay a fee. This can vary, but it will be minimal in comparison to penetration testing services, which typically cost thousands of dollars.
Frequently asked questions
By now, you should have a clearer understanding of the differences between penetration testing vs vulnerability scanning. But if you still have any lingering doubts, the following sections will cover some of the most frequently asked questions on the subject.
Should I choose a vulnerability scan or penetration test?
It’s difficult to assess vulnerability scanning vs penetration testing because they are very different and both highly useful. But if you run a small business, a free vulnerability scanner might be all you need.
On the other hand, if you’re dealing with a larger business, you may need a more powerful all‑encompassing solution like what’s provided by WPScan. You get both an outside and inside look at potential vulnerabilities by using both the WPScan CLI to identify weaknesses as seen from an outside perspective, as well as the WPScan plugin to analyze your plugins and software used on the site and alert you to vulnerabilities in those programs. Then, if you have the budget and time available, penetration testing can be an excellent next step. With both, you’ll have a very thorough preventative security strategy.
What’s the typical cost for a penetration test versus a vulnerability scan?
For smaller websites, some vulnerability scanners are completely free. If you require one for an enterprise, you’ll likely need a quote for a custom plan.
Still, the price of an enterprise vulnerability scanner is almost guaranteed to be significantly lower than the cost of a penetration test. Since they are so involved, pen tests usually cost thousands of dollars.
How do vulnerability scanners keep their databases updated with the latest threats?
Usually, a vulnerability scanner’s database is regularly updated by seasoned web security professionals. When it comes to WPScan, this translates to several hundred new threats added to the database per month.
What steps should be taken once vulnerabilities are detected by the scanner?
Once security vulnerabilities are identified by a scanner, you should take actions to reduce or eliminate them. For instance, if the scanner detects a compromised or outdated plugin, that tool should be updated or removed.
WPScan: a vulnerability scanner for enterprise WordPress sites
If you manage an enterprise website with WordPress, security should be a top priority. But when it comes to vulnerability scanning vs penetration testing, you might not be sure which approach is best for your needs.
To put it simply, every online business can benefit from using a vulnerability scanner. It can help you identify common weaknesses and security threats before they damage your company’s reputation, or worse, lead to revenue loss. Plus, a vulnerability scanner is highly affordable when compared to a pen test, and can provide you with a quick and continuous assessment of your site’s security.
Are you ready to elevate your company’s online security with a top‑notch vulnerability scanner? Talk to a WPScan expert today!
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