Because attackers are constantly looking for unprotected backdoors, you may have invested in firewalls, endpoint protection, or employee training, but the backdoor might still be widely unguarded. External vulnerability scanning becomes a critical piece of your cybersecurity strategy when your business is intended to operate as an external service. However, what is it, why is it necessary for modern companies, and how does it work? Qualysec Technologies is here to dive deep into it!
What Is External Vulnerability Scanning?
An external vulnerability scan is a security assessment process, as internet-facing infrastructure (such as web servers, email gateways, APIs, etc.) can be potentially exposed and vulnerable to attack through scans. In contrast to internal scans that search for vulnerabilities on your private network, external scans are conducted from outside your network perimeter, giving an impression of the view from a social hacker.
Find out about vulnerabilities such as open ports, outdated software, misconfigurations, and unprotected APIs, before the cybercriminals. Proactively identifying these weaknesses allows you to patch them, thereby reducing the risk of a breach.
How Does An External Vulnerability Scan Work?
1. Asset Discovery
The scanner proposes to map all of your organization’s digital footprint by exposing internet-facing assets associated with your domain. For example, websites, subdomains, public IP addresses, and cloud resources.
2. Port Scanning
Security professionals check these assets for open ports, which might indicate running services. They may have potential entry points that attackers can exploit.
3. Service and Banner Grabbing
It usually looks at service banners and publicly available software configuration data to determine services, versions, and configurations of the software.
4. Vulnerability Identification
The scanner utilizes extensive vulnerability databases (e.g., CVE and some proprietary ones) to check for known vulnerabilities, misconfigured or missing security patches.
5. Risk Prioritization
The severity and potential impact of detected vulnerabilities will be scored based on the CVSS, such as the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, to aid in prioritizing remediation.
6. Reporting
Detailed reports are compiled from the results, and critical issues are highlighted. Assets affected are recorded, and remedies are suggested.
Latest Penetration Testing Report
7. Remediation and Rescanning
After the vulnerabilities are fixed, follow-up scans verify that no new issues have been introduced once the fixes are in place.
What Does External Vulnerability Scanning Detect?
The External Vulnerability Scan detects many security issues, including –
- Open Ports – Unnecessary or unsecured ports can open up your services to the internet.
- Outdated Software – They are prime targets for attackers.
- Misconfigurations – Weak authentication, overly permissive firewalls, or poor security settings.
- Publicly Accessible APIs – Absence of secure authentication and encryption exposes sensitive data.
- Sensitive Information Disclosure – It is the accidental disclosure of confidential data through misconfigured servers or services.
- Protocols – Systems use outdated SSL versions, weak encryption, or insecure protocols (such as HTTP instead of HTTPS, or old versions of SSL/TLS).
- Unmonitored Assets – Organizations may add new devices or services since the last scan without properly securing them.
How an External Vulnerability Scan Benefits Your Business
1. Reduce Your Attack Surface
You should consider an attacker likely to target every piece of internet-facing property. By scanning the outside and putting your external attack surface on the same level of security as the inside, an External Vulnerability Scan helps you discover and secure these entry points. This shrinks your attack surface and makes it less likely for cybercriminals to find a way in.
2. Proactive Threat Detection
Instead of waiting for an attack to expose a vulnerability, external scans help you identify and close the gaps before attackers can exploit them. However, a proactive approach is a far better way to spend than dealing with the trouble of a breach afterwards.
3. Regulatory Compliance
Also, many industry regulations, such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR, require regular vulnerability assessments of external systems. With external vulnerability scanning, you indeed meet these mandates and avoid costly fines or a bad reputation.
4. Continuous Security Improvement
The digital world contains both old and new elements. Vulnerabilities surface, new services emerge, and attackers adopt more tactics. Regular external scans allow you to catch emerging threats before they become a problem and ensure you always have a strong security posture.
5. Find Shadow IT and Rogue Assets
Employees can throw away cloud services or web applications without IT’s awareness. These ‘shadow IT’ assets can be found through external scans and brought under proper security management.
6. Demonstrate Security Commitment
Maintaining a serious approach to cybersecurity means that clients, partners, and stakeholders want assurance that you take them seriously. Regular vulnerability scanning, especially one performed by reputable providers such as Qualysec Technologies, shows how committed you are to protecting sensitive data and maintaining discipline in keeping your customers’ trust.
External Vulnerability Scan vs. Internal Vulnerability Scanning
A complete security strategy requires the participation of both types of scans. External scans protect you from outside threats, while internal scans target threats within your organization.
| Aspect | External Vulnerability Scan | Internal Vulnerability Scan |
| Perspective | Outside the network (attacker’s view) | Inside the network (trusted user’s view) |
| Scope | Internet-facing assets (web servers, APIs, cloud resources, etc.) | Internal systems (workstations, servers, internal apps) |
| Purpose | Identify weaknesses visible to outsiders | Find vulnerabilities that insiders could exploit |
| Typical Use Cases | Perimeter defense, regulatory compliance, third-party assurance | Insider threat mitigation, lateral movement prevention |
| Frequency | At least quarterly, after major changes | Regularly, and after significant internal changes |
How Often Should One Perform the External Vulnerability Scanning?
External scans are usually recommended at least once every quarter. Yet, best practices recommend scanning more often, for example, monthly, or after any change to your network or applications. In high-security environments or organizations that are targeted, it may be necessary to conduct scans more frequently.
Common Myths About External Vulnerability Scan
Myth 1 – Firewalls Alone are Enough
Firewalls are critical, but they can’t defend against the vulnerabilities of exposed applications, misconfigurations, or new assets. External scans are a best practice to help see what is accessible from the outside.
Myth 2 – Automated Scans Detect Everything
They are powerful tools, yet they sometimes fail to find complex vulnerabilities or produce false positives. For that reason, Qualysec brings automation together with expert manual testing to deliver thorough coverage.
Related Guide: Manual vs Automated Penetration Testing.
Myth 3 – Scanning Once a Year Is Sufficient
The threat landscape evolves rapidly. Every day, new vulnerabilities emerge, and your infrastructure changes over time. Scheme regular, rim turns out to be necessary security.
How Qualysec Technologies Can Help Secure Your Business with an External Vulnerability Scan
When you opt for partnering with Qualysec Technologies in your External Vulnerability Scan, you partner with a leading cybersecurity company. Below are some ways Qualysec can bolster a security posture –
End-to-End Vulnerability Assessment
- 360-degree Approach – Qualysec collaborates with your team to define a scope that includes all external assets of web servers, APIs, and cloud resources for maximum coverage.
- Hybrid Testing – Qualysec uses a hybrid testing approach, which combines advanced automated tools with expert manual testing to ensure that no primary vulnerability goes undetected. The hybrid methodology offers a new way to search for such threats, which are often missed by automated scans and can be complex.
Real-World Attack Simulation
- Ethical Hacking – We conduct a cyber test of your external-facing network and simulate real-world cyber attacks using the same motives and techniques as actual hackers to identify weaknesses.
- Network Enumeration & Enumeration – We thoroughly enumerate your network perimeter, performing port scans, service detection, and network traffic analysis to map as many possible entry points as possible.
Actionable, Developer-Friendly Reporting
- Detailed Reports – Receive detailed VAPT report that include vulnerable items, their risk levels, and step remedies. These reports are created developer-friendly to help your IT teams implement fixes more easily.
- Assistance in Remediation – Qualysec doesn’t simply make a report available, but helps your team understand, prioritize, and remediate vulnerabilities, then rescans to ensure that your remediation effort has been effective.
Compliance and Continuous Monitoring
Qualysec’s services help you achieve industry standards, such as ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and other compliance requirements specific to your line of business, making your business regulatory and audit-ready.
Industry-Leading Expertise and Client Focus
- Customers – Qualysec has helped customers from various industries, including finance, healthcare, government, and tech.
- Structured, Process-Driven Approach – Our structured, process-driven approach ensures thoroughness, accuracy, and reliability in all our engagements.
- Trustworthy – With no data breaches and a global customer base, Qualysec has proven that it maintains a proven track record and provides prompt, professional services.
Full Spectrum of Security Services
Qualysec provides a comprehensive suite of security tests (also known as pentests) for web and mobile apps, APIs, cloud security, IoT, and AI/ML security, as well as source code reviews – all under one roof, making it a one-stop shop for all your cybersecurity needs.
Talk to our Cybersecurity Expert to discuss your specific needs and how we can help your business.
Conclusion
An external vulnerability scan as a defense layer is essential for any business with an online presence. It gives an opportunity to take proactive steps, identify, and address security vulnerabilities that are visible to attackers but cannot be utilized by them. Scans are regular to ensure compliance, reduce risks, and maintain customer trust with their sensitive data. Relying on traditional security measures will not be enough in an ever-evolving threat landscape. Forming strong partnerships and affiliations with the best experts, such as Qualysec Technologies, allows for comprehensive assessment and excellent remediation support. Saving your digital assets will keep your business secure and help you invest in its future.
FAQs
1. How much does an external vulnerability scan take?
The length of time is based on the size and complexity of your internet presence. Scanning usually takes a few hours for small to medium businesses. With many more digital assets, larger enterprises may need several days to thoroughly check everything.
2. Is it possible to find zero-day vulnerabilities by external vulnerability scanning?
Most external scans identify known vulnerabilities from existing databases that organizations haven’t yet addressed. Security professionals discover zero-day flaws through advanced threat intelligence and penetration scanning, which focus on suspicious or unusual configurations.
3. Is it okay to scan externally on production systems?
Yes. Security providers design external vulnerability scanning to be safe for live environments and non-intrusive. However, aggressive scanning techniques can affect performance, so you should coordinate with your security provider to schedule scans during low-traffic periods and minimize disruptions.
4. How can we tell whether an external vulnerability scan differs from penetration testing?
External vulnerability scanning is an automated or semi-automated process that detects known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. Where penetration testing gets its teeth into is by simulating real-world attacks, exploiting those vulnerabilities that can be exploited to quantify the damage in real-world terms and uncover complex security holes.
5. Is external vulnerability scanning for clouds helpful for security?
Absolutely. A large number of cloud services provide public endpoints that can be probed just like any traditional web server. External scanning would scan for misconfigured cloud resources, exposed storage buckets, and insecure APIs, which can potentially lead to data leaks or unauthorized access.
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