Attack surface management (ASM) and vulnerability management (VM) are often confused, and while they overlap, they are not the same. The main difference between attack surface management and vulnerability management is their scope: vulnerability management examines a list of known assets, while attack surface management assumes you have unknown assets, so it starts with discovery. Let’s look at both in more detail.
What is vulnerability management?
At its simplest level, vulnerability management is the use of automated tools to identify, prioritize, and report security issues and vulnerabilities in digital infrastructure.
Vulnerability management uses automated scanners to run regular, scheduled scans of assets within known IP ranges to detect established and new vulnerabilities so you can apply patches, remove vulnerabilities, or mitigate any potential risks. These vulnerabilities tend to use risk scores or levels (such as CVSS) and risk calculations.
Vulnerability scanners typically use thousands of automated checks. By probing and gathering information about your system, they can identify security vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to steal sensitive information, gain unauthorized access to your system, or Disrupt your business. With this knowledge, you can protect your organization and prevent potential attacks.
 |
| Screenshot of the Intruder vulnerability management platform, which is designed to perform thousands of security checks to identify vulnerabilities in web applications, APIs, cloud systems, and more. |
What is the vulnerability management process like?
- Perform a vulnerability scan
- Assess your vulnerability risk
- Prioritize and fix vulnerabilities
- Continuous monitoring
What is attack surface management?
The main difference between vulnerability management and attack surface management is scope. Attack surface management (ASM) includes asset discovery – helping you find all your digital assets and services and then reduce or minimize their exposure to prevent hackers from exploiting them.
With ASM, all known or unknown assets (on-premises, cloud, subsidiary, third-party or partner environments) can be detected from the perspective of an attacker outside the organization. If you don’t know what you have, how can you protect it?
Take for example an admin interface like cPanel or a firewall admin page – these may be protected against all known attacks today, but a vulnerability may be discovered tomorrow – when it becomes a significant risk. If you monitor and reduce your attack surface, you will become more difficult to attack regardless of the vulnerability.
Therefore, an important part of attack surface management is to reduce the risk of future vulnerabilities by removing unnecessary services and assets from the network. But to do that, first you need to know what’s out there.
What is the attack surface management process like?
- Discover and map all your digital assets
- Ensure visibility and establish a record of existing content
- Perform vulnerability scans to identify any weaknesses
- Automate so everyone who creates your infrastructure can do so securely
- Continuous monitoring as new infrastructure and services are launched
 |
| Intruder’s attack surface management capabilities help you stay on top of changes in your environment, such as recently opened ports and services. |
How does attack surface management differ from vulnerability management?
Vulnerability management is the process of identifying and prioritizing vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure and applications. Attack surface management goes a step further and identifies and analyzes your attack surface—all the devices, entry points, and exposed services that an attacker could use to gain access to your systems or data.
Can attack surface management and vulnerability management be combined?
Although ASM and VM may have different scopes and goals, they are not mutually exclusive. Used together, they create a more comprehensive, powerful and comprehensive cybersecurity posture. By identifying your assets and vulnerabilities, you can prioritize your security efforts and allocate resources more efficiently, which will help you reduce the likelihood of a successful attack and any potential impact.
How Intruder helps with ASM and VM
Ultimately, you want to leave no stone unturned when it comes to cybersecurity. Modern VM and ASM solutions such as Intruder can detect vulnerabilities affecting your organization. It gives you better visibility and control over your attack surface, monitors network changes and SSL/TLS certificate expiration dates, helps you take control of your cloud infrastructure, and allows you to pay only for active targets. Why not try it out for yourself with a 14-day free trial?
