A CISO’s Preference For Vulnerability Scans
For a long time, vulnerability scans were the preferred method for CISOs to find & rectify vulnerabilities across their organization. They appealed to CISOs because they were:
Today’s Evolved Attack Landscape
Unfortunately, the time when vulnerability scans were viable seems like a long time ago, considering the complex moving parts of today’s evolved attack surface:
- Expanded Hybrid Environments: With Indian enterprises rapidly adopting AWS, Azure and private clouds alongside on-prem systems, the attack surface has exponentially multiplied.
- Identity & Access Exploitation: Today’s attackers don’t hack in, they log in. More breaches today stem from compromised credentials and mismanaged privileges than ever before because of the ever-increasing complexities of modern IT architectures. Active Directory and cloud IAM misconfigurations are often the keys attackers need to move laterally across networks.
- AI Enhanced Cyberattacks: Cybercriminals are weaponizing AI to craft convincing phishing lures, automate vulnerability discovery and even evade detection systems. This means attacks arrive faster, adapt in real time and target enterprises with laser-focused precision.
- Heightened Compliance Pressure: New regulations like DPDPA, RBI’s IT frameworks and SEBI’s cybersecurity directives demand continuous visibility into risks – something that isn’t suited for widely used vulnerability scans. A single lapse doesn’t just mean a breach – it could mean penalties worth hundreds of crores (up to ₹250cr specifically just for DPDPA) and loss of customer trust.
- Third-Party & Supply Chain Risk: Modern enterprises depend on an ecosystem of SaaS platforms, partners and vendors. Every integration point is a potential weak link, and Indian CISOs are under pressure to ensure that exposures don’t spread across the value chain.
- The Agility vs. Security Tension: Rapid digitization seen across all Indian industries forces enterprises to innovate at speed. But this speed often widens gaps in governance, giving attackers room to exploit overlooked exposures.
Point-In-Time Testing v/s Always-On Attacks
The periodic nature of vulnerability scans makes it a point-in-time testing method that’s proving to be increasingly inadequate when it comes to today’s always-on attacks:
Point-In-Time Testing | Always-On Attacks |
Snapshot of an organization’s cybersecurity posture at a single point in time | Threats evolve dynamically, meaning yesterday’s “clean” environment could be today’s breach vector |
Performed monthly, quarterly or ad hoc | Attacks happen 24/7, with new exploits appearing within hours of disclosure |
Focuses mainly on IT assets (servers, endpoints, networks) | Attackers target cloud, SaaS, identities, APIs and supply chains just as much as traditional IT |
Produces long lists of vulnerabilities with little prioritization | Attackers exploit chained weaknesses (e,g, misconfigurations + stolen credentials) – not isolated CVEs |
If there is a stat that shows this massive gap, it’s this: according to a recent Tenable Threat Landscape Report, 63% of organizations reported that attackers exploited vulnerabilities within less than a week of disclosure.
To Stay Ahead, Unified Risk Visibility Is A Must
In today’s hyperconnected digital ecosystem, risk doesn’t exist in silos. An overlooked misconfiguration in cloud, a compromised identity in Active Directory or an unpatched server vulnerability – all of these exposures combine to form attack paths that put your business at risk. To stay ahead, enterprises like yours need more than fragmented & periodic vulnerability scans – you need unified risk visibility, an approach that is built on three keys pillars:
Unified Risk Visibility
A single lens to continuously track vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, identity exposures and threats across the entire attack surface, including cloud, on-prem, SaaS & OT. This eliminates blind spots that occur when security is fragmented across different tools. | Unified Insights
Instead of raw vulnerability lists, this delivers contextual, prioritized insights. It links exposures to their potential business, attack paths and exploitability – helping CISOs focus resources where they matter most. | Unified Response
Bringing together monitoring and insights enables faster, more coordinated action. Teams can then align on a shared source of truth, ensuring remediation is not only swift but also aligned with regulatory & business priorities. |
Tenable ONE: The Most Advanced Vulnerability Management On The Planet
While unified risk visibility has now become a new normal to consider in today’s landscape, Tenable One – the world’s #1 exposure management platform – goes further. It combines analytics, automation and intelligence into a single platform purpose-built for today’s complex enterprises. Here are some of the cutting-edge features that set it apart from other vulnerability management:
It has everything required for your organization to stay ahead of today’s modern attack landscape:
Move From Reactive Vulnerability Scans To Proactive Vulnerability Management
The time is now to move from risky vulnerability scans to comprehensive, end-to-end vulnerability management – provided by Tenable ONE, the #1 vulnerability management solution in the market:
So, if you’re looking to secure your entire enterprise against today’s modern attack surface, click here to speak to an iValue-Tenable security expert today.
