Outsourcing Vulnerability Assessments: The Emergence of VAAS

Vulnerability assessment remains a top concern for organizations aiming to bridge the gaps in their cyber defense programs. Traditionally conducted in-house by investing heavily in technology and staffing up security teams, vulnerability assessment involves systematically scanning networks, endpoints, and critical applications to uncover weaknesses before hackers can find and exploit them.

In recent years, an alternative has emerged in the form of vulnerability assessment as a service (VAAS), which enables organizations to offload the complexity and costs of running this critical capability internally. Instead, VAAS offerings allow customers to leverage third-party security experts that handle continuous vulnerability monitoring and reporting on flexible subscription models tailored to specific needs. Much in the same way that companies have embraced software-as-a-service, VAAS is fast becoming the model of choice for many companies tackling vulnerability management.

Benefits of Outsourcing to a VAAS Provider

There are many advantages to outsourcing Cyber Vulnerability Assessment to a specialized provider versus attempting to staff and manage assessments internally:

Expertise & Advanced Tooling Top VAAS providers have dedicated expertise in vulnerability testing and use advanced scanning tools most organizations would not have access to or skills to utilize. Providers continuously invest in state-of-the-art scanning technology and threat intelligence.

On-Demand Scalability

Spinning up additional scans or increased assessment frequency is easily achieved without delays involved when attempting to acquire additional tools or hire more internal personnel. Organizations pay only for what they use.

Cost Savings

For most organizations, outsourcing cyber vulnerability assessment to a VAAS provider is far more cost effective than building comparable capabilities in-house. Expensive tools, sizable security teams, and continual training add up fast.

Continuous Monitoring

Unlike periodic point-in-time audits, VAAS offers continuous visibility into risks through ongoing scans and monitoring. New threats and misconfigurations never go undetected for extended periods.

Meets Compliance Mandates

Maintaining robust vulnerability management programs, usually involving recurring assessments, is required under most cybersecurity compliance frameworks like PCI DSS, HIPAA, etc. VAAS ensures continuous compliance.

List of Top VAAS Providers

Some leading providers in the burgeoning VAAS marketplace to consider include:

• Rapid7 InsightVM
• Qualys VMDR
• Tenable.io
• SentinelOne Singularity
• CyberCecurity Forescout eyeVuln

The growth of readily accessible and scalable vulnerability assessment-as-a-service offerings is enabling organizations of all sizes and sectors to benefit from enterprise-grade security assessment capabilities on-demand. By outsourcing cyber vulnerability assessment to specialized providers, security teams can focus on tackling other pressing challenges while ensuring continuous visibility into risks. As threats and regulations evolve, dependence on high-quality VAAS partners is sure to accelerate.