Glossary
Vulnerability scan
Also called: Vulnerability assessment, vulnerability management
In one sentence
An automated check of your computers, network and software for known security weaknesses such as missing updates or risky settings.
A vulnerability scan uses software to examine your devices and network against databases of known security flaws. It flags things like a PC missing a critical Windows update, an outdated browser, a firewall with old firmware, a printer with a default password, or a server exposed to the internet that shouldn’t be.
Scans are most useful when they’re continuous rather than once a year. Microsoft Defender for Business includes vulnerability management that reports weaknesses on each managed device; external scans look at your office’s public internet address the way an attacker would. Results are ranked by severity so you fix what matters most first.
A scan finds candidates; it doesn’t prove an attacker could use them — that’s a penetration test. And a scan is only as good as what happens next: the findings feed your patch management process and your risk assessment, which HIPAA expects to be kept current. Cyber insurers also increasingly ask how quickly you fix critical findings, so it pays to track that number.
Example: Defender for Business flags that three front-desk PCs are running an old PDF reader with a known, actively exploited flaw. The software is updated automatically within days, and the clean report becomes evidence for the practice’s risk assessment. See our security services and HIPAA risk assessment guide.
Related terms
- Penetration testAn authorized simulated attack in which security testers try to break into your systems, to show which weaknesses an attacker could really use.
- Patch managementPatch management is the ongoing process of installing security updates on operating systems, applications and devices — on a schedule, with tracking, so nothing is left unprotected.
- Security risk assessmentA security risk assessment is a structured review of where your sensitive data lives, what could go wrong with it, how likely and harmful that would be, and what you'll do about it.
- Microsoft Defender for BusinessMicrosoft Defender for Business is Microsoft's endpoint security product for organizations of up to 300 users, combining next-generation antivirus with EDR and automated investigation.
- EndpointAny device that connects to your network or data — laptops, desktops, phones, tablets and servers — and is used by a person or runs business software.