InsightVM
InsightVM is a vulnerability management tool that has the extended capacity of Rapid7's previous vulnerability management tool called Nexpose. It incorporates and provides real-time visibility into vulnerability and offers remediation guidance to mitigate and reduce risk.
Features
Lightweight endpoint agent and Easy-to-use Restful API:
- InsightVM uses an Insight endpoint agent to unify data across different Rapid7 products such as InsightIDR() and InsightOR() for continuous monitoring, vulnerability assessment, and log collection.
- It also uses its agent to collect data from all endpoints(which includes devices with internet access and those of remote workers and assets that can't be easily scanned.
- Provides in-depth scanning without the need to manage credentials.
- Can easily be deployed on Windows, Linux, and Mac devices and automate updates without additional configuration.
- InsightVM’s RESTful API is designed to give you full control over your Security Console, allowing easy automation and integration of vulnerability management tasks.
Live Dashboard:
- InsightVM's live dashboard shows real-time and interactive views of your network risk.
- It allows you to create and adjust the dashboard to display fresh vulnerability data. It also allows you to add and remove cards (visual component) as needed to get the exact insight you need.
- It updates real-time reflecting from the scan, agents, and discovery connections.
- It offers collaboration between team members to share the dashboard.
Active Risk Score:
- InsightVM collects and combines data from various threat intelligence sources including Rapid7's research to identify and prioritize vulnerabilities that are most likely to be exploited.
- It also uses a scale of 1-1000 scale to prioritize vulnerabilities based on their risk of being exploited rather than their CVSS score alone.
Integrated Threat Feed and Remediation Projects:
- InsightVM integrated threat feed helps to prioritize vulnerabilities that are actively targeted by attackers, filtering out the less critical ones.
- It enables users to respond quickly and prioritize critical vulnerabilities.
- It enables users to assign and monitor remediation tasks in real-time, ensuring continuous visibility into progress.
- Integrating ticketing systems like Atlassian Jira and ServiceNow helps to incorporate remediation into daily IT workflows.
- It also has customizable dashboards to track remediation efficiency, past-due projects, remaining tasks, and more, highlighting the most effective remediators and measuring program success.
Policy Assessment:
- Provides ready-made templates for common compliance requirements like CIS, HIPAA, SCADA, and PCI. Collaborates with Coalfire to deliver official PCI Reports for external compliance needs.
Pricing:
- For the InsightVm product, Rapid7 charges up to $1.93 per month for each asset when managing up to 500 assets.
Pros
- Continuous Monitoring for real-time visibility: One of the most appreciated things about InsightVM is its continuous monitoring feature, which provides real-time visibility into your network. This means you can stay ahead of potential threats by identifying vulnerabilities as they emerge, allowing for immediate action to protect your systems.
- Advances risk-based prioritization: InsightVM excels in risk-based prioritization, helping you focus on the most critical vulnerabilities first. This prioritization is based on a 1-1000 comprehensive assessment scale of your network’s risk profile, ensuring that your resources are allocated efficiently to mitigate the most significant threats.
- Detailed Remediation steps and tracking: Customers benefit from InsightVM's detailed remediation guidance and tracking capabilities. The platform not only identifies vulnerabilities but also provides step-by-step remediation instructions, making it easier for your team to address issues quickly. Additionally, the tracking feature helps you monitor the progress of remediation efforts, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks.
Cons
- Higher cost compared to some competitors: One of the drawbacks of InsightVM is its cost, which can be very expensive. This could concern budget-conscious organizations, particularly smaller companies or those with limited security budgets.
- Complexity for Smaller Organizations: InsightVM can be quite complex, which might pose challenges for smaller organizations with fewer security personnel. The extensive features and functionalities require a certain level of expertise to manage effectively, potentially necessitating additional training or support.
- High false positive: Customers have reported a higher incidence of false positives with InsightVM. This means that the system might sometimes flag non-critical issues as vulnerabilities, leading to unnecessary remediation efforts and possible distraction from more pressing security concerns.
- UI is clunky and not very intuitive: Another downside is the user interface, which some users find clunky and not very intuitive. This can result in a steeper learning curve and may slow down the efficiency of your team as they navigate and utilize the platform.
Ideal For:
- Large enterprises with complex IT environments.
- Security-conscious organizations that need continuous monitoring.
- Companies with significant cloud infrastructure
Nessus
Nessus is a vulnerability scanner developed by Tenable. It is one of Tenable's vulnerability management tools. It is known for its comprehensive vulnerability detection capabilities and is widely used in the industry for vulnerability assessments. Nessus is only capable of scanning for vulnerabilities and does not prioritise or remediate the vulnerabilities. Additional tools are needed to build a vulnerability management program.
Features
Reporting and Monitoring:
- Nessus offers customizable reports that can be sorted by vulnerability or host. This includes an executive summary and a comparison of scan results to highlight changes. It also exports the report in different formats such as XML, CSV, PDF, and HTML.
- It has interactive dashboards that provide real-time visibility into vulnerabilities and risk metrics, allowing for continuous monitoring and analysis
- It also offers targeted email notifications as users receive email notifications with scan results, remediation recommendations, and scan configuration improvements.
Scanning Capability:
- Nessus has a high-speed asset discovery that efficiently discovers assets within the network.
- Its vulnerability scanning tool supports IPv4, IPv6, hybrid networks, and credentialed and non credentialed scanning for system hardening and detecting missing patches.
- It also meets PCI DSS(Payment Scanning Industry Data Security Standard) for vulnerability scanning.
- Tenable Nessus scans various types of devices, assets, and systems including:
- Network Devices: Firewalls, routers, switches, printers, and storage devices.
- Virtualization Platforms: VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix Xen Server.
- Operating Systems: Windows, OS X, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, Cisco iOS, IBM iSeries.
- Databases: Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, DB2, Informix/DRDA, PostgreSQL, MongoDB.
- Web Applications: Web servers, web services, OWASP vulnerabilities.
- Cloud Applications and Instances: Salesforce, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Rackspace.
Compliance and Threat Management:
- Tenable Nessus supports regulatory and corporate requirements including PCI DSS, system scanning, and access controls.
- It also audits for Bonet, malicious, process, and anti-virus status and detects viruses, malware, and communication with Bonet-infected systems.
Deployment and Management:
- Tenable Nessus has the option to be deployed as a software, hardware, or virtual appliance and can also be deployed on-premise or in a service provider's cloud.
- It uses the CVSS score for vulnerability ranking with customizable severity levels and correlation with exploit frameworks like Metasploit.
- It also supports Restful-API integration for workflow integration
Pricing:
- For the Nessus product, Tenable charges up to $4289.25 per year for the pro license and $6439.35 per year for the Nessus expert license.
Pros
- Comprehensive Vulnerability Detection:
Nessus is renowned for its thorough vulnerability detection capabilities. As a customer, you will benefit from its extensive database of known vulnerabilities, which ensures that your systems are meticulously scanned and any potential security weaknesses are identified. This comprehensive detection helps safeguard your network against a wide range of threats. - Low False Positives:
One of the standout features of Nessus is its low rate of false positives. This means that when Nessus flags a potential vulnerability, it is highly likely to be a legitimate issue. This accuracy saves your team valuable time and effort, allowing you to focus on genuine threats rather than chasing down false alarms. - Flexible Scan Configuration:
Nessus offers highly flexible scan configuration options. As a customer, you can customize scans to suit your specific needs, whether it’s adjusting the depth of scans, scheduling scans at convenient times, or targeting specific segments of your network. This flexibility ensures that your vulnerability management processes are tailored to your organization’s unique requirements.
Cons
- Limited to Scanning: While Nessus is proficient at finding vulnerabilities through thorough scanning, It lacks advanced features such as risk prioritization, remediation tracking, and automated workflows. This limitation means that additional tools or manual processes are often required to prioritize and address these vulnerabilities effectively, potentially leading to inefficiencies and increased workload for security teams.
- Limited Risk Prioritization:
Another drawback of Nessus is its limited risk prioritization capabilities. While it effectively identifies vulnerabilities, it does not provide robust tools for prioritizing them based on risk. This means that your team might need to invest additional time and resources in assessing which vulnerabilities pose the greatest threat to your organization and should be addressed first. - Lack of Automation:
Another area where Nessus falls short is automation. The platform lacks advanced automation features that some competitors offer, which can streamline vulnerability management processes. As a customer, you might find yourself spending more time on manual tasks, such as initiating scans and tracking remediation efforts, which could be automated to improve efficiency.
Ideal for:
- Small to medium-sized businesses.
- Teams with limited security personnel.
- Organizations focused on compliance.
Tenable.io
Tenable.io is a cloud-based vulnerability management platform developed by Tenable. It encompasses all the features of Nessus, including reporting and monitoring, compliance and threat management, flexible scan configuration, etc, while offering additional functionalities tailored for enterprise environments.
Additional Features:
Cloud-Based Platform:
- Scalability: Being cloud-native, Tenable.io is highly scalable, accommodating the needs of growing enterprises.
- Accessibility: Accessible from anywhere, making it ideal for distributed teams and remote work environments.
Integrated Asset Management:
- Unified View: Provides a unified view of all assets and their associated vulnerabilities through integrated asset discovery and management.
- Dynamic Asset Tracking: Automatically tracks and updates asset information, ensuring up-to-date vulnerability data.
Container Security:
- Container Scanning: Includes specific tools for scanning and securing containerized environments, addressing modern infrastructure needs.
Pros
Tenable.io has all the pros of Tenable Nessus with some additional ones which include:
Scalability and Accessibility: Cloud-based platform offers high scalability and accessibility from any location.
Integrated Asset Management: Unified view and management of all network assets, ensuring no asset is overlooked.
Dynamic Asset Tracking: Ensures accurate, real-time, up-to-date asset information for effective vulnerability management.
Advanced Reporting and Analytics: Deep insights into vulnerabilities and risk trends aid in informed decision-making.
Cons
Mostly scanning, some prioritization: Although the Tenable.io platform provides essential data, some customers feel that its risk prioritization capabilities are limited as it may not always offer clear guidance on which vulnerabilities should be addressed first based on risk. This can make it challenging for security teams to determine which vulnerabilities to address first based on risk, potentially leading to less efficient remediation efforts.
Expensive: Tenable.io is noted for its higher cost compared to Nessus and some competitors in the vulnerability management market. This pricing structure can be a barrier for smaller organizations or those with limited security budgets, potentially making it less accessible compared to more budget-friendly alternatives.
Complexity for Smaller Organizations: The platform's extensive features and capabilities can present challenges for smaller organizations that lack dedicated security personnel or have limited expertise in vulnerability management. Managing and configuring Tenable.io may require a significant investment of time and resources to fully utilize its potential, which can be daunting for teams with fewer resources.
Non-Intuitive UI: Customers have reported that Tenable.io's user interface (UI) is not very intuitive. This can result in a steep learning curve for new users and may require additional training to navigate effectively. A less intuitive UI can also slow down workflows and decrease overall user satisfaction, particularly when compared to competitors that offer more user-friendly interfaces.
Ideal for:
- Medium and Large enterprises with complex IT environments.
- Security-conscious organizations that need continuous monitoring.
- Companies with significant cloud infrastructure.
- Organizations focused on compliance.
The Alternative: vRx
InsightVM, Nessus, and Tenable.io are highly effective in vulnerability scanning, yet their capabilities for vulnerability remediation are absent. Consequently, organizations find themselves needing to purchase additional tools for vulnerability prioritization and remediation. Vicarius vRx addresses this gap by offering the only integrated solution that emphasizes a remediation-focused approach to Vulnerability Management. This comprehensive platform not only identifies vulnerabilities but also prioritizes and remediates them, providing a streamlined and efficient process for organizations to manage their security posture effectively.
About vRx
vRx is an all-in-one vulnerability management tool. It focuses on proactive vulnerability assessment and remediation without relying solely on traditional patching.
Why vRx?
- vRx provides comprehensive vulnerability management by integrating assessment, prioritization, and remediation tools into a single platform.
- It features a user-friendly interface designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate, catering to users of all skill levels.
- The platform offers continuous monitoring, ensuring real-time assessment of vulnerabilities without the need for scheduled scans.
- vRx employs proactive security measures such as vulnerability prediction and patchless protection to mitigate threats before they become known.
- It supports both automated and manual remediation, allowing organizations to install prioritized updates across operating systems and applications as needed.
- Advanced risk-scoring capabilities combine contextual data with external sources to provide accurate CVSS calculations for each threat, including applications.
- vRx's Patchless Protection tool rapidly secures high-risk applications and blocks incoming exploitation attempts, enhancing overall security posture.
- By mitigating vulnerabilities without immediate patches, vRx reduces downtime and operational disruptions associated with traditional patching methods.
- It seamlessly integrates with existing IT infrastructures and security tools, ensuring compatibility and enhancing the overall security ecosystem.
- Automation of vulnerability management processes optimizes resource allocation and improves cost efficiency for organizations.
- vRx helps organizations maintain regulatory compliance by effectively managing vulnerabilities and providing audit-ready documentation.
- Vicarius also has a community-driven platform called vsociety that focuses on sharing knowledge, tools, and best practices related to cybersecurity and vulnerability management.
References
https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/15hb86m/thoughts_on_rapid_7/?onetap_auto=true&one_tap=truehttps://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/11tqij0/tenablesc_vs_r7_insightvm/
https://www.quora.com/How-useful-is-Nessus-as-a-network-security-tool
https://www.vicarius.io/competitors/vrx-vs-tenable-nessus
https://www.rapid7.com/products/insightvm/features/
https://www.tenable.com/products/vulnerability-management
https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/vulnerability-assessment/vendor/rapid7/product/insightvm
https://www.g2.com/compare/insightvm-nexpose-vs-tenable-nessus