Technology
What Are the Uses for a Vulnerability Scanner?
Cyberattacks have become so common that you can expect to see news about a breach every week. Just recently, Twitter experienced a breach that affected high-profile US Twitter accounts. This attack highlights the need for proactive security measures, such as vulnerability scans.
Today’s hyper-connected world calls for extreme vigilance and knowledge of the ever-present threat of cyberattacks. These cyberattacks typically exploit vulnerabilities to breach your networks. What better way to prevent these attacks than to conduct regular vulnerability scans?
What Is a Vulnerability Scanner?
Your network is constantly exposed to threats, and loopholes that could result in catastrophic incidents for your business were threat actors to identify them. Vulnerability scanners simply help identify these threats early enough before threat actors can find them. You can rely on them to scan your system or network for vulnerabilities while comparing the results to pre-established vulnerability databases. Some common vulnerability scanners include ImmuniWeb, Tripwire IP360, Paessler PRTG, and Acunetix.
How to Effectively Use Vulnerability Scanners
For you to effectively use vulnerability scanners, you need to scan your system and network often. The databases that contain recently discovered vulnerabilities tend to be updated often. Ideally, having a team in charge of these scans is ideal.
Once you are done with a scan, the team will assess the ad hoc reports. If they identify an issue with your system, they will suggest a remedy for mitigating the risks involved. Most databases tend to suggest solutions for the vulnerabilities they expose.
Types of Vulnerability Scans
Cyberattackers target flaws or vulnerabilities in networks, systems, and web applications with the sole purpose of exploiting them. For example, when dealing with application vulnerability management, the developers will seek to identify vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, security misconfiguration, failure to restrict URL access, and LDAP injection.
To identify such vulnerabilities, organizations employ different vulnerability scans based on their testing objectives. The most common vulnerability scans include:
- External Vulnerability Scans
External scans aim to identify threats that can arise from outside our network, especially on the externally facing services. They are targeted at external IP addresses and ports.
For instance, they can help you assess new services and servers launched since the last time you conducted a scan and any threats associated with them. Some common threats you can find include having servers configured with deprecated services and unsecured transfer protocols. Ideally, you should perform these scans once each month to avoid over/underdoing them. A good example of these scanners is ImmuniWeb.
- Internal Vulnerability Scans
Cybersecurity threats can originate from anywhere, even from within your network. Don’t focus all of your resources on external threats and forget that disgruntled employees can target your network. You could also have missed a threat that seeped through your defences. This kind of threat could open up your network to attacks.
You need to perform an internal vulnerability scan to identify these threats. It also seeks to identify vulnerabilities such as encryption weaknesses, missing patches, and configuration weaknesses.
Keep in mind that internal scans are more complicated compared to external scans as they seek to assess your internal assets. These assets include everything in your network, such as vulnerable software. An internal scan will focus on your network’s internal components, searching for possible vulnerabilities and any other points of exploitation. A good example of such scanners is the Paessler PRTG.
- Environmental Vulnerability Scans
These scans are specific to certain IT environments, including mobile device-based environments, cloud-based environments, IoT devices, etc. Most of these environments are semi-isolated from the entire organization’s network, but they could wreak havoc to the rest of the network if a breach were to occur. Tripwire IP360 is a good example of such scanners.
For instance, IoT systems tend to be less secure than normal devices since most are designed with security as an afterthought. In turn, most manufacturers work overtime to identify security loopholes before sending out updates to patch these issues. A vulnerability scan will identify unpatched weaknesses in your IoT environment, which can be insightful in protecting your organization.
How Effective Is Vulnerability Scanning?
Vulnerability scanning is effective in identifying vulnerabilities in a network. In fact, 60 per cent of security breaches occur despite there being an existing patch for the ad hoc vulnerability. A scan generates a report of its findings, which you can use to patch the vulnerabilities. However, it’s more effective when combined with other cybersecurity measures, such as penetration testing and vulnerability assessment.
Vulnerability Scan vs. Penetration Test vs. Vulnerability Assessment
These three terms are often used interchangeably, but they don’t have similar meanings. For example, you might ask for a penetration test, but what you really need is a vulnerability assessment. To avoid this confusion, learn to differentiate the three.
What Is a Vulnerability Scan?
A vulnerability scan is run by automated software that tries to identify vulnerabilities in your network or system. It’s a simple process, as explained earlier. It merely identifies the vulnerabilities based on a database of vulnerabilities.
While these scans are important, you shouldn’t rely solely on them. This is because if you run a vulnerability scan and report indicates that your system has no vulnerabilities, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your system is fine. Vulnerability scans play an important role in improving an organization’s security, but they aren’t enough. You need a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that includes vulnerability assessment and penetration testing.
What Is a Vulnerability Assessment?
A vulnerability scan will identify the weaknesses and flaws in your network, but it doesn’t explain the magnitude of these vulnerabilities. You’ll know your network has vulnerabilities, but you have no idea the extent of the damage that these vulnerabilities can inflict on your business.
To understand the damage that these vulnerabilities can cause, you need to conduct a vulnerability assessment, as it takes into account all the assets in your IT infrastructure.
The first stage of the vulnerability assessment is to match all the assets in your environment with their vulnerabilities. This will include your networks, hardware, software, web applications, etc.
Once you’ve matched assets with their vulnerabilities, you will start evaluating the effects the vulnerabilities can have on your business. This will typically require you to assess the impact a weakness can have and the probability of it occurring.
A vulnerability assessment is considered essential as it gives you an idea of what your system can handle, the threats it’s facing, and the magnitude of the threats.
What Is Penetration Testing?
The primary aim of vulnerability assessments and vulnerability scans is to identify vulnerabilities; in contrast, penetration testing seeks to exploit these vulnerabilities. Penetration tests are typically conducted by third parties several times a year as opposed to vulnerability scans, which are conducted more frequently.
Penetration testing begins by identifying weaknesses such as insecure business processes, vulnerable databases, etc. In the next phase, the penetration tester tries to exploit these vulnerabilities.
All three are important and should be part of your cybersecurity strategy. However, you should prioritize vulnerability assessments to keep up with ever-lurking cyberattackers. In contrast, penetration tests can be performed once or twice a year.
Wrapping It Up
Cyberattackers will always try to breach your security, and their primary target will be vulnerabilities that they can exploit. As long as you’re in a connected world, there is always a risk that your network will be hacked. Hackers will breach even the best defences as long as there is a weak link.
However, you can prevent these attacks by constantly scanning your IT infrastructure for vulnerabilities. Don’t stop there. Conduct a vulnerability assessment to help you identify these vulnerabilities, and rank them according to the degree of damage they can cause. Include penetration testing bi-annually or annually to test how your IT infrastructure would fare against an external attack.
Cyberattackers are constantly poking around your network looking for weaknesses, and if you don’t implement measures to strengthen your cybersecurity, they will eventually find these flaws and exploit them. You don’t need complex security measures; a simple vulnerability scan will act as a good starting point.
Choosing between a VPS and a dedicated server can be complex. They run apps and webpages. But they operate differently. Understanding the difference between VPS and dedicated server solutions will help you prevent complications and save money later on. In this text we will explain everything in detail with examples from actual life.
VPS vs Dedicated Server: What Actually Sets Them Apart
One physical machine is divided into multiple virtual servers by a VPS. Through virtualization software, each user receives a portion of resources that are separate from those of other users.
A dedicated server operates in a different manner. One user owns a single physical machine. No neighbors, no sharing, simply complete hardware access.
This is the core of the vps vs dedicated server debate. Shared hardware means lower costs, while full ownership means more raw power. Finding the best vps hosting service often comes down to how well a provider balances performance with fair pricing on shared resources.
| Factor | VPS | Dedicated Server |
| Resource allocation | Shared pool, virtualized | 100% dedicated hardware |
| Performance consistency | Possible noisy neighbor effect | Guaranteed, stable capacity |
| Scalability | Instant resize | Requires hardware upgrade or migration |
| Cost | Lower entry price | Higher fixed cost |
Performance, Cost and Control: Where Each One Wins
In terms of raw performance, dedicated servers are superior. Each gigabyte of RAM and each CPU cycle are part of a single project. There is no competition for resources.
Flexibility is where VPS excels. It takes minutes, not days, to scale up. Pricing stays lower too, since costs get split across multiple users on the same hardware.
Shared hardware limitations rarely cause problems for smaller projects. Providers like Antihost allocate resources fairly, so performance stays steady even during traffic spikes. The gap only really matters once traffic gets heavy and consistent.
The contrast of vps vs virtual machine is also confusing people often. A VPS is a virtual computer in a technical sense, but it’s rented from a hosting company, rather than running on your own hardware.
Matching the Server to the Project: Real Scenarios
A dedicated server is rarely required for a small business website. A VPS can easily manage moderate traffic while maintaining low expenses.
A growing SaaS product usually starts on a VPS and expands as the user base grows. This adaptability is more crucial in the early stages than brute strength.
A database-heavy application benefits from dedicated hardware once query volume reaches a certain level. In this case, the lack of resource sharing and a constant disk speed are essential.
A game server depends on low latency and steady performance. Many game servers run fine on VPS today, especially with modern hardware. As David Heinemeier Hansson put it: “Personal servers have gotten really scarily quick, inefficient, and personal internet connections rival what we connected data centers with just a decade or two ago.” That shift makes VPS a stronger option than it used to be.
Here is a quick breakdown of what typically fits best:
- Small business website: VPS, for cost and simplicity
- Growing SaaS product: VPS, then scale to dedicated later
- Database-heavy app: Dedicated server, for consistent speed
- Game server: VPS, unless player counts get very large
Summary
In every situation, neither choice is superior to the other. Everything impacts the optimal selection, including the scale of the project, traffic patterns, and all growth plans. Scale from what works now when the numbers really demand it.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Aminu Maida, has reemphasised the need to protect the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure, especially fibre networks, noting that damage to fibre networks carries significant economic consequences.
Speaking virtually at the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) Critical Conversation Forum on Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) in Lagos recently, he described FTTH as a critical enabler of Nigeria’s digital future.
“FTTH is uniquely positioned to meet Nigerians' next phase of data demand. The quality of our broadband will increasingly shape the competitiveness of our businesses, the growth of our digital industry and the opportunities available to our citizens,” the NCC chief stated.
“We must uphold deployment standards. Nigeria needs fibre that is properly installed, properly documented, and properly protected,” Mr Maida further said at the event themed Fibre to the Home in Nigeria: Addressing Challenges, Strengthening Standards and Ensuring Sustainable Deployment.
During a panel discussion titled Policy, Governance and Regulatory Alignment, the Deputy Director of Strategic Business Initiatives at ipNX, Mr Segun Okuneye, highlighted the need for stronger collaboration across the telecommunications ecosystem to unlock the full potential of fibre broadband in Nigeria.
According to him, sustainable fibre deployment extends beyond technology and investment to include policy consistency, stakeholder alignment, infrastructure protection, and shared responsibility.
“Achieving universal fibre connectivity requires more than deploying infrastructure; it requires sustained collaboration between operators, regulators, government agencies and host communities.
“When policies are aligned, deployment standards are consistently enforced, and critical infrastructure is protected, we create an environment where investment thrives and more Nigerians can enjoy reliable, high-speed broadband.
“At ipNX, we remain committed to working with all stakeholders to build resilient digital infrastructure that will support Nigeria’s economic growth for generations to come.”
Earlier in his welcome address, ATCON President, Mr Tony Emoekpere, underscored the strategic importance of FTTH in achieving the country’s broadband penetration targets while calling for greater public awareness around protecting communications infrastructure.
“This forum is critical because Fibre-to-the-Home is the technology that will enable the country to achieve full broadband penetration. We all depend on communication infrastructure, and it must be protected,” he declared.
Drawing a comparison with power infrastructure in the country, he added, “If somebody comes to your neighbourhood to tamper with your transformer or power cables, everybody will come out. The same thing needs to apply for communications infrastructure. When we see people damaging fibre cables, we should raise an alarm.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Thursday, July 23, 2026, provided an opportunity for financial services professionals to converge on Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, to brainstorm on ways to meet the rising customers’ expectations.
The platform used for this purpose was Core by Interswitch. It is part of the company’s broader commitment to strengthening Africa’s digital payments ecosystem by fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing and operational excellence across the financial services value chain.
At the event, participants, numbering over 400, also highlighted the growing importance of operational excellence in sustaining resilient payment infrastructure.
As digital financial services continue to expand across Africa, closer collaboration among financial institutions, fintechs and payment service providers will be essential to improving responsiveness, resolving operational challenges more effectively and delivering consistently reliable customer experiences.
The Executive Vice President for Operations and Technology at Interswitch, Mr Babafemi Ogungbamila, said the forum reflects the company’s belief that exceptional customer experiences are built not only on innovative technology but also on the expertise, collaboration and commitment of the professionals who keep payment systems running every day.
“Every successful digital transaction is powered by professionals whose work often goes unseen but is fundamental to building trust in digital payments. Core by Interswitch was created to recognise their contribution, strengthen collaboration across the industry and create opportunities for shared learning that ultimately benefit financial institutions and the customers they serve.
“As digital payments continue to evolve, investing in the people and processes that power the technology is just as important as investing in the technology itself,” Mr Ogungbamila said.
Beyond recognising the professionals whose work often goes unnoticed, the programme underscored the value of creating stronger connections across the payments ecosystem.
By creating a dedicated platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration and professional development, Core by Interswitch aims to build a more connected community of payments operations professionals equipped to respond to the evolving demands of the digital economy.
