Tenable: Leader in Vulnerability Management and Cybersecurity

6 min read

25 Mar

25Mar

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Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, USA, Tenable Holdings , Inc. is a leading cybersecurity company . Founded in 2002, Tenable has established itself as a leader in the cybersecurity industry , focusing on vulnerability management and cyber exposure management solutions .

We talk about its history and evolution

Ron Gula, Jack Huffard, and Renaud Deraison founded Tenable. The company gained recognition for its Nessus vulnerability scanning software, originally created by Deraison in 1998. Since then, Tenable has grown significantly, becoming a public entity in 2018 and expanding its product portfolio to meet the growing security demands across IT, OT, cloud, and IoT environments.

Main Products

Nessus Professional

Nessus Professional is Tenable's prestigious vulnerability scanner, with a longstanding reputation in the industry. It is designed for security experts, consultants, and penetration testing teams. Key features:

Unrestricted assessments of information technology vulnerabilities.
Access to a comprehensive, instantly updated plugin database.
Configurable and pre-built report templates and pre-built templates.
Vulnerability assessment using CVSS v4, EPSS, and Tenable VPR.

Tenable Nessus Expert

Nessus Expert is an optimized version that incorporates all the features of Nessus Professional and incorporates cutting-edge functions.

Scanning the external attack surface.
Cloud infrastructure scanning.
Evaluating Infrastructure as Code (IaC) repositories
Discovery of zero-day vulnerabilities.
Support for web application scanning (up to 5 FQDNs)

Tenable Vulnerability Management

Previously known as Tenable.io, it's a cloud vulnerability management solution. It offers:

Constant research and evaluation of the network.
Predictive classification of vulnerabilities and their prioritization.
Workflow management for remediation.
Integration with other security and information technology tools.

Tenable Web App Scanner

This feature, within Tenable Nessus Expert, makes it easier for organizations to discover and fix vulnerabilities in web applications. Features:

Scanning up to 5 FQDNs (Fully Qualified Domain Names)
Identification of specific web application vulnerabilities.
Integration with the development workflow for shift-left security.

Watch a video of the new Tenable.io interface

Advantages and Uses

Tenable products provide multiple advantages for organizations:

Complete visibility of the attack surface.
Cyber risk reduction.
Improved regulatory compliance.
Efficient prioritization of vulnerabilities.
Integration with DevOps and security workflows.

Tenable has established itself as aleader in the vulnerability management industry, with nearly 44,000 customers, including 65% of the Fortune 500. Its holistic approach to managing cybersecurity exposure and itsconstant innovationinresponse to emerging threats make it a preferred choice for organizations of any size looking to strengthen their security posture.

What are the main differences between Nessus Professional and Nessus Expert?

The key differences between Nessus Professional and Nessus Expert include:

1. Sophisticated Features: Nessus Expert provides additional capabilities beyond those included in Nessus Professional, such as:

Cloud infrastructure research.
Analyze Infrastructure as Code (IaC) repositories
Identification and management of the external attack zone.

2. Online Application Research: Nessus Expert offers the ability to scan up to 5 FQDNs (Fully Qualified Domain Names) of web applications, a feature not available in Nessus Professional .

3. Pre-built policies: Nessus Expert provides 500 pre-built policies to check for security and configuration issues in configuration files and code repositories before deploying them to production.

4. Focus on contemporary contexts: Nessus Expert is designed to meet the security demands of the most sophisticated and contemporary information technology environments , including cloud infrastructures and DevOps .

5. Early Prevention: By enabling pre-deployment code analysis and tuning, Nessus Expert helps prevent costly errors that could arise from introducing vulnerabilities and incorrect tuning into the production process.

Both versions retain essential Nessus features , such as thorough vulnerability scanning , comprehensive reporting , and real-time updates . However, Nessus Expert stands out as a more comprehensive solution for organizations with more sophisticated security requirements and diverse technological environments.

What additional features does Nessus Expert provide compared to Nessus Professional?

Nessus Expert offersseveral additional featurescompared to Nessus Professional, designed to meet the security demands of modern, more sophisticated environments.These are the most significant differences:

1. Infrastructure Scanning Codified as IaC:
Nessus Expert makes it easy to assess code repositories and configuration files to identify vulnerabilities and misconfigurations before going live. This includes implementing up to 500 predefined policies to ensure secure deployments to automated production pipelines such as GitOps and CI/CD.

2. External Attack Zone Management:
Nessus Expert includes capabilities to identify and manage internet-linked assets, such as domains and subdomains linked to an entity. This provides visibility from an attacker's perspective and enables scanning of up to five domains every 90 days.

3. Web Application Analysis:
In contrast to Nessus Professional, Nessus Expert provides the ability to scan web applications, making it easier to detect specific vulnerabilities in these platforms.

4. Proactively Focus on Security:
Nessus Expert helps prevent issues before they occur, reducing the costs and time associated with subsequent remediation. This is particularly beneficial for teams using DevSecOps methodologies.

5. Additional Asset Information:
Provides comprehensive data on external assets, such as SSL, DNS, and open ports, enhancing the ability to prioritize risks.

In conclusion , Nessus Expert leverages the capabilities of Nessus Professional by focusing on proactive security, sophisticated external attack surface management, and targeted analysis for contemporary contexts such as IaC and online applications. This makes it a perfect choice for organizations with sophisticated cybersecurity requirements.

Protect your organization with Tenable's leading vulnerability management solutions.

Are you ready to increase your company's security? Find out how Nessus Expert can assist you in detecting and reducing risks to your Internet systems and applications. With its proactive approach and sophisticated capabilities, it can ensure a stronger security posture.