Network security audit tools such as MSP Risk Intelligence help MSPs protect their clients from current threats while forecasting potential network risks.
Network risk analysis should be the bedrock of an MSP's security strategy. They must ensure that all new technologies they introduce into their clients' networks are secure and do not create new vulnerabilities. It’s important to remember that finding and fixing vulnerabilities isn’t a theoretical exercise. MSPs should implement solutions that help them conduct continuous risk assessments for their customers.
If you do not have a clear picture of risk, you will have a difficult time developing effective strategies to mitigate them. The key to obtaining a clear vision is having the right risk analysis tools for protecting your clients’ resources and ensuring that each IT advancement they adopt does not introduce new risks into the infrastructure.
An Intelligent Solution That Assesses Security Risks
MSP Risk Intelligence from SolarWinds MSP (formerly LOGICnow) not only identifies the vulnerabilities present on client networks but also calculates the dollar value of risk those vulnerabilities expose to your customers. This information helps you build an iron-clad business case for securing networks and the data on them and allows you to prioritize which vulnerabilities are the most critical and should be addressed first.
A few of the powerful features delivered by MSP Risk Intelligence include:
- Conducting deep, comprehensive vulnerability scans across all supported platforms including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, and Apple iOS
- Discovering the types and locations of sensitive data
- Dollar-based risk assessments
- Generating risk-trend reports
- Finding inappropriate or out-of-date software
- Scanning for PCI compliance
Combining Data and Vulnerability Detection
Less intelligent products are designed to either detect data at risk or vulnerabilities, but not both. This adds intrusiveness to client networking environments and leads to an incomplete view of an organization's exposure to risk.
To avoid these shortcomings, vulnerability scans conducted by MSP Risk Intelligence combine data at risk and vulnerability discovery in the same single operation to deliver a complete assessment of applications and operating system prone to vulnerabilities that can lead to compromise. This results in scans that are less intrusive to clients and more productive for MSPs.
And with MSP Risk Intelligence's unique dollar-based risk assessment capabilities, both you and your clients can see the financial liability dollar figure for each network device and application.
Performance, Performance, Performance
MSP Risk Intelligence has been designed from the ground up with performance in mind. Its patented endpoint scanning capabilities have been developed to have the least amount of impact on CPU utilization, memory and other resources, device, and applications. This means businesses can conduct their normal operations unimpeded, with employees working freely without experiencing any degradation in their normal activities.
Size is No Object
It's not unusual for companies to collect significant amounts of data and to store that information at disparate locations throughout the organization: on servers, corporate PCs and notebooks, storage arrays, and other repositories.
MSP Risk Intelligence has the unique ability to conduct deep vulnerability scans throughout the entire network infrastructure to identify data and potential vulnerabilities and provide actionable insights for protecting that data, no matter where it is located. And if the data resides on a device that disconnects or goes offline the scan, the scan will still continue to run, and the results will be made available the next time the device returns online.
Permissions and Insider Threats
As advanced attacks continue to evolve, vulnerabilities involving improper sharing permissions on drives, folders and documents are becoming more common with breaches originated from outside the company's network perimeter. Inappropriate sharing permissions also allow for insider attacks to originate from within the network perimeter as well.
To identify the risks associated with externally and internally launched attacks, MSP Risk Intelligence provides comprehensive analysis about file permissions assigned to users and groups, including files and groups that deal with sensitive personal identification information (PII).
The analysis conducted by MSP Risk Intelligence:
- Indicates whether files are shared
- Reports the users who share their directories with access to everyone
- Provides the share path
In addition to permissions reporting, MSP Risk Intelligence detects the presence of specific files across all desktops, laptops, servers and workstations.
Additional Use Cases
MSP Risk Intelligence can scan systems to detect the presence of:
- A specific instance of malware
- Unprotected ACH file information on devices at a bank, credit union, or other financial institution
- Unprotected intellectual property or trade secrets through a custom search for manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and law firms
- Unprotected PII information using a custom search for credit card numbers or social security numbers
Host-Based Technology
Unlike less intelligent network-based tools, MAX Risk Intelligence is a host-based solution. This means it is not subject to the fundamental limitations of network scanning. You and your clients can rest assured that client networks will not cave into the deluge of scanned packets going back and forth between the application and the network. With its host-based approach, scans will finish faster without encountering network-related issues regarding insufficient permissions to access protected folders and drives.
Try the Best Risk Analysis Tools for Free
Whether resulting from high-profile breaches triggered by the adoption of new interconnected technologies and business processes or regulatory scrutiny, network risk analysis is receiving a lot of attention at the highest levels of organizations. Clearly, exposing networks and data to risk isn’t an issue that can be ignored.
That's why MSPs should reach out to their clients with proactive risk analysis solutions. But having the right tool is critical when it comes to obtaining the maximum level of oversight, assessment and reporting of risk.
As with most things related to security, minimizing the amount of surprise to clients is a best practice. MSP Risk Intelligence provides MSPs with an ability to understand a client’s risk exposure and security posture, without requiring expensive on-site visits and penetration tests. Using this kind of intelligence, MSPs can assess client IT infrastructures as frequently as necessary and focus efforts on areas that are both critical and pose serious security issues.
And because MSP Risk Intelligence offers the same simplicity as our other solutions, you’ll be up and running in minutes and ready to be in a position to build stronger relationships with your clients, drive more predictability within your business and boost productivity among your internal staff.
Sign up for a free trial of MSP Risk Intelligence today!
About SolarWinds MSP
SolarWinds MSP delivers the only 100% SaaS, fully cloud-based IT service management (ITSM) platform, backed by collective intelligence and the highest levels of layered security. SolarWinds MSP’s products, including Risk Intelligence, RMM, Backup & Recovery, Mail Protection, Access Manager, Manager and Anywhere — comprise the market’s most widely trusted integrated solution. – comprise the market’s most widely trusted integrated solution.
Deployed on millions of endpoints across hundreds of thousands of networks, the platform has the industry vision to define and deliver the future of the market. SolarWinds MSP provides the most comprehensive IT security available as well as the first ever IT notification feature powered by prescriptive analytics and machine learning.
SolarWinds MSP’s passion is helping IT professionals secure and manage their systems and data through actionable insights, rewriting the rules of IT.
For more information, visit www.SolarWindsMSP.com.
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Source:
ISACA: www.isaca.org/journal/archives/2010/volume-1/pages/performing-a-security-risk-assessment1.aspx
