One-time scans serve as a straightforward ‘one-and-done’ approach to demonstrate your security stance to customers, auditors, or investors. However, more commonly, they involve periodic scans initiated at semi-regular intervals—the traditional industry norm has been quarterly.

These periodic scans offer a snapshot of your vulnerability status at a specific moment, covering issues like SQL injections, XSS, misconfigurations, and weak passwords. They are beneficial for compliance if quarterly scans suffice, but they fall short in providing ongoing oversight of your security posture or a robust attack surface management program. Given that a new CVE emerges every 20 minutes, relying solely on periodic scans risks presenting an outdated view of your security.

It’s highly probable that some of the 25,000 CVE vulnerabilities disclosed last year alone will impact your business between one-time or semi-regular scans. Consider how frequently you update software on your laptop—it can take weeks or months to patch vulnerabilities, potentially leading to significant consequences for your business.

To address these challenges, continuous scanning is indispensable in 2023. It offers round-the-clock monitoring of your IT environment and leverages automation to alleviate the burden on IT teams. This approach enables faster identification and resolution of issues, effectively fortifying your defenses against hackers and potential breaches.