Network Vulnerability Assessments
Find the Weak Spots in Your Network
We scan your firewalls, switches, servers and internet-facing systems for known vulnerabilities and give you a prioritised report of what to fix. Run it once, quarterly or annually.
What is Network Vulnerability Assessments?
Laptops are only part of your network. Firewalls, routers, switches, Wi-Fi equipment, servers, printers and internet-facing systems all run software that can contain known vulnerabilities, and they are easy to forget once installed.
A Network Vulnerability Assessment uses scanning tools to check the devices and systems in an agreed scope for known weaknesses, such as missing firmware or software updates, outdated encryption settings, unnecessary services and risky default settings. Our team reviews the results and turns them into a prioritised report.
The assessment is scoped to your network and can run once or on a schedule, quarterly or annually, so you can see whether things are improving over time.
Key benefits
- Visibility of weaknesses in network devices and servers, not just laptops
- Internal and internet-facing systems checked for known vulnerabilities
- Findings reviewed and prioritised, so you know what to fix first
- Repeat assessments to track progress over time
- Remediation can be scoped separately, for us or your own team
How does it work?
Scans can be unauthenticated or authenticated. An unauthenticated scan looks at a system from the network, as an outsider would, and sees which services are exposed and what they reveal. An authenticated scan logs in with an account set up for the purpose, which lets it see more, such as missing updates that aren't visible from outside.
Agree the scope
We agree the sites, internal address ranges and public IP addresses in scope, which systems need authenticated scanning, when scans can run, anything to exclude and who to contact if a system is affected.
Scan
Scans run at the agreed times, from inside your network and against your public IP addresses. They check for weaknesses without trying to exploit them.
Review and prioritise
Our team reviews the results, filters out obvious false positives where possible and ranks findings by severity, exposure and how important the system is to your business.
Report and reassess
You receive a findings report with recommended fixes. Remediation can be scoped separately, and repeat assessments show what has been fixed and what is new.
- Agree scopeSites, address ranges and scan type
- DiscoverAuthenticated and unauthenticated scans
- PrioritiseFindings reviewed and ranked in a report
- RemediateScoped separately, by us or your team
- ReassessQuarterly or annually, if chosen
Technical scope
- Unauthenticated scanning of agreed internal address ranges and public IP addresses
- Authenticated scanning of servers and supported devices, using an account set up for the assessment
- Detection of missing firmware and software updates and known CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures)
- Identification of exposed services, weak encryption settings and risky default configurations
- Coverage of in-scope firewalls, routers, switches, wireless equipment, servers, printers and other networked devices
- Review of results by our team to prioritise findings
- A findings report with recommended remediation
- Comparison with previous results for quarterly or annual assessments
How this differs from other security testing
A network vulnerability assessment sits between automated device scanning and a full penetration test. It looks wider than laptops, but it stops short of trying to break in.
Endpoint vulnerability scanning
An agent on each laptop and desktop checks that device regularly. A network assessment covers the network equipment, servers and internet-facing systems that don't run that agent. See Basic Endpoint Vulnerability Scanning.
Penetration testing
Testers actively try to exploit weaknesses to show what an attacker could achieve. A vulnerability assessment identifies and reports weaknesses but doesn't exploit them. See Internal Network Penetration Testing.
Firewall rulebase assessment
Reviews a firewall's rules and settings directly. A network assessment scans for vulnerabilities across many devices, the firewall included. See Firewall Rulebase & Configuration Assessments.
Problems solved
Forgotten network equipment
Switches, printers and Wi-Fi equipment often run old firmware for years. An assessment brings them back into view.
Unknown exposure to the internet
Services opened to the internet for a project or supplier are easily forgotten. Scanning your public IP addresses shows what is reachable.
Servers patched less often than laptops
Servers are sometimes left alone to avoid disruption. Authenticated scanning shows exactly which updates are missing.
No way to show improvement
Without a baseline, it's hard to show progress to management, clients or insurers. Repeat assessments compare results over time.
What's included
Included as standard
- Scoping of the sites, address ranges and systems to be assessed
- Vulnerability scanning of in-scope network devices, servers and internet-facing systems
- Review and prioritisation of findings by our team
- A findings report with recommended remediation
- Repeat assessments at the agreed frequency, if you choose quarterly or annually
Optional or scoped
Available on request and confirmed in your proposal; not part of the standard service.
- Remediation of findings, scoped separately
- A walk-through of the results with your team
- Penetration testing to show whether weaknesses can be exploited, such as External Network Penetration Testing
What's not included
- Exploitation of vulnerabilities or penetration testing
- Remediation work, unless scoped separately
- Workstations and laptops, which are covered by endpoint vulnerability scanning
- Systems you don't own, including third-party hosted services where the provider's permission hasn't been obtained
Scanners find known vulnerabilities. They can miss weaknesses in custom software or in how systems are configured together, and some findings turn out to be false positives.
An assessment reflects your network when the scan runs. New devices, configuration changes and newly published vulnerabilities change the picture, which is why regular reassessment helps.
Some older or fragile devices can react badly to scanning. We agree timings and exclusions with you to reduce that risk.
Who it's suitable for
- Businesses with on-premises servers or several sites
- Organisations with internet-facing systems such as VPN gateways, email or web servers
- Businesses that want a regular independent check alongside managed IT
- Companies planning a penetration test that want to fix obvious issues first
- Organisations answering security questionnaires from clients or insurers
Pricing
This service is tailored to your business, so we confirm the price after a short conversation about your requirements. There is no charge for the conversation.
Use the quote builder to add Network Vulnerability Assessments to an indicative quote, or book a free security review and we'll recommend what fits.
Price
Price Based on Scope
Price to be confirmed following a review of your requirements.
What affects the price
- Number of internal and public IP addresses in scope
- Number of sites and network segments
- Authenticated or unauthenticated scanning
- Frequency: one-off, quarterly or annually
- Level of reporting and any walk-through required
- Whether remediation support is needed
All prices exclude VAT.
Add to Your QuoteFrequently asked questions
Do you need passwords to our systems?
Only for authenticated scanning. We agree a dedicated account with only the access the scan needs, which you can disable afterwards. Please don't send credentials through the quote form or by email; we arrange a secure method during scoping.
Will scanning disrupt our network?
Scanning generates extra network traffic and checks systems without exploiting them, so disruption is uncommon. Some older devices can be sensitive, so we agree timings, exclusions and an emergency contact before anything runs.
How often should we have an assessment?
You can choose one-off, quarterly or annually. Quarterly suits networks that change often or hold sensitive data; annually suits stable networks. It's also worth reassessing after significant changes, such as a new firewall or server.
Is an assessment enough, or do we need a penetration test?
An assessment tells you which known weaknesses exist. A penetration test shows whether they can actually be exploited and how far an attacker could get. A sensible order is to run an assessment, fix what it finds, then test.
Will you fix what the assessment finds?
Remediation isn't part of the assessment itself, but we can scope it separately, or your own IT team can work from the report. If your network is already managed by Pulsar IT, some fixes may fall within your existing services.
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