Retina NSS, Light & Fast - Why Use Anything Else?
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We are utilizing Retina Network Security Scanner to perform internal penetration tests and vulnerability testing. We have a relatively small infrastructure, but because we must maintain NIST 800-171 compliance, we need to perform testing within their guidelines. Retina NSS (Network Security Scanner) is utilized by our senior network administrator on a monthly basis and we compare Retina NSS results to the results we receive via our SIEM. The main business problem the Retina NSS targets is the need for vulnerability scanning as well as basic internal penetration testing.
Pros
- Besides the fact that Retina NSS performs the fundamental task of scanning all my network devices, one of the main strengths is the speed at which it scans. Time is money and I know people tent to wear that cliché out a bit, but when you are as small as we are of a team, every minute counts.
- We have utilized other network security scanners over the past 21 years and Retina NSS seems to have the smallest footprint with no evidence of scanning degrading performance of the devices scanned.
- They seem to update their database frequently enough that we notice a correlation of threats to discovery.
- There is a small learning curve, but overall, a seasoned IT professional can quickly get up and running in a few hours and get usable results quickly. This falls back on the speed at which Retina NSS scans. My previous network security scanners would sometimes take hours to complete a full vulnerability scan of between 250 - 400 devices, now it only takes a fraction of that time.
Cons
- I do not have any obvious cons to report at this time.
Likelihood to Recommend
Retina Network Security Scanner is well suited for any environment and infrastructure that would like to expose security deficiencies across their network as well as visualize vulnerabilities as they pertain to assets in their environment. I cannot think of any scenario that would not be appropriate for this product. Since the product carries over to pretty much all assets in your environment, I don't know off the top of y head what it wouldn't be appropriate for.
