FourCore ATTACK: Exposure validation vs vulnerability scanning
A vulnerability scanner lists the known weaknesses on your systems. Exposure validation safely runs real attacker techniques to show whether your controls block or detect them. FourCore ATTACK does the second, and works best next to the first.
The question each one answers
- Vulnerability scanning
- Which known vulnerabilities and misconfigurations do our systems have?
- FourCore ATTACK
- If an attacker used these techniques, would our controls stop or see them?
When each one fits.
A scanner finds what to patch. Validation shows what your defenses do when an attacker shows up.
Choose vulnerability scanning when
- You need an inventory of missing patches, outdated software and known CVEs.
- Your compliance program asks for regular scans.
- You are setting patch priorities across many assets.
- You want broad, frequent coverage of hosts and applications.
Choose FourCore ATTACK when
- You need to know whether EDR, SIEM, email, web and network controls stop real attacker behavior.
- You want to test what happens after initial access: credential theft, lateral movement and exfiltration.
- Every control change needs a retest.
- You want a fix and a detection rule for each gap.
How they work together
Keep scanning to find and patch known weaknesses. FourCore ATTACK covers the other half: whether your controls would stop or see an attacker, whatever got them in.
Side by side.
What each approach looks at, and what your team does with the result.
Question answered
- Vulnerability scanning
- Which known weaknesses exist
- FourCore ATTACK
- Whether controls block or detect real attacker techniques
How it works
- Vulnerability scanning
- Compares software versions and configurations with known vulnerability data
- FourCore ATTACK
- Safely runs attacker behaviors on your machines and through your network, web and email controls
What it covers
- Vulnerability scanning
- Hosts, applications and configurations
- FourCore ATTACK
- EDR, antivirus and Active Directory, SIEM detections, email gateway, web proxy, IDPS, WAF and DLP
After initial access
- Vulnerability scanning
- Out of scope
- FourCore ATTACK
- Credential theft, lateral movement and exfiltration of test data are simulated
Detection
- Vulnerability scanning
- Does not check whether the SIEM or EDR would alert
- FourCore ATTACK
- Matches each step to the alerts in your EDR and SIEM
Results
- Vulnerability scanning
- A list of vulnerabilities with severity scores
- FourCore ATTACK
- Blocked, detected or missed for every step, with evidence mapped to MITRE ATT&CK
What you do next
- Vulnerability scanning
- Patch or reconfigure
- FourCore ATTACK
- Apply the fix and detection rule for each gap, then retest
Questions
Do we still need a vulnerability scanner?
Yes. Scanning finds the known weaknesses you need to patch. FourCore ATTACK does not replace it; it tests whether your controls stop or detect attacker behavior.
What is Adversarial Exposure Validation?
Adversarial Exposure Validation (AEV) is the category FourCore ATTACK belongs to. It safely emulates real attacker techniques in your environment and records whether each control blocked, detected or missed them, the same method behind Breach and Attack Simulation.
Is it safe to run in production?
Yes. Simulations are controlled and non-destructive, run within rules of engagement you agree, and clean up after themselves. No live malware spreads.
How is FourCore ATTACK deployed?
As SaaS with data residency in India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia or the US. A light agent runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, and email and WAF assessments are agentless.
Find out which controls hold up.
Pick the controls you need to trust. We run safe attacks against them and review what was blocked, detected or missed with you.