Policy and compliance scanning with Barracuda Managed Vulnerability Security

A smarter, easier way to stay security-aligned and audit-ready

Takeaways

• Automated policy scanning transforms compliance from a burden into a proactive security tool.
• Barracuda Managed Vulnerability Security unifies risk discovery with governance alignment.
• Customizable policy packs support any industry, environment or regulatory requirement.

Regulatory compliance and industry controls are foundations of risk management. Compliance is sometimes viewed as a necessary evil—a cost center that doesn’t directly generate revenue but is essential for business operations. What’s missing from that perspective is the risk reduction provided by these frameworks. For example, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was created to protect cardholder data and limit financial loss. Pursuant to this, parts of this standard prohibit unnecessary storage of card data and enforce secure configurations and hardened systems. These controls help companies protect their customers and businesses.

Unfortunately, the tasks associated with compliance can be repetitive, time-consuming, and prone to human error. Automated assessments of policy alignment make compliance and policy management much easier.  

Barracuda Managed Vulnerability Security

Barracuda Managed Vulnerability Security is a 24×7 SOC‑managed scanning service that uses industry‑leading technology to identify, evaluate and prioritize security risks  The service expands traditional vulnerability scanning by assessing adherence to established policy standards, enabling organizations to verify not only what needs to be remediated but also how well their configurations align with defined governance requirements. Built on a framework of more than 3,000 policy checks aligned with widely recognized standards such as the Center for Internet Security (CIS) Critical Security Controls, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), and the United States Government Configuration Baseline (USGCB), these policy-focused scans provide granular visibility into policy conformance across assets, applications, and environments. 

Barracuda policy scans deliver proactive governance and risk-aware decision making. The result is a comprehensive view of an organization’s compliance posture, enabling precise identification of gaps between policy intent and actual configurations, evidence-based prioritization of remediation efforts, and demonstrable alignment with regulatory and internal requirements. These tailored scans are particularly effective for validating ongoing compliance with policy standards, supporting audits and strengthening overall security resiliency by turning policy adherence into measurable security outcomes.

Policy and compliance scanning 

A policy in Barracuda Managed Vulnerability Security is a pack of built-in and preconfigured checks that evaluates whether a system’s configurations align with a defined governance or security standard. Barracuda delivers policy packs to the customer’s  scanning platform, enabling teams to validate compliance across relevant assets and environments. 

In addition to built-in standards, Barracuda supports custom or community policy packs that can be tailored to specific requirements. Policies can be used independently or interwoven with vulnerability scanning to deliver a comprehensive view of both configuration compliance and security risk, supporting ongoing governance, audits, and remediation prioritization. Scanning profiles for policy scanning will utilize a combination of policy checks and scanning settings to deliver a tailored approach to policy compliance through the scanning platform. 

Available scan profiles for compliance:

• Center for Internet Security (CIS)
• Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
• Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC)
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Payment Card Industry (PCI)
• Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)
• United States Government Configuration Baseline (USGCB)

Using these scanning templates can help an organization prepare their compliance efforts and stay ahead of the curve, no matter what kind of organization it is. 

Try Barracuda Managed Vulnerability Security in your environment 

Although compliance costs vary widely, the cost of non-compliance—including penalties, litigation and operational disruptions—is almost always far higher. Regular vulnerability scanning simplifies compliance and reduces the risk of cyberattacks.

Visit our website to schedule a consultation and find out more about Barracuda Managed Vulnerability Security.