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Internal Scanning AgentUse Cases

Use Cases

The Internal Scanning Agent enables two primary use cases that help organizations secure their applications throughout the development lifecycle.

Internal Network Vulnerability Scanning

Scan web applications inside your private network without opening your firewall to external scanners.

How It Works

Internal Network Vulnerability Scanning - The scanner polls Detectify Platform for scheduled scans and settings, then scans internal applications and pushes findings back
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  1. Deploy the agent in the same network as the applications to scan, or in a network that has access to them
  2. Configure scan targets and schedules through the Detectify Platform UI
  3. Agent polls Detectify Platform for scheduled scans and configuration settings
  4. Scanner executes scans against your internal applications when scheduled
  5. Findings are pushed to Detectify Platform and displayed in the unified dashboard

Benefits

BenefitDescription
No firewall changesThe scanner initiates all connections outbound - no inbound rules required
Unified visibilityView internal and external scan results in a single dashboard
Distinguish attack surfacesResults are clearly labeled as internal or external in the UI
Same scanning engineInternal scans use the same DAST engine as external scans
Centralized managementConfigure, schedule, and manage all scans from Detectify Cloud

Typical Environments

  • Internal APIs and microservices
  • Admin panels and back-office applications
  • Staging environments that mirror production
  • Applications in private VPCs or on-premises data centers

Pre-Production Pipeline Scanning

Integrate vulnerability scanning into your CI/CD pipeline to catch security issues before they reach production.

How It Works

CI/CD Pipeline Integration - Security scanning integrated into the deployment pipeline with results sent to both the pipeline and Detectify Platform
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  1. Set up the Internal Scanning Agent in your pre-production environment
  2. Trigger scans from your CI/CD pipeline when deploying to staging
  3. Scanner executes DAST tests against your staged application
  4. Results are sent to both destinations:
    • Detectify Platform - for centralized visibility, tracking, and reporting
    • CI/CD Pipeline - for immediate developer feedback and deployment gates
  5. Pass/fail gates can block deployment if critical vulnerabilities are found

Benefits

BenefitDescription
Shift-left securityFind vulnerabilities before they reach production
Fast feedback loopDevelopers get scan results directly in the pipeline
Centralized resultsAll findings are still visible in Detectify UI for tracking
Automated quality gatesBlock deployments based on vulnerability severity
Consistent testingEvery deployment gets the same security checks

Integration Guides

Ready to set up CI/CD integration? See our detailed guides:

  • GitLab CI/CD - Complete setup guide with examples
  • GitHub Actions - Coming soon
  • Jenkins - Coming soon
  • Azure DevOps - Coming soon

Or see the CI/CD Integrations overview for all options.

Example Workflow

CI/CD Pipeline Example Workflow - Code push triggers build, deploy to staging, security scan, and deployment decision based on results
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Multiple Agents

You can deploy multiple Internal Scanning Agents across different networks or environments. All agents report to the same Detectify Platform, giving you:

  • Unified visibility - Results from all agents appear in one dashboard
  • Network isolation - Each agent scans only the networks it can access
  • Regional coverage - Deploy agents in different data centers or cloud regions
  • Environment separation - Separate agents for development, staging, and production

This applies to both use cases - whether you’re scanning internal networks or integrating with CI/CD pipelines, you can scale with multiple agents while maintaining a single view of your security posture.

Comparing Use Cases

AspectInternal Network ScanningPipeline Scanning
Primary goalOngoing security monitoringPre-deployment validation
Scan triggerScheduled via Detectify UITriggered by CI/CD pipeline
Results destinationDetectify PlatformDetectify Platform + CI/CD pipeline
Feedback speedResults available in DetectifyImmediate pipeline feedback + Detectify
Target environmentProduction-like internal appsStaging/pre-production
Typical frequencyDaily/weekly scheduled scansEvery deployment

Getting Started

Both use cases use the same Internal Scanning Agent. Choose your path:

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