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Port Scanning

What is Port Scanning?

The process of sending packets to specific ports on a host to determine which services are running. Port scanning is used both by security professionals for vulnerability assessment and by attackers for reconnaissance.

Information Security

What the standards actually require on port scanning

Requirements naming port scanning across 4 standards, quoted from the control text.

Periodic technical security tests on production, as the regulator requires, guarantee no vulnerabilities put the system's security and operation at risk: a third-party attack simulation following a known methodology, with vulnerability analysis identifying and...

gli-33-gaming-laboratories-international-event-wagering-systems::B.9.1 · B.9.1 Technical Security Testing →

Extends ISO/IEC 27002:2013 16.1.1. Every information security incident leads the processor, inside its incident management process, to check whether PII has been breached (the text refers to A.9.1, the first edition's number for the breach notification control...

iso-27018-2019::16.1.1 · Responsibilities and procedures →

Extends ISO/IEC 27002:2022 5.26. Each information security incident leads the processor, inside its incident management process, to check whether PII has been breached (then A.10.1 applies).

iso-iec-27018-2025::5.26 · Response to information security incidents →
PCI DSS 4.01 control

Where segmentation is used to separate the CDE from other networks, the segmentation controls must be penetration tested: at least every 12 months, plus whenever segmentation controls or methods change; covering every segmentation control or method in use;

11.4.5 · 11.4.5 Annual segmentation penetration testing →

Questions people ask about port scanning

What is Port Scanning?
The process of sending packets to specific ports on a host to determine which services are running. Port scanning is used both by security professionals for vulnerability assessment and by attackers for reconnaissance.
Why is Port Scanning important for compliance?
Port Scanning is a key concept in Information Security. Understanding port scanning helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 1,016 frameworks with 316K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Port Scanning?
Port Scanning appears in the requirement text of GLI-33 - Gaming Laboratories International Event Wagering Systems, ISO 27018:2019, ISO/IEC 27018:2025, PCI DSS 4.0. Across these standards we have identified 4 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Port Scanning?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how port scanning applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 1,016 frameworks.

See how Port Scanning applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 1,016 frameworks with 316K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.