Migrating from Nessus to middleBrick

Moving from Nessus to middleBrick starts with aligning expectations. Nessus produces highly detailed asset and vulnerability data; middleBrick focuses on API-specific risk scoring and prioritized findings. Plan a phased cutover where you run middleBrick in parallel with Nessus for a defined period, compare results for the same APIs, and validate that your critical endpoints are covered.

• Inventory all public-facing APIs and the Nessus scan IDs that map to them.
• Define the risk score threshold that will trigger remediation work in middleBrick.
• Confirm authentication methods for each API so middleBrick can test with appropriate credentials (Bearer, API key, Basic, Cookie).

Nessus exports in multiple formats. Use the CSV or XML export to extract host lists, ports, plugin IDs, severity ratings, and descriptions. Because middleBrick does not import Nessus findings directly, normalize the export into a canonical list of endpoints with method, path, and authentication requirements. This normalized inventory becomes the baseline you will retest with middleBrick and track score changes over time.

import csv

endpoints = []
with open('nessus-export.csv') as f:
    reader = csv.DictReader(f)
    for row in reader:
        if row['severity'] in ('Critical', 'High', 'Medium'):
            endpoints.append({
                'host': row['host'],
                'port': row['port'],
                'method': row.get('method', 'GET'),
                'path': row['uri'],
                'severity': row['severity']
            })
print(f'Normalized {len(endpoints)} findings')

middleBrick replaces Nessus scan history with its own scoring model and trend tracking. Import your normalized endpoint list into middleBrick via the dashboard or CLI, and run an initial scan on each API. Use the score trend view to compare early results with your later scans. For continuity, map Nessus severity to middleBrick risk categories and note which Nessus plugin families align with authentication, input validation, data exposure, and rate limiting findings.

• Leverage the CLI to automate repeated scans during migration: middlebrick scan https://api.example.com --auth-token YOUR_TOKEN.
• Use the Pro tier's diff detection to highlight new findings and resolved items across scan cycles.

If Nessus is integrated into CI/CD, transition those gates to middleBrick gradually. Start by adding a non-blocking check that reports the score without failing the build. Use the GitHub Action to enforce a threshold once you are confident in the scan coverage. During the transition, keep Nessus runs for a limited set of endpoints as a safety net, and route alerts to a dedicated channel for review before turning off legacy notifications.

name: API Security Gate
on: [push]
jobs:
  security:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: middleBrick scan
        uses: middlebrick/github-action@v1
        with:
          url: https://api.example.com
          threshold: C
          fail-on-below: true

You will not find low-level host vulnerabilities, operating system weaknesses, or some network-layer issues that Nessus covers; these are out of scope for API security scanning. What you gain is focused detection aligned to the OWASP API Top 10, with clear risk scores, prioritized remediation guidance, and built-in compliance mappings for PCI-DSS 4.0, SOC 2 Type II, and OWASP API Top 10. middleBrick also reduces noise through read-only scanning, blocks unsafe targets, and provides continuous monitoring options that keep your team alerted to regressions without manual sweeps.

• Direct mappings to PCI-DSS 4.0, SOC 2 Type II, and OWASP API Top 10.
• Black-box scanning that requires no agents or SDKs.
• Automated monitoring and alerting with HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks.