What is the role of credentials in scan policies within Tenable.sc?

In Tenable.sc, credentials play a critical role in enhancing the effectiveness of scan policies by authenticating access during scans. When a scan policy incorporates the appropriate credentials, it allows Tenable.sc to perform authenticated scans. Authenticated scans provide deeper visibility into vulnerabilities and security issues by enabling the scan engine to access and evaluate the internal state of systems, applications, and services.

By authenticating, these scans can identify potential security flaws that might not be detectable through unauthenticated means, such as configuration issues, installed software vulnerabilities, and patch levels. As a result, having the correct credentials configured is essential for the scan to function properly and yield comprehensive results about the security posture of the environment being assessed.

The other choices relate to aspects of account management and scheduling rather than the primary function of credentials within the scanning framework, which is specifically focused on authentication.