Defending against vulnerabilities requires a proactive approach to reduce the attack surface. It involves reducing the number of exposed weaknesses, prioritizing threats according to their impact on a business, and designing an effective vulnerability management strategy.
The first step is identifying vulnerabilities using scanning tools and threat intelligence. It is followed by assessing the risk using a scoring system like the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). Finally, remediation and monitoring are put in place.
Targeted Attacks
The first step in vulnerability management is identifying and classifying vulnerabilities. It includes analyzing risks, assessing their impact on business, and ranking them for remediation. It’s important to note that this is a cyclical process, and teams should continually scan and evaluate their digital environment for an accurate picture of risk at any given time.
A targeted attack is an intentional cyberattack with specific aims. It’s different from opportunistic attacks that search for and distribute malware indiscriminately. At their simplest, targeted attacks are designed to steal business data. Still, they can also be used for political or economic espionage, competitive disruption, or even to provoke embarrassment in public.
Targeted attacks are usually launched using exploits that take advantage of known vulnerabilities. A report found that 60% of security breaches involved known risks with available patches that hadn’t been applied. Vulnerability management reduces cyberattack surface area by patching these known weaknesses before threat actors do.
Data Exfiltration
A common cyberattack involves data exfiltration or the unauthorized transfer of sensitive information from one device to another. External threat actors or nefarious employees can carry it out, and it can result in a data breach that might cost your company billions of dollars.
These incidents happen when employees download or copy files to insecure devices like personal cloud storage, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, and external hard drives. These devices typically have fewer security controls and are easier to access, making them vulnerable to hackers.
Vulnerability management helps prevent this attack by identifying and prioritizing the most dangerous vulnerabilities. It also enables you to establish smart vulnerability governance policies that can be communicated and enforced throughout the organization, including non-IT departments such as communications, legal, HR, and customer service. These policies can protect your business from unacceptable risks without impeding productivity or operations. You can also boost protection with an automated vulnerability management solution to ensure no vulnerabilities go undetected.
Identity Theft
Cybercriminals rely on software vulnerabilities to gain access to company networks, deploy malware, and steal sensitive data or disrupt business operations. The damage caused by a single data breach can cost organizations millions, including astronomical losses from fines, operational disruptions, and loss of trust with customers.
Detection and identification of vulnerabilities is only part of the process; a key step is deciding what to do with them once they are identified. An effective vulnerability management program is the best way to mitigate these risks and prevent the devastating effects of data breaches.
Vulnerability management identifies, prioritizes, and analyzes vulnerabilities and misconfigurations that expose systems to security attacks. Vulnerability management also includes patch management, which involves distributing and applying available software patches to fix these vulnerabilities and prevent attack exploitation. Ideally, these processes should be scalable and not burden system performance. Many organizations leverage a cloud-based solution such as falcon spotlight, part of the crowd strike Falcon platform.
Business Impact
A vulnerability management program can help protect your organization from financial, legal, and reputational consequences resulting from cyberattacks. It includes preventing attackers from accessing your sensitive information, disrupting business operations, and damaging brand trust.
Traditionally, security teams have used a combination of threat and vulnerability management (TVM) solutions or professional services to conduct in-time scans of their networks, identify vulnerabilities, and deliver a list of required mitigations for action. However, these often must be addressed due to a lack of time, complexity, or resources.
Vulnerability management helps address these challenges by providing a system of identification, prioritization, and remediation that can be automated to reduce manual workflows and provide the visibility needed to achieve project goals. Additionally, it helps communicate the value of security efforts to stakeholders and project teams so they can continue to support the business’s overall goals. This approach enables organizations to remove security blind spots across their dynamic attack surface. It allows them to design and implement a strategy best suited to their needs, ensuring they can reach their desired business outcomes.
