Vulnerability management (VM) has always been a complex area of concern that requires continuous and active effort to work properly. This can make it challenging for organizations to maintain their VM strategies and solutions over time, as there are many angles to secure and processes to oversee. There are a wide range of potential ways that VM can go wrong, and it is essential for organizations to avoid the many pitfalls associated with it.
In order to successfully execute a VM program, organizations are encouraged to follow trends in VM and stay on top of emerging threats. Avoiding common mistakes in VM can ensure effective security over time.
Common Pitfalls in Vulnerability Management
As an ongoing security practice, VM can be complicated, and mistakes in small details can lead to major security weaknesses. It is vital for organizations to understand the most common errors in VM that can severely impact their security posture, endangering their networks, devices, accounts, and data.
Some of the most common pitfalls that organizations can run into with VM include:
- Incomplete Network Scans: Scanning only parts of the network, such as by limiting scans to server-only or external-only, can leave out crucial information required for proper VM.
- "One and Done" Mentality: VM must be an ongoing, proactive process in order to address vulnerabilities as threats and technologies evolve.
- Chasing Zero Vulnerabilities: Aiming for 100% remediation of all vulnerabilities is a fruitless effort that ends in frustration; risk prioritization is necessary to ensure that measures are effective against the most pressing threats.
- Conflicting Priorities: Consistent focus and resource allocation is required to avoid wasting resources, leaving tasks incomplete, or creating extra work.
- Underestimating Required Resources: Implementing VM requires an investment of resources, both in the short term for deployment and in the long term for maintenance.
- Lack of Proper Tools: Organizations need VM solutions that are advanced and integrated in order to optimize operations and maximize effectiveness.
- Failure to Consider Threat Intelligence: VM efforts should take into consideration up-to-date risk assessments and threat intelligence.
Trends in Vulnerability Management
Vulnerability management as a practice dates back many years, but as with any area of cybersecurity, it is always evolving. Recent trends in VM are important for organizations to follow in order to effectively maintain their solutions and practices over time.
One of the most significant trends in VM—and cybersecurity, more broadly—is an attack surface that is growing rapidly and constantly. With the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and microservices, asset management is growing ever more complex and convoluted. With a growing attack surface, it becomes difficult to accurately keep track of resources and risks.
Another trend is the use of threat intelligence and prioritization for more effective risk-based vulnerability management. Leveraging up-to-date threat intelligence is important to determine the most pressing risks that must be mitigated as part of an ongoing VM strategy.
Automation is also increasingly being used to streamline VM tasks. The growth of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in recent years has held a spotlight in many areas of IT and cybersecurity, and VM is no exception. VM tasks that can be effectively automated include aggregating asset lists from multiple tools, continuously monitoring activity and tools, and running vulnerability scans.
Choosing a Vulnerability Management Solution
Implementing and managing an effective VM program requires a variety of tools and practices, but a VM solution is one of the most fundamental steps. While it can be difficult for an organization to determine which solution will be the best for their needs and resources, there are certain criteria that can be used to make the decision easier.
Some of the most important features in a VM solution are:
- Ease of Use: An effective solution will be as simple as possible to deploy, configure, and manage.
- Integration: The ability to work smoothly with other tools and solutions is important for both security and efficiency reasons.
- Scalability: Decision makers should prioritize solutions that can scale with the size and scope of the organization.
- Reporting: Thorough reporting assists with adapting measures over time, obtaining documentation for compliance, and increasing efficiency.
Risk-Based Vulnerability Management
Traditionally, vulnerabilities are scored according to the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), a quantitative measure of a given vulnerability’s severity. It takes into account factors such as the type of issue, complexity to exploit it, required user interaction, impacts, and more. The scores range from the least severe at 0 to the most severe at 10. The CVSS system is limited in its ability to consider context, subjectivity, scope, and complexity in the threat landscape. Depending on CVSS scores alone can significantly hinder an organization’s VM capabilities.
Risk-based vulnerability management (RBVM) is a more effective process for the identification and remediation of pressing vulnerabilities that present the most severe threat to an organization. This method offers much more effective prioritization based on integrated threat intelligence, comprehensive risk evaluations, and capabilities enhanced by AI/ML. With RBVM, organizations can achieve VM that is more accurate, effective, and efficient.
Conclusion
Developing and maintaining an effective VM program requires a great deal of coordination, continuous monitoring, and comprehensive risk evaluation. In order to ensure effective VM, it is important for organizations to choose the right solutions, establish best practices, and avoid common mistakes. By implementing an effective RBVM program, organizations can successfully assess, mitigate, and remediate vulnerabilities based on up-to-date threat intelligence and advanced prioritization.
