Why Vulnerability Management Services are Essential

Vulnerability management is an essential element of every cybersecurity plan. It involves the ongoing monitoring of a company’s digital footprint to find and fix any vulnerabilities in devices, systems, and applications that bad actors could exploit. It decreases a company’s risk exposure and is a proactive way of ensuring threat actors can’t gain access to a company’s private data. It’s also a huge undertaking.

Many applications, including those that are cloud-based, that companies use need to be checked and patched regularly. Coupled with the fact that vulnerability management is an ongoing process and companies are using more and more cloud-based applications, vulnerability management is never truly complete. This means organizations need a sizable security team to manage the process. Those that don’t have the resources to manage the entire process in-house typically choose to work with vulnerability management services to get the job done more quickly and effectively.

Challenges of Keeping Vulnerability Management In-House

Scanning a company’s entire digital footprint for vulnerabilities is a time-consuming task, even when run by automated software. And, because new vulnerabilities are discovered every day, patching software and fixing misconfigured systems involves a lot of time, especially when also ensuring nothing is disrupted.

For businesses able to afford the expense, in-house vulnerability management teams can manage the tools and processes needed to patch any vulnerabilities discovered. But for businesses that don’t have a dedicated security organization, a vulnerability management service is a necessity to fill in crucial gaps.

Though there are many reasons for a business to invest in a vulnerability management service, here are a few of the most compelling.

• Too many vendors: Vulnerability management is a heavy lift. It requires comprehensive tools and processes to monitor and scan all networks and devices for gaps and then patch up any holes. That means companies need to take the time to determine which vulnerability management tools are needed for their environment, research the different platforms to see which are the best fit, configure the chosen tools to meet their specific needs, and then manage those tools on an ongoing basis. Each of those steps requires significant effort, especially from smaller teams.

• It’s a comprehensive process: Vulnerability management also cannot be scaled back for smaller teams or smaller organizations. The process, by its nature, needs to be comprehensive because if there’s a single gap, it can be exploited. You can’t purchase tools that only scan your most frequently used apps and systems or invest in scanning tools without also having a remediation tool or plan. Vulnerability management is an all-or-nothing game.

• Immediate action is required: Hackers are constantly trying to find some flaw before developers can fix it. These zero-day attacks require immediate attention. Waiting even a day or a few hours could have disastrous results. In other words, a lack of resources could easily lead to a breach. With effective vulnerability management, companies can stay ahead of bad actors. But, if that’s not possible, at a minimum, they need to keep pace and patch vulnerabilities as soon as possible before hackers are ready to strike.

• Vulnerability management is continuous: Vulnerability management isn’t something you can ever check off your list. Vulnerability assessments need to be ongoing as new vulnerabilities pop up regularly, and patches exist in nearly every software update. This means businesses cannot afford to take a week off even if the office is closed, an employee is on vacation, during employee turnover, or when other high-priority projects come in. The process needs to be running on an ongoing basis. While companies with huge security teams likely have the coverage for consistent vulnerability management, others will need to outsource those efforts to a team that has the bandwidth to run a vulnerability management program without taking a day off.

What to Look for in a Vulnerability Management Partner

The vulnerability management process generally involves three stages: visibility, vulnerability scanning, and remediation. There are several software solutions and services that can address each of these stages. Some are more specific, focusing on one area, while others are more comprehensive and cover all three.

Whether your business is working with three separate vendors, working with one comprehensive partner, or managing a portion of the process in-house, it’s essential that all three areas are covered. You can’t repair issues you can’t see, and without repairing vulnerabilities, just knowing they exist won’t keep you protected. Here’s what you’ll need to consider for effective vulnerability management.

Gain visibility

In order to scan and monitor all devices, software, and infrastructure, a company first needs to take stock of its attack surface and what it is monitoring. While this might seem like a simple task, most employees are using multiple devices such as personal and work cell phones and laptops on multiple networks (home, office, local coffee shop, etc.). The more devices and locations where these are being used, the more complicated it gets to manage them.

Employees are also increasingly feeling empowered to download cloud-based applications without involving the IT department. This may include digital tools that help individual contributors work more efficiently like Grammarly or Evernote or something that’s for personal use like Instagram or the G-Suite apps. This is where visibility tools come into play.

These tools surface all the systems and assets in your digital environment, then show where they are and how they’re being used. When looking for a visibility tool, it’s essential to find one that meets the specific needs of your environment. While some tools are best suited for single-office SMEs, others are more comprehensive and more appropriate for global enterprises or hybrid and work-from-home environments. Having full visibility is especially important as it ensures an organization is ready to handle zero-day vulnerabilities which require immediate attention.

Scan for vulnerabilities

Vulnerability scanning solutions are generally what people think of when it comes to vulnerability management solutions. Companies that offer vulnerability scans or vulnerability assessments, scan operating systems, software, devices, and applications looking for vulnerabilities and analyzing how systems are configured to ensure there are no gaps bad actors can exploit. Depending on the tool or service you are working with, this may include an initial deep-dive scan or assessment, followed by ongoing faster scans that look for new vulnerabilities.

Traditional vulnerability scanners work by running automated tests looking for common weaknesses or known vulnerabilities that might exist throughout a company’s digital footprint. Depending on the size of an organization, these scans can take minutes or several hours, and provide a high-level report of where potential vulnerabilities lie.

These tools are often paired with penetration testing software or a red team which is a more hands-on and detailed approach to vulnerability management. In the case of penetration testing, friendly attacks are launched on a company’s systems to determine if a vulnerability can be exploited. This may also include brute force attacks or attempts to gain access to restricted areas.

Vulnerability scans and penetration testing take a proactive approach to risk management and can be done on-premises or via cloud-based solutions. They identify entry points hackers can use to gain access to your network and steal valuable data or shut down systems, providing internal teams with a list of updates and vulnerabilities that require patching.

When looking for vulnerability scanning services, it’s important to understand how they are tracking known vulnerabilities. New vulnerabilities appear every day, and it’s vital that the vulnerability scanning tools rely on the most up-to-date information, such as CVE details, a comprehensive list of critical vulnerabilities that is updated daily.

These tools should also categorize and prioritize vulnerabilities based on the risk severity to help organizations quickly and efficiently fix them. Companies may also want to look at the solution’s reporting capabilities (especially if the company has specific compliance needs) and integrations with project management or remediation tools to find the best vulnerability scanning software or partner for their needs.

Remediate known vulnerabilities

Beyond offering tips on how to repair vulnerabilities, some vulnerability management solutions will go so far as to fix vulnerabilities. Depending on the chosen tool or provider, they may identify next steps, automatically generate remediation tickets for IT teams, automatically check for updates and prompt the user when updates are available, or even deploy patches across all company devices. These tools are key to minimizing risk exposure and ensuring vulnerabilities are found and repaired 24/7.

That being said, companies should not rely on automated tools alone for robust patch management. While certain vulnerabilities can be quickly repaired through auto updates, others require the skilled hands of security professionals. If an organization doesn’t have someone internally who can focus on ongoing vulnerability remediation, the task should be outsourced to a vulnerability management service to ensure systems are properly configured, the latest updates are installed, patches are implemented immediately, and the organization’s overall risk is low.

How SolCyber Can Help

SolCyber is the first-of-its-kind outsourced security partner. We offer 24/7 human-led monitoring and vulnerability management support using the latest tools and CVE databases to ensure your company is not exposed to unnecessary risk and to maintain a resilient security posture. Beyond vulnerability detection and remediation services, we also provide guidance on how to implement security policies, incorporate security best practices into everyday processes, and deploy security training to minimize shadow IT, proactively address exploitable vulnerabilities, and repair vulnerabilities as soon as they do appear.

Contact us today to learn more about our vulnerability management services.