4 best practices to assess and manage vulnerabilities

BMC released its observations on a security report that concludes every IT professional who prioritizes tasks, while less relevant issues commonly postpone them indefinitely, which may result as part of an effective life strategy, but it is a dangerous way to manage network vulnerabilities.

The industry at large is beginning to recognize the threats facing them and to adopt the best way to protect themselves, although not as quickly as they should.

In a recent Forbes investigation and in the company's Security Survey, 60% of the 300 executive-level respondents said that the discovery and remediation of expanded vulnerabilities was the top initiative in 2016, while only 30% spent more resources defending against “Zero Day” attacks as a primary initiative.

"In the face of such a scenario - Wolff pointed out - and to break the high-priority habit, at BMC we propose four main best practices to ensure a comprehensive vulnerability management program, which help to navigate successfully in the increasingly dense, diverse and dangerous world of cybersecurity threats ”:

1. Perform an early and continuous scan

If your vulnerability scan data, whether from an authenticated or unauthenticated scan, is not complete or current, any attempt to protect the network is bound to fail. You will not be able to accurately identify the actual threats on your network or prioritize their repair. For applications your organization is developing, be sure to scan as early in the software development life cycle (SDLC) as possible to increase overall security while reducing repair costs.

1. Make sure the data is consumable and actionable

Having a simple list of vulnerabilities in a spreadsheet and then sending it to multiple shareholders almost guarantees that vulnerability management will fail. Even assuming each new scan report is open, it is almost impossible to use that document to accurately assess the risks and coordinate with the operations team to repair the high-risk vulnerabilities. Essentially, this is like having hundreds of "urgent" emails to respond to before the end of the day and we're left with the matter of determining what's really crucial against what to expect. How can companies decide which vulnerabilities have priority when all they pose is a risk to the organization?

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“To mitigate the latter, the results of the vulnerability scan need to be in a form that is easy for the operations and security teams to use. They should include details such as the severity level and the age of the vulnerability. Furthermore, the information also needs to be easy to understand. This requires creating a fast and automated (and therefore repeatable) process that connects a high-risk vulnerability with its repair, "added the firm's chief executive.

1. Develop the context

Context is key when it comes to understanding the nature of a problem and making the most effective response decision. If someone yells "Fire!" You need more information before determining whether you should run to the fire to help or walk away to protect yourself, or whether you should call the fire department or take a fire extinguisher. Where's the fire at? How big is it? How fast is it spreading? Is anyone in danger or hurt?

"We believe that the same criteria apply to vulnerabilities, even if we know the number of vulnerabilities, their level of severity and their age, responding effectively still requires answers to additional questions: What assets can be affected? Where are they on my network? Is there a patch available? If so, when can it be deployed? If not, can the risk be mitigated through real-time protection offered by a firewall or intrusion prevention system? Wolff explained.

Only by knowing the context can you ensure that the correct response decision was made.

1. Increase your "vulnerability intelligence"

As your ability to develop context and respond to actionable data-based vulnerabilities improves, your overall level of "vulnerability intelligence" increases, allowing you to make better and better security decisions. It also enables you to continually