The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently mandated that federal government organizations patch in the neighborhood of 300 specified software vulnerabilities.
These are vulnerabilities that have been identified as being actively exploited by cybercriminals to breach organizations. While the mandate isn’t in place for non-government organizations, CISA strongly recommended that they also patch these weaknesses to shore up their cybersecurity protections.
Vulnerability management can seem intimidating for an organization, especially when faced with the sheer volume of identified threats. It’s a necessary process for any company, but one that doesn’t have to be difficult if you use the right tools.
Just how necessary is vulnerability management?
A report by the Ponemon Institute and IBM found that 42% of companies that are hit with a data breach, discovered that it was caused by a known but unpatched software vulnerability. Further, 57% of organizations haven’t identified which vulnerabilities in their network are the most severe.
Steps to Begin an Effective Vulnerability Management Process
If you’re looking to get started with a comprehensive vulnerability management program, we’ll go through the basics of how to do that below. A key thing to remember is to take things one step at a time and not to try to do everything at once. Easing into vulnerability management can help ensure you have a process that sticks and that is effective.
Understand What Vulnerabilities Are
Before you jump into any type of program, it’s important for everyone to have a clear understanding of what a vulnerability is and why it’s dangerous. And this means, not just the IT people. Explain on a more basic level to decision-makers and employees why vulnerabilities in their devices and digital tools are dangerous.
Basic description of a vulnerability: A vulnerability is a flaw in the way that code is written that allows someone to write malicious code to exploit it and breach a system.
A vulnerability can allow a hacker to launch an attack that provides them with system permissions, allowing them to upload ransomware to a network asset, for example.
Areas where vulnerabilities can happen:
- Unsecured API
- Device operating system
- Unpatched software & mobile apps
- Firmware for hardware
- Cloud-based applications
- Servers & databases
Identify All Technology Infrastructure Assets
Because vulnerabilities can lurk in every system, software, and endpoint connected to your network, these need to all be identified.
You can use a tool like CyberWizPro to do this easily. It will detect all assets connected to your network, including those that are cloud-based, so you won’t have to do it manually.
Plan Out Your Vulnerability Management Process
There are just a few phases to the vulnerability management process, but you should map these out in a comprehensive way. Use a graphing tool like SmartArt in MS Word or a tool like Visio to lay out each step in the vulnerability management process.
You should show a continuous cycle, rather than a process that has a “start” and “end” because vulnerability assessment and management should be ongoing. New vulnerabilities are coded unknowingly in software every day, then they infect the systems of organizations when an update is issued.
Your process should look something like this:
- Scan & Assess
- Identify Vulnerabilities
- Prioritize Mitigation
- Mitigate Threats
- Document Activities
Choose the Method or Software You Will Use to Detect Vulnerabilities
The most effective and affordable way to handle vulnerability management is to automate as much of the process as possible. You also want to consolidate as much as you can for efficiency.
One software you can leverage that is an all-in-one vulnerability lifecycle tool is CyberWizPro. Some of the advantages include:
- Automates the vulnerability lifecycle
- No endpoint agent installation is required
- Easy-to-use interface
- Compliance/policy management support
- Prioritizes vulnerability mitigation automatically
- Offers mitigation recommendations
- Generates comprehensive reports
Managing vulnerabilities often falls by the wayside at so many organizations because they’re trying to handle the whole process manually and it becomes too much. Choose a tool that will take that manual burden off your team’s shoulders.
Identify Who is Responsible for Each Phase of Vulnerability Management
Those on your IT team need to know who is accountable for each phase of the vulnerability management process. This helps prevent things from falling between the cracks that can leave the organization vulnerable to a breach.
Determine Reporting Needs for Compliance, etc.
If your organization has to comply with HIPAA, it will have certain cybersecurity reporting needs. If it is under a federal contract, then different reporting may be necessary. Determine the type of reporting your organization must generate and ensure that you have the ability to provide that from the software or method you’ve chosen to use.
Test & Improve Your Vulnerability Management Cycle
Start with a test run of your vulnerability management tool. Go through each phase, from scanning and assessment to reporting on vulnerability mitigation. Smooth out any issues that may have come up during this first run-through, and once your vulnerability management process is underway to continually improve your capabilities.
Try CyberWizPro Today for Free to Get You Started
Would you like to try out an easy-to-use vulnerability management system with no risk? Try CyberWizPro and see how easy staying on top of vulnerability mitigation can be.