Building a Solid Vulnerability Management Program

By Sarala Vanga On Nov 13, 2020

Vulnerabilities are typically seen as a bad thing. While there’s something to be said for allowing yourself to be vulnerable from an emotional standpoint, there’s no situation in which you want your business to have them.

This is especially true when it comes to your networks.

Vulnerability management is an essential function of modern enterprises. Iniquitous parties are always looking for ways to exploit weaknesses and hardware. It’s critical your organization works to patch these holes before they can be used against you.

Here’s what to consider when building a solid vulnerability management program.

Identify and Define Endpoints and Assets

The first step involves gaining a clear understanding of your security needs. Depending upon the size and scale of an organization, this can be a surprisingly intensive undertaking.

Many larger enterprises have thousands of endpoints and assets requiring vulnerability management. Moreover, within and related to these are even more potential vulnerabilities.

All of your endpoints and assets represent potential targets for incoming threats. These include personal computers, tablets, servers — anything hardware- or software-related can host vulnerabilities. It can be mind-boggling when you start adding up all the things within an enterprise that fall under this umbrella.

Without taking the time to properly assess and identify all relevant endpoints and assets, your whole effort will be null and void.

Have the Right Tools for the Job

Once you’ve discovered all relevant network assets, start looking at various tools and protocols for vulnerability management. Many medium and large businesses find it’s wise to use an outside company to provide vulnerability management tools. Specialized vulnerability management providers will have the most knowledgeable people in the field working for them. Additionally, they’ll be ready to employ the most effective tools.

Here are some of the tools for which to look:

Visibility and reporting resources will help you gain a total view of your network assets and infrastructure, as well as their statuses.
Automated screening gives your network 24-hour scrutiny.
Machine learning provides a superior level of protection due to continual improvement.
Stress testing ensures your networks can handle a coordinated attack and identifies vulnerabilities.

All of these should be thought of as part of a system. While using only one or two might have some positive impact on your overall security, it’s not a comprehensive approach. This is one of the greatest benefits of using a vulnerability management provider to take care of your business’s needs. While your internal IT teams can often do a decent job, they won’t have the specific niche expertise of a specialized organization.

Implement Reporting and Mitigation Protocols

Fleshed-out reporting and mitigation protocols are essential, whether you go in-house or bring in outside help.

Administrators must have a clear view of what’s happening to make informed decisions, both on a daily basis and when things are more critical in nature. You can have all the preparation in the world, but it’s not ultimately going to be helpful if you don’t stamp out threats the moment they arise.

Vulnerability management is critical for organizations in today’s world. Make sure you have the tools you need to do successful vulnerability management.