Article

Securing your organization: A practical approach to vulnerability management

March 12, 2024 · Authored by Brian Nichols

Now more than ever, organizations are faced with a constant battle to protect organizational data and supporting infrastructure. While standard protection mechanisms are a key component, an often-overlooked aspect is a robust vulnerability management program.

Vulnerability management is the process of identifying, prioritizing, mitigating and managing security vulnerabilities in an organization's environment. The goal of vulnerability management is to provide a proactive approach in addressing weaknesses before they can be exploited by bad actors. It is easy to see why vulnerability management is a core component of an overarching security posture and is crucial for minimizing the risk of security incidents, data breaches, financial losses and reputational damage.  

There are a few main areas of vulnerability management that play a key role in addressing risk: threat intelligence, penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, remediation and tracking. The rest of this article will outline the importance of the effectiveness of these areas and how they can aid in creating a robust vulnerability management program. 

Threat intelligence

Threat intelligence is the use of leveraging information from reputable sources to allow organizations to stay informed about emerging threats, attack vectors and malicious actors targeting their industry or specific assets. The information gleaned from threat intelligence sources gives security teams the ability to prioritize vulnerabilities based on their likelihood of exploitation and potential impact, enabling them to allocate resources effectively and focus on mitigating critical and high-risk vulnerabilities.  

Subscribing to and monitoring reputable threat intelligence sources enables organizations to proactively analyze and defend against evolving threats, rather than reacting to known vulnerabilities.  

Penetration testing and vulnerability scanning

The goal of vulnerability scanning is to identify known vulnerabilities in systems, applications and endpoints. Penetration testing takes this activity one step further by simulating a cyberattack to identify potential security weaknesses and the exploitability of those weaknesses. 

Penetration testing allows organizations to identify vulnerabilities that may not be detected by automated scanning tools, such as misconfigurations, complex attack vectors and logic flaws. On the other hand, vulnerability scans provide visibility into known vulnerabilities across the environment. The use of automated scanning tools can aid in streamlining the vulnerability management program by continuously scanning for new vulnerabilities and prioritizing them based on severity and potential impact.