10 Components of An Effective Vulnerability Management Process

Featured article by Natalie Frey, professional writer with a focus on technology

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Vulnerability management processes are an integral part of a company’s security plan. Often you will hear the terms “risk management” and “vulnerability management” used interchangeably. But the two are quite different even though they both involve the same aspect of your business. It is important to take vulnerability management just as seriously as risk management given that without vulnerability management policies and systems in place, risk management is far less efficient. The ultimate goal of the protocol is to identify weak points and determine what should be done about potential threats.

1. Identify the Assets That Are Under Threat

The first step in creating an effective vulnerability management process is identifying assets that are at risk. Assets are all the company’s resources that could allow for a breach. Although to some degree all of them are vulnerable, sometimes the threat is negligible.

* Networks

Arguably the most exposed systems are networks. They are difficult to manage and are often the main access points to your own systems. They are the easiest to access, and as such, they should be a priority. Processes like online payments and data transfers can create potential gaps in security.

* Network Devices and Network Connected Devices

Networks can create access points that allow hackers to collect data as it passes from one device to another. Ultimately, it’s the devices connected to the network that are on the receiving end of an attack. Identifying these devices and assessing their priority level goes hand in hand with analyzing your network’s vulnerability.

* Operating Systems

Operating systems themselves can often be threatened. A breach such as this can end up being catastrophic. Operating systems, however, are generally protected by several layers of security.

* Applications and their Versions

Applications can also create potential access points. It is particularly the case when it comes to older versions of an application or if a company uses several different versions at the same time. The software has to be regularly updated to gain access to the latest security upgrades.

2. Identify the Possible Vulnerabilities

The second component of a vulnerability management process is proper vulnerability assessment. This assessment has three components. For a better understanding of what these are, we will discuss them one by one.

The first step is naturally to identify vulnerabilities in the assets mentioned above. This means not only discovering if there are any. It also means identifying types of vulnerabilities, whether they are internal or external if it is a protocol issue or something deeper.

The types and scope of vulnerabilities will determine the best course of action. When determining the extent of a weak spot, it is critical to include all devices and software that are connected with the asset that could allow a breach.

When assessing possible vulnerabilities, it also important to consider threat intelligence for a complete understanding of the process that needs to be implemented.

3. Analyze Threats and Their Connection with Known Vulnerabilities

Vulnerabilities should not be confused with the threats themselves. Vulnerabilities are just the access points that can allow potential security breaches. The threat level and type must be correlated with the weaknesses for a better understanding of possible security issues.

The threat level determines the importance of a vulnerability. Not all weak points are equally at risk because threats can cause varying degrees of damage.

4. Create a Hierarchical System of Assets-Vulnerabilities-Threats

The final step in the vulnerability assessment process is to bring all of the three aspects of security protocols together. The value of the asset and the information it has access to must be correlated with possible vulnerabilities. Once these relations are established, each asset-vulnerability pair must be coupled with a known threat.

These three values should give you an idea of which assets and risks to prioritize in your vulnerability management process. Prioritizing is essential in creating an effective process. It would be impossible to handle each threat with the same amount of concern. And there are many potential threats that don’t truly warrant that much attention. Determining major risks will help you decide how to approach each issue.

5. Elaborate Proper Vulnerability Management Policies

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Vulnerability management policies should start with the results of the vulnerability assessment process. Policies should correlate with levels of priority and risk factors. All levels of the company should have some security protocols in place. Each department, as well as each employee within the respective departments, should be clear on what they have access to and what security measures they must undertake when accessing data and devices.

Often, the biggest gaps in security are created due to lack of proper internal communication. Employees may be unclear as to what they have to do to protect the information they have at their disposal. Or they may dismiss seemingly basic security measures, such as passwords or two step authentication processes.

6. Match Change Management with Vulnerability Management

In order to successfully implement vulnerability management processes in your company, you must align change management processes and protocols to the former. It is essential that the two are aligned since company-wide changes can often make or break a security protocol. It’s at this level that optimization and security upgrades can be implemented. System updates often have built-in security measures to match updated threats, but they are only effective if they reach out to all possible levels of a company.

At the same time, if the two management processes are out of sync, this can create new weak points to be accounted for. Often times, the easiest way to hack into a system is through software that lacks current updates.

7. Assessment and Penetration Tests

An effective vulnerability management process is not just about identifying issues and fixing them. It is a continuous process that should also include periodic assessments and penetration tests. With the help of a team of security experts, the company stages a series of mock attacks to see which areas of the organization are easier to access, and what a potential hacker would stand to gain.

Assessments will help you bring all of the data together and see if your vulnerability management process is truly useful. Coupled with penetration tests, it can help you plan ahead and keep security in check. Assessments and testing should be centered around priority levels mentioned earlier. They will determine the frequency with which to perform assessments and how in-depth you should go.

8. Identify Root Causes

Vulnerability management processes should always strive to uncover the root causes of a potential security threat. Ultimately, this is the level at which you want to strike. Resolving symptoms can only take you so far.

Security issues can have a host of causes. Sometimes, there is an inherent risk in using certain types of software. Networks in general also have a certain degree risk associated with them. There are also internal issues that can affect company safety. These include lack of communication or proper policies, misunderstandings regarding priority levels and escalation procedures, or a lack of skill and proper training.

9. Resolving Root Causes

Naturally, once a root cause has been identified, you’ll want to resolve it as quickly as possible. However, sometimes things are not as simple as they first appear. Often, there are multiple factors that work together to create security threats. In this case, tackling the root cause must be split up into several stages.

Each stage should be prioritized according to its negative or positive impact, costs associated with implementing the plan and the resources needed. It is best to start with the most cost-effective part of the plan (meaning that which has the highest impact-lowest cost rate). Unless of course, there is one issue that requires immediate attention.

10. Mitigating or Ignoring Threats

Determining threat levels not only helps you prioritize issues and resolve them accordingly. Part of what an effective vulnerability management process does is to identify vulnerabilities that need not be entirely resolved and threats that can be ignored. As mentioned earlier, not all threats are equally important, and some are not worth the resources you would need to invest to resolve them.

These the are the essential points you need to consider when implementing an effective vulnerability management process. Effectiveness is determined by the impact of an action in relation to the costs of implementation. This is why prioritizing is so important. There is no simple formula for determining priorities and threat levels. They vary according to the needs of each business. Make sure you are prepared and begin setting up your vulnerability management process as soon as possible.

Author Bio

Natalie Frey is a professional writer with a focus on technology. With a former eCommerce experience, she concentrated her efforts on improving cyber security strategies.