Enterprise businesses have learned the hard way that taking cybersecurity lightly – or better yet, deprioritizing it on the ever-growing list of IT projects – comes at a major cost. Cyberattacks have increased in volume and complexity. Today’s hackers use sophisticated tools to circumvent traditional network security deployments, using IoT-based attacks to execute phishing, ransomware, and supply chain hacks at will. Complex attacks such as the recent SolarWinds hack or Colonial Pipeline breach created backdoor access using malware, holding valuable data ransom and costing the businesses millions. Uneven security protections, unpatched security vulnerabilities, and bugs make their task easy. In this blog, we’ll walk through two security-related exercises that you can execute quickly to determine the vulnerabilities in your environment and build proof of their validity.
Most enterprises need a generational overhaul of their security measures. A vulnerability assessment is the first step towards developing a comprehensive network security plan because it helps to identify the threats and risks inherent in your network and classifies them in severity. It provides a comprehensive look into the state of your network assets and pre-empts data breaches, malware injection, and theft of sensitive data.
There are many different types of vulnerability assessments, including:
The next step after identifying the weaknesses in your environment is to deploy a penetration test to build proof that a threat is imminent and understand what steps you need to take to remediate the issues.
A penetration test exploits weaknesses to highlight vulnerabilities in the system architecture. During a penetration test, a system engineer “thinks like a hacker” and mimics the strategies and actions a hacker would take in an attempt to penetrate the network. The exercise unearths applications susceptible to code injection attacks, faulty configurations of the API, and other loose ends. The test results reveal the vulnerabilities exploited, sensitive data accessed, and the time the penetration tester remained in the system undetected. These insights make up the basis for remedial measures.
The ever-evolving nature of vulnerabilities shifts the goalpost frequently, with threats emerging and changing by the day. Cyber attackers remain in the business because of their resiliency and ability to constantly evolve their tactics, avoiding what worked against them previously. Regular vulnerability assessment and penetration tests are the way to remain ahead in this game of one-upmanship.
It doesn’t make business sense to patch each vulnerability, though. Sheer volumes make it unviable. A vulnerability assessment will help prioritize the risks, allowing enterprises to focus on the more dangerous threats first. But, identifying the most dangerous threats can depend on your business. A risk assessment should take a holistic approach that combines the organizational context, the rating of the risk, and asset demographics.
Identifying, quantifying, and prioritizing security vulnerabilities is always a race against time. Vulnerability Management-as-a-Service (VMaaS) offers a cost-effective and sustainable way towards such ends by outsourcing the day-to-day assessment and remediation of your security vulnerabilities to a certified Security Operations Center (SOC) or Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP).
Fully managed vulnerability assessments at customer-specified intervals make it easy to identify the most potent threats to your network. Automated tools offer deep visibility needed to shrink the time gap between knowing and acting on the vulnerabilities. It provides a multi-pronged approach to maintain the integrity of the network:
Vulnerability Management as a Service is the first step towards a fully managed security service that keeps your business safe from threats. Contact us today to get started.
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