Vulnerability Management Reduces Risk and Minimizes Security Incidents.
Vulnerability management deals with security-relevant vulnerabilities in IT systems.
This is an ongoing process aimed at identifying vulnerabilities in the IT infrastructure, assessing their severity and providing a list of measures to be taken to eliminate vulnerabilities. The goal is, on the one hand, to eliminate vulnerabilities, but also to make the company less at risk for attack and critical security incidents.
What Role Does Vulnerability Management Play?
For Software Vendors
For software manufacturers, vulnerability management is above all a quality control requirement and a way to prevent loss of reputation.
Software manufacturers systematically search for vulnerabilities in their software in a variety of ways. Examples include code analysis, black box tests and white box tests, and penetration tests. In addition, they receive reports on potential or real vulnerabilities from external stakeholders, such as customers or security researchers.
The software vendor evaluates these reports, taking into account its own findings, defines a workaround if necessary, and takes care of remediating the vulnerability.
This usually leads to a security patch, usually combined with a security announcement and possibly the issuance / application of a CVE ID.
For Security Teams
Security teams receive reports of vulnerabilities from groups like BSI, software vendors, Mitre or other channels.
The incoming reports are checked for their relevance to the company or authority, and its criticality to the infrastructure is determined. In most cases, this results in an advisory for the downstream IT departments with the request to patch systems. In some cases, advisories may also include deadlines.
Reviewing the implementation of the advisories may also be part of the process. This sub-process can be performed on a regular basis so that teams are regularly checking the system patch status.
Often the procedure is divided into the following 4 steps:
- definition of target state
- identification of deviations
- elimination (remediation)
- reporting/reassessment
In IT Service Management
Vulnerability management is also part of well-functioning ITSM implementation. This is usually triggered by an advisory or a report from the manufacturer.
The ITIL areas affected are Configuration Management, Incident Management, Change Management and Governance.
Understand Vulnerability Management as a Process.
IT security is always a complex process. Vulnerability management plays a significant role and is the foundation for this. Measures can only be developed and deployed effectively if vulnerabilities are known.
- Classify
- ⇨
- Prioritize
- ⇨
- Allocate
- ⇨
- Eliminate
Vulnerability management also includes the elimination of vulnerabilities. It is, therefore, necessary to transfer knowledge gained into a work process whose goal is to close the vulnerabilities.
The following questions are important:
- Who receives what information about discovered vulnerabilities at what time?
- Who is responsible for what?
- What are the possible courses of action?
Patching Does Not Replace Vulnerability Management
Patching is important. Of course it is. But there is no way around complex vulnerability management. Why
- System dependencies often do not allow an up-to-date patch.
- Not every vulnerability has a patch.
- Misconfigurations cause vulnerabilities even with current software versions.
Why Vulnerability Management Tools?
As with incident management, tools are essential for vulnerability management.
They are the central technical component of the vulnerability management process, detecting systems and containers connected to your local, virtual or cloud environment. Scan engines and agents are used to scan for vulnerabilities.
Vulnerability management tools provide complex functionality:
- Recognition of all components of an IT infrastructure
- Identification and description of vulnerabilities
- Links to patches or other ways to close security gaps
- Reporting
Modern tools must monitor a complex, constantly changing IT environment and facilitate response within the shortest possible time when problems are detected.
Today, they work in a fully automated way and scan the IT environment continuously.
Contemporary vulnerability management programs go beyond simply scanning and fixing problems. They should provide support for automating and orchestrating critical tasks and use automation to accelerate the prioritization and remediation of vulnerabilities or, if necessary, disconnect systems from the network.
STORM powered by OTRS offers the possibility to combine diverse tools and connect them via processes and interfaces. As a communication engine, it facilitates the tracking of communication among data suppliers, manufacturers and downstream departments.
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STORM was developed by security experts from OTRS Group using the OTRS Service Management Suite.
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