In the fast-paced world of cybersecurity, vulnerability management often feels like an endless race against time. As new threats emerge at an unprecedented rate, understaffed and often overwhelmed security teams find themselves playing a perpetual game of catch-up with near-constant alerts about vulnerabilities that adversaries are eager to exploit.
Snapshot of the Vulnerability Management Industry Today
The number of reported Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) increased by 30% in the first half of 2024 compared to 2023. Another report indicates that:
- The share of critical vulnerabilities discovered in software in 2024 was 4.67%.
- The number of Windows users who experienced vulnerability exploitation remained roughly unchanged throughout 2023, whereas the number of affected Linux users increased steadily.
- 13.14% of reported vulnerabilities have either ready-for-use or raw proofs of concept.
As the number of reported CVEs grows, keeping up with the associated alerts is challenging. Alert fatigue is also compounded by the skills shortage many organizations face. For often understaffed and overwhelmed security teams, staying on top of vulnerability management pulls them away from mission-critical tasks.
To address these challenges, risk-based vulnerability management (RBVM) goes beyond merely discovering vulnerabilities. Leveraging machine learning analytics, RBVM helps businesses understand vulnerabilities, threat context, and asset criticality to prioritize and remediate the ones that cause the greatest risk.
The greatest power of RBVM is the reduction of alert fatigue and vulnerability overload. Security teams can focus on vulnerabilities and assets that matter most and address true business risk instead of wasting valuable time on vulnerabilities attackers may not likely exploit. According to one study, RBVM is set to encompass the entire vulnerability management market by 2027.
Less Noise, More Data
Most vulnerability management programs bury security teams under mountains of data with no actionable insight into which vulnerabilities pose actual risk. Lack of contextualization creates obstacles in prioritizing risk mitigation, which is further exacerbated by diverse tech stacks. This is because these legacy solutions cannot establish and maintain visibility into a quickly shifting environment of IoT devices, operational technology (OT) critical infrastructure systems, ephemeral containers and microservices, and multi-cloud workloads.
However, with a risk-based approach to vulnerability management, you get the insight you need to understand which vulnerabilities pose the greatest threat to your organization and which to remediate first. That way, you can focus your resources, limited cycles, expertise, and attention on the threats likely to cause the most damage if adversaries successfully exploit them. Once you strengthen your mission-critical assets, then your team can move on to protect the systems and data that are less mission-sensitive.
Overall, RBVM is a strategic investment that allows for enhanced resource allocation, reduced alert noise and improved ROI compared to traditional approaches to vulnerability management.
The Bandwidth to Cover Your Attack Surface
Besides the expanding technology landscape, which makes life difficult for legacy vulnerability management solutions, security leaders face many more pain points when trying to reduce risk exposure.
For example, the business surface and the potential attack surface are expanding with the adoption of remote and hybrid workforces, creating further challenges for spotting and prioritizing vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the introduction of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives means that your security team must also identify and protect those assets.
In addition, new applications pop up as existing ones are updated and become more complex, spawning new vulnerabilities. With the rapid pace of technological evolution, the number of discovered vulnerabilities is likely to continue increasing.
Finally, as software vendors enhance their vulnerability monitoring capabilities and promote bug bounty programs, criminals adapt and actively search for new types of vulnerabilities or new tactics and tools to exploit even zero-day vulnerabilities.
Your plan of action is only as good as the information it’s based on. Risk-based vulnerability management enables continuous and dynamic visibility into your stack to proactively unearth vulnerabilities even in ephemeral workloads before they become actual risks.
Risk-based vulnerability management assesses your vulnerabilities continuously. This is vital in a modern enterprise, where each new application, device, and login introduces new levels of risk. Risk-based vulnerability management can catch security weaknesses that could fall through the cracks.
Adversarial AI Vulnerability Exploits
While AI benefits businesses in profound ways, cybercriminals are increasingly leveraging AI to enhance their attacks and exploit vulnerabilities in more sophisticated ways:
- Automated vulnerability discovery: AI algorithms can scan systems and code at scale to identify potential vulnerabilities, including previously unknown zero-day flaws, much faster than manual methods. This allows attackers to find exploitable weaknesses more quickly.
- Exploit development: Once AI discovers vulnerabilities, it can assist in rapidly developing and optimizing exploits to take advantage of those flaws. This accelerates the process of weaponizing zero-day vulnerabilities.
Risk-based vulnerability management identifies and addresses critical vulnerabilities based on exploitability, potential impact, and asset importance. This helps organizations tackle AI-powered attacks and reduces the window of opportunity for AI systems to exploit known vulnerabilities. RBVM also considers the broader context of vulnerabilities, including threat intelligence and asset criticality, providing a more nuanced understanding of risk.
Increased Threat Visibility in the Cloud
Cloud vulnerability management experts are in high demand and low supply, having a significant impact on vulnerability management efforts.
According to the 2023 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, there is a global shortage of approximately 4 million cybersecurity professionals. This massive gap in the workforce directly affects organizations’ ability to effectively manage vulnerabilities and protect their systems.
A recent industry report with Tenable Cloud Security and Osterman Research revealed some shocking statistics about the safety of organizations in the cloud, noting that:
- Eight in 10 don’t have a security team dedicated to protecting the cloud
- 84% only possess entry-level cloud capabilities
With adversaries having easy access to exploit kits on the dark web or leveraging AI-powered tools, they do not need expertise to exploit cloud-based vulnerabilities. Combined with the talent shortage, the increased workload, the difficulty in prioritizing threats and the slow response times, this is a recipe for disaster.
The right risk-based vulnerability management tool can help reduce these risks. By adopting a comprehensive cloud vulnerability management program, security teams can now:
- Meet current compliance and data security standards
- Scale as business grows in the cloud
- Improve resilience and continuity
- Have full visibility into all the components of their supply chain and where risk lies within it
Proactive Vulnerability Management is a Best Practice
Proactive, risk-based vulnerability management is a best practice for several reasons:
- Regulatory compliance: Many regulations now require organizations to implement risk-based approaches to cybersecurity. For example, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) mandate risk assessments and appropriate security measures. RBVM helps organizations meet these requirements by systematically identifying and prioritizing vulnerabilities based on risk.
- AI regulation: As AI systems become more prevalent, regulators are increasingly focused on their security and potential vulnerabilities. RBVM can help organizations proactively identify and address these vulnerabilities, aligning with AI regulations such as the EU AI Act and the US Executive Order 14110 that emphasize risk management and security.
- Cyber insurance requirements: Insurance providers are becoming more stringent in cyber insurance coverage requirements. Many now require organizations to demonstrate robust vulnerability management practices, including risk-based approaches, as a condition for coverage or to get more favorable premiums.
A Strategic Investment
Investing in risk-based vulnerability management solutions offers substantial business value in today’s complex cybersecurity landscape. By prioritizing vulnerabilities based on actual risk, organizations can optimize resource allocation, enhance regulatory compliance, and mature their overall security posture. RBVM enables faster response to critical threats, reduces exposure to potential breaches, and aligns security efforts with business objectives. Moreover, it positions companies to better navigate the challenges of AI-powered attacks, stringent cyber insurance requirements, and evolving regulations.
Ultimately, RBVM protects against financial and reputational damages and demonstrates a commitment to proactive security, fostering trust among stakeholders and potentially opening new business opportunities in an increasingly security-conscious market.