Approximately 30% of external cybersecurity attacks originate from software vulnerabilities. A cybercriminal need only identify one vulnerability or misconfigured device to exploit said vulnerability, potentially leading to loss of data, system downtime or ransomware.
One of the most effective and comprehensive safeguards involves implementing a vulnerability management service, delivered with the support of a managed services provider. The provider will help ensure all your IT assets are inventoried, a critical first component to a VM program. You cannot protect assets that you do not know exist or ones that may have been forgotten. The provider will also proactively identify and classify vulnerabilities, indicate the mitigation actions and help your organization prioritize patching and testing efforts.
Whether your organization already has a robust set of security controls and practices in place or you are looking to bolster your current defenses, here are five key reasons why you should consider a vulnerability management service.
1. Protect against your most likely threats.
Contrary to popular belief, unique, never-before-seen vulnerabilities, also known as zero-day, aren’t always the first target. In fact, known vulnerabilities are responsible for 99 percent of network exploitations. Why? Because cybercriminals are well-aware of them, and have time on their side. The longer a vulnerability goes unmitigated, the greater the risk of exploitation.
2. Prioritize what matters most.
The IT asset classification combined with threat intelligence drives remediation prioritization.
A successful vulnerability management program helps to classify your assets. Combine classification with threat intelligence data, and you have the basis for prioritizing mitigation and remediation.
A vulnerability management service, shaped and supported by experts who understand your business, can help your security team cut through the noise and focus on legitimate threats to the assets that matter most.
3. Understand your attack surface.
It is not uncommon for organizations to implement systems and then lose sight of them over time. Do you have an accurate inventory of all your IT assets, both hardware and software? Most organizations do not and thus are unable to safeguard systems they’ve lost sight of.
A vulnerability management service can help your organization discover and profile every device, port, service, and software component, on-premises and in the cloud, ensuring full visibility across your IT landscape. Once you capture and understand this data, you’ve taken the first step towards reducing risk and cost for your organization.
4. Increase productivity and visibility.
An industry-leading vulnerability management service can be integrated with other security and IT tools. These integrations result in improved organizational awareness and more expedient risk resolution.
5. Boost scalability and flexibility.
No matter the scale or scope of your operations, a vulnerability management service facilitated by an experienced partner is adaptable to your requirements and IT landscape. While no two organizations are identical, they should all share the same goal of reducing cybersecurity risk through comprehensive vulnerability management.
In addition to IT asset identification and vulnerability detection, a comprehensive vulnerability management program can include vulnerability prioritization and mitigation.
Take the next step.
It can be easy to feel overwhelmed or paralyzed with daily headlines describing almost endless cybersecurity activity. Instead let this be your motivation! Doing nothing all but guarantees you will eventually become a victim. Let Axians help you take that next step.
Until then, we welcome you to check out one of our latest resources: The Ultimate Guide to Performing a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment on Your Business.
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