A vulnerability assessment is one of the most critical components of an organization’s vulnerability management strategy. You can’t fix security risks without knowing where you are exposed. 

This assessment allows you to scan networks and assets to discover new vulnerabilities, analyze them, and prioritize them based on risk levels. After completing the vulnerability assessment, cybersecurity and vulnerability specialists will have the necessary information to make impactful security adjustments. 

However, conducting a successful vulnerability assessment requires a solid plan. Without the right personnel, tools, and strategies, you will miss a crucial step, leaving your network as exposed as before. In this blog post, we discuss the steps to carry out a vulnerability assessment, the challenges, and tips to overcome them.

Steps to Conduct a Vulnerability Assessment

Vulnerability assessments can help you detect potential holes in your network before they escalate. Here’s how to carry out this analysis. 

1. Define Assessment Scope

Start by determining the parameters of your assessment and the exact network components that need to be analyzed. This includes hardware, network infrastructure, user devices, and even paid products such as a call forwarding service or IVR. 

(If you’re asking, “what is call forwarding?”, it’s a system feature that redirects incoming calls to an alternative phone number in certain circumstances, such as after business hours, or when on another call.) 

This stage also involves a discovery phase. During this phase, you’ll identify assets and determine the criteria for each of their security capabilities, user permissions, risk tolerance, configuration, etc. The asset discovery task can be tricky, especially if your network includes BYOD (bring your own device) mobile devices or IoT (Internet of Things) devices. 

However, many vulnerability testing tools like Burp Suite and Nexpose can make it easier to detect and evaluate these kinds of assets. 

To conclude this stage, you will need to determine the stakeholders that will be involved in the assessment, the timeframe and remediation, and the frequency of these checks. 

2. Perform Vulnerability Scanning

The next step is scanning your network for security vulnerabilities. You can do this manually or with automated vulnerability scanner tools. 

A manual scan is time consuming, as it involves checking each system individually for security weaknesses. As expected, an automated scan is faster and more efficient but requires a higher financial commitment. However, there are free and open-source solutions that may suit your needs. 

Now, in addition to the actual network scan, you will use threat intelligence and vulnerability databases. These resources will help you identify security flaws and weaknesses and remove false positives. 

If your scan reveals numerous vulnerabilities, don’t be alarmed. It is normal, especially if your organization has only started to focus on vulnerability management and remediation. 

3. Analyze Scan Results

After your scan, you will receive a massive amount of vulnerability data, many of which will be unstructured. This step is about analyzing and organizing them. 

Look beyond a vulnerability criticality and the likelihood of it being exploited. You should also consider what network resources will be impacted if an attack targets that vulnerability. This information will be valuable when you convince business stakeholders about the steps to address specific vulnerabilities. 

It is also good practice to look beyond vulnerability scan results. Data from firewall logs, network scans, and permission tests can provide additional insights. 

4. Prioritize Vulnerabilities

At this stage, you must first address the most critical vulnerabilities in your vulnerability scan. These are security issues that are already causing damage and unwarranted access to the network. Your next priority should be vulnerabilities that have possible exploits that threat actors could use in the future. 

Your initial scan will return a huge amount of vulnerabilities that need to be remediated. But you can’t resolve everything at once, so you must prioritize. For instance, threats to your call monitor software should likely be quashed as soon as possible, especially if those called involve sensitive customer data.

The goal of this step is to ensure your vulnerability assessment data is measurable and actionable. 

5. Prepare the Vulnerability Assessment Report

It is now time to compile all the findings into a comprehensive report. This document will include all the identified vulnerabilities, their potential impact on the network, and possible remedies. 

The report should be accessible to technical and non-technical stakeholders. That means including technical jargon and instructions directed at cybersecurity and vulnerability specialists. However, incorporate visuals and explanations that help less technical decision-makers like the CEO easily comprehend it. 

6. Implement Mitigation Strategies

This is the stage to act. Some of your most critical vulnerabilities may be rectified with actual patches. Others, however, may require lesser mitigation techniques. Irrespective of the remedy you choose, always consult your vulnerability assessment to ensure you are focusing on the most pressing vulnerability in the right order. 

7. Make Vulnerability Assessment a Continuous Process

Vulnerability scans reveal the current weaknesses in an organization’s digital infrastructure. However, software updates, cloud migration, employee actions, or third-party integrations can lead to new vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities are not static, so vulnerability management should be an ongoing process. 

Organizations should incorporate automated vulnerability assessment into their security protocols. That way, they can continuously monitor and address threats swiftly. 

Challenges of Conducting a Vulnerability Assessment and How to Overcome Them

Running a vulnerability test isn’t without its problems. They include:

Dealing with False Positives and Negatives

A false positive in an assessment occurs when the system flags a vulnerability that doesn’t exist. A false negative, however, occurs when the real vulnerability is undetectable during the test. 

Both incidents can result in potentially negative consequences. False positives can lead to a waste of time and resources. When teams put a lot of effort into resolving non-existent threats, alert fatigue can result. The danger of false negatives is that they leave the system defenseless against potential cyber-attacks. 

To avoid any of these occurrences, you must be thorough at every stage of the process, double-checking and re-checking if necessary. 

Staying on top of New Vulnerabilities and Threats

Technological advancements, the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, and other factors mean the cybersecurity industry is constantly evolving. This also means new vulnerabilities and threats frequently emerge, making it trickier for security professionals to keep up.  

One solution is for security teams to update vulnerability assessment tools and threat intelligence regularly. In the long run, they must adopt new tools that can handle new aspects of IT. For example, companies must now integrate tools that can detect vulnerabilities in cloud and contained environments. 

Scanning Complex Hybrid Environments

Another challenge is conducting vulnerability assessments in complex hybrid environments that combine on-premise, cloud-based, and containerized platforms. Due to the diversity of these systems, formulating a unified scanning strategy is challenging. 

You need specialized tools to successfully scan complex hybrid environments. Automation and orchestration are essential to ensure regular, complete scans. Adopt an integrated approach that involves collaborating with teams managing different aspects of the environment. This method also involves implementing continuous monitoring to detect and resolve vulnerabilities quickly. 

Vulnerability Assessment Best Practices

Regardless of the challenges that affect a vulnerability analysis, some good habits can increase the chances of success. Here are some of them:

Customize Scanning Profiles

Develop scanning profiles tailored to your specific systems and applications. That way, you can carry out a more accurate and thorough assessment, as it will focus on vulnerabilities specific to your infrastructure. 

Customized scanning profiles also allow you to prioritize vulnerabilities based on their severity and potential impact. As a result, you can manage resources effectively and resolve the most critical vulnerabilities first, which reduces the risks to your infrastructure.

Work with Cross-Functional Teams

The most successful vulnerability assessment programs involve every department in the organization. 

Collaborating with cross-functional teams ensures that every aspect of your organization’s operation and infrastructure is included in the assessment. This strategy enables you to detect vulnerabilities holistically and administer solutions more efficiently. 

Cross-functional collaboration typically involves IT, security, operations, and business units sharing their expertise. For instance, IT can provide technical insights, while other business units offer context on how vulnerabilities might impact business operations. 

Keep Inventory Updated

It is also vital to have an up-to-date inventory of all applications, systems, and devices. This keeps you informed about what is in your environment and helps you realize each element’s potential vulnerability. An updated inventory also helps you prioritize vulnerabilities based on their criticality and potential impact.

Automate Scanning Tools with Manual Supervision

With automation, you can efficiently scan a large number of complex systems. Automated scanning tools can detect numerous vulnerabilities and offer quick solutions. It is, however, essential to include manual checks in the assessment process to ensure the accuracy of these tools. 

A manual review can detect false positives and ensure accurate evaluations. It also provides a deeper understanding of vulnerabilities and their potential effects, enabling you to make informed remediation decisions.  

Conclusion

A vulnerability assessment is a proactive approach to securing your system and data. It helps network security professionals detect the location, type, quantities, and severity of various security vulnerabilities before they escalate. 

To conduct a successful test, you must first have a plan, the right people, and tools. Then, you need to be thorough during evaluation to ensure you identify all vulnerabilities. After completing your scan, present your report to the relevant stakeholders and implement remediation strategies. 

Remember to regularly conduct vulnerability assessments because new threats constantly emerge. 

The post 7 Essential Steps for Conducting a Vulnerability Assessment appeared first on TuxCare.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from TuxCare authored by TuxCare Team. Read the original post at: https://tuxcare.com/blog/7-essential-steps-for-conducting-a-vulnerability-assessment/