The cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and other technological breakthroughs are radically changing the modern work environment. New assets and services offer increased flexibility, growth potential and access to more resources. However, they also introduce new security risks. Managing vulnerabilities across this ever-expanding threat landscape requires a risk-based approach beyond point solutions and reactive patch management.

The cyberthreat landscape is rapidly evolving. Attackers are targeting your increasingly complex and expanding attack surface, knowing cyber professionals struggle to manage the daunting task of securing this vast digital environment.

A recent report from Cybersecurity Ventures paints an alarming picture of just that. This year, cybercrime damage costs will likely reach $9.5 trillion globally, an issue compounded by the increased average cost of a single data breach, which, according to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach 2024 report, is $4.88 million.

Recent high-profile breaches, like the ones that have exploited the MOVEit Transfer vulnerability (CVE-2024-5806), drive this point home. It demonstrates the urgent need for organizations of all sizes to implement robust vulnerability management practices. Yet, those who don't approach this from a risk-based perspective are likely to continue to fall behind.

Such attacks underscore the critical need for risk-focused strategies to identify, prioritize and mitigate security vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. This means implementing and maturing vulnerability management practices to stay ahead of business risk by adopting a holistic approach that identifies and addresses actual risk head-on.

Vulnerability management beyond the compliance checkbox

Traditionally, many organizations viewed vulnerability management as a tick-the-box compliance exercise. That approach is no longer effective.

A single successful cyberattack that exploits a critical vulnerability like the MOVEit Transfer bug can expose millions of records. That's why organizations can't continue to treat vulnerability management as a one-time “set it and forget it” task. In today's dynamic threat landscape, risk-focused vulnerability management must become an integral and continuous part of your cybersecurity strategy. Here's why:

Attack surfaces are complex. The modern attack surface is no longer confined to a data center or on-prem systems and networks. IT security teams are responsible for sprawling attack surfaces with tens of thousands — or more — of assets, each with multiple vulnerabilities of varying severity at any given point. IT assets in modern enterprises now include:

• Cloud infrastructure and services
• Web applications
• Remote workforces
• Vast internet-facing devices
• IoT and OT environments

This means modern vulnerability management must be equally comprehensive and flexible as these evolving attack surfaces.

All vulnerabilities are not the same. For actionable security controls, vulnerability prioritization based on real business risk — not on an arbitrary vulnerability scoring system — is key. Focusing resources on the most critical vulnerabilities with the greatest potential to impact your operations ensures targeted, effective resolution and maximizes your time and effectiveness.

Time is critical. Timely patching and fixing of vulnerabilities are crucial. When you have unaddressed critical vulnerabilities, they create exploit opportunities for threat actors. Efficient vulnerability management decreases this window to protect your organization from potential breaches.

Collaboration is crucial. Risk-focused vulnerability management is more than cross-department collaboration. It must also extend to your key stakeholders, vendors and partners.

Traditional silos between IT, security, business units and others impede progress. The old school of thought was security was an IT problem. The reality is security is everyone's responsibility.

With increased collaboration, you can build an organization-wide culture with a holistic understanding of security risks. And, aligning risk levels with business goals facilitates coordinated, actionable threat response, which can have meaningful impact on business goals.

6 steps to build a risk-based vulnerability management program

1. Ensure a comprehensive asset inventory

Before securing your assets, you must know what you're protecting. That includes managing systems or devices that are short-lived or changing in your environment.

A comprehensive and up-to-date asset inventory should be the cornerstone of your vulnerability management program. This involves identifying all hardware and software assets across your entire IT environment, on-prem and in the cloud. It extends into IoT and OT environments, software and app development and more.

Regular asset audits are essential for accurate inventory. But it goes beyond just knowing which assets you have. You must also have a deep understanding of:

• Where they're located
• Who uses them
• How critical each is to your operations

This knowledge, coupled with threat intelligence, empowers your teams to prioritize vulnerabilities based on asset criticality.

2. Continuously assess and monitor vulnerabilities

Threat actors don't take breaks, and neither can your vulnerability management controls. Implementing real-time vulnerability assessment and continuous scanning tools enables early detection of new vulnerabilities and emerging cyber risks. This proactive approach empowers your teams to address issues before they become major incidents like a security breach. Integrating automation also matures your cyber defenses by reducing manual tasks, decreasing time and errors, and ensuring consistent, continuous oversight.

3. Focus on what matters most

Critical or high Common Vulnerability and Exposures Scoring System vulnerabilities (CVSS scores) aren't always pressing threats. Some vulnerabilities pose more risk to your organization than others, regardless of an arbitrary risk score.

Risk prioritization enables teams to focus limited resources on vulnerabilities most likely to affect your operations. Risk-focused mitigation can improve your security posture and make your business more resilient.

4. Close security gaps before attackers exploit them

Timely and accurate patching ultimately mitigates the most risks associated with vulnerabilities. It's essential to establish structured patch-management processes and clear timelines. Assigning roles, responsibilities and accountability ensures your team can promptly address your exposures. This closes security gaps, decreases your exposure window, and decreases the likelihood of a potential data breach.

5. Integrate industry-trusted threat intelligence

Most security teams don't have the time, resources or skills to keep pace with evolving vulnerabilities. That's why it's important to use vulnerability management solutions with built-in, industry-trusted threat intelligence, like the one provided by Tenable Research. 

Vulnerability threat intelligence, automation tools and AI enhance your insight into real-world tactics attackers use. By understanding attack vectors and methods, your teams can prioritize vulnerabilities based on exploit likelihood. From there you can proactively adjust your security controls to stay one step ahead.

6. Report, measure and benchmark

Vulnerability data is key to tracking program effectiveness. A vulnerability management platform with customized and automated reports can help your teams communicate security risks in business context.

Consider using a vulnerability management tool that collects security data in real-time. This can help your teams identify trends and see security gaps before attackers do. Track and measure the impact of your vulnerability management program to refine vulnerability management processes and narrow your attack surface.

5 tips to mature your vulnerability management practices

Developing a robust vulnerability management program is just the first step in protecting your attack surface. Effective vulnerability management is an ongoing process. Here are five tips to help evolve and mature your program as the threat landscape evolves.

• Standardize and automate processes
  • Develop standardized vulnerability scanning, risk assessment, prioritization, remediation and reporting processes.
  • Use automated vulnerability assessment and management tools to streamline manual tasks, decrease errors and free up your security teams to focus on other needs.
• Invest in vulnerability management tools
  • Consider a vulnerability management solution like Tenable Vulnerability Management. It has comprehensive scanning capabilities, real-time threat intelligence and risk-based prioritization. 
  • Tenable's Vulnerability Priority Rating can help you assess risk in your unique environment. It’s not arbitrary scoring. The solution also has advanced reporting.
  • Also, consider conducting internal and external penetration testing to ensure your controls function as intended.
• Empower your security teams
  • Provide your teams with the necessary training, resources, security tools and threat intelligence to effectively utilize a vulnerability management platform. If you have limited resources or team availability, consider partnering with a security consultant like Tenable to customize your vulnerability management program.
• Promote security awareness
  • Foster a culture of security awareness. 
    • Educate employees, key stakeholders, vendors and partners about security best practices and your policies and compliance requirements.
  • Ensure your security teams have tools, security policies and procedures to manage key vulnerability management tasks such as:
    • Risk management
    • Patching vulnerabilities
    • Reporting suspicious activities
• Keep improving
  • Track and measure key performance indicators (KPIs) such as:
    • The number of vulnerabilities identified
    • Risk tolerance and threshold
    • Time to remediation
    • Risk reduction
  • Use key security metrics to find areas for improvement.
  • Close security gaps.
  • Routinely refine your vulnerability management program.

Tenable Vulnerability Management benefits

With Tenable Vulnerability Management and Tenable Security Center, you get a comprehensive view of all the assets and vulnerabilities on your network so you can understand cyber risk and know which vulnerabilities to fix first. The key difference between the solutions is how they are managed. Tenable Vulnerability Management is managed in the cloud, while Tenable Security Center is managed on-prem.

It provides:

• Comprehensive visibility
  • Use comprehensive asset discovery tools and vulnerability scanner capabilities.
• Risk-based prioritization
  • Remediate threats that pose the greatest risk to your organization.
• Automated workflows
  • Streamline and automate vulnerability management with best practice processes and tools.
  • Save time, resources and money.
  • Decrease the chance of human errors or compliance oversights.
• Actionable insights
  • Get insights from industry-leading threat intelligence.
  • Customize reporting to make more informed and business-aligned security decisions.
  • Enable continuous improvement driven by Tenable's expertise and ongoing vulnerability research to stay ahead of evolving threats

A comprehensive, risk-based vulnerability management program can help your organization significantly reduce your attack surface and mature your security posture. A solution like Tenable Vulnerability Management can help you reach these goals. It has tools and insights to proactively identify, prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities and other security weaknesses across your enterprise.

Building and maturing your vulnerability management program is no longer optional. You need risk-based vulnerability management as part of a mature security strategy. Effective vulnerability management isn't just about the technologies and resources you use. It's about adopting best practices to align your vulnerability management program with business goals to ensure business resilience.

See how Tenable Vulnerability Management can help your organization proactively protect and defend your entire attack surface.