No matter how tough an individual may seem, everyone is vulnerable on some level. Even organisations ranging from small and medium to large enterprises are no different. We are aware that cyber threats are increasing, and cybercriminals are becoming more and more sophisticated at finding and exploiting weaknesses in your business systems. Although government agencies and major infrastructure providers have been well-publicised targets, your data and customers are of interest, regardless of your product or industry.
The most effective way to stay one step ahead of cyber attackers is by implementing a robust vulnerability management programme supported by industry-leading technologies.
We recently wrote about the vital part penetration testing (Pen-Testing) plays within your business and software development lifecycle. Still, you also require a continuous view of vulnerabilities across all assets within your environment. This is best done by a managed service process, which churns away in the background, keeping you alerted to weaknesses in your cyber defences, even while you are engaged with other priorities. So what exactly is vulnerability management?
Terminology can be confusing, so let’s start by defining our terms. We’ve already explained the difference between penetration testing and vulnerability assessment. But how does vulnerability management differ from vulnerability assessment? A vulnerability assessment is a once-off event with clear assessment criteria with a specific start and end date. Vulnerability management describes a process of continual evaluation and remediation. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with patch management. Still, the two are not the same, whether or not you use a patch to remedy a vulnerability identified by the scanning technology as part of vulnerability management. But the context is broader than just patch management, and your approach should be holistic.
Vulnerability scanning needs to run continuously, facilitated by industry-leading technologies and skilled resources to be effective. It is no longer adequate to run a scan periodically, e.g., monthly, quarterly or annually. The threat landscape is just too active and the risks too great. A vulnerability management programme driven by skilled experts provides vulnerability scanning that enhances your security landscape.
As NEWORDER constantly evaluate vulnerability scanning toolsets, we have identified Rapid7 as the best suited industry-leading technology to complement our vulnerability scanning and managed service offering. Rapid7 is a leading global cybersecurity solutions provider providing a turnkey solution that enables you to optimise vulnerability scanning and remediation across your IT environment.
Rapid7’s vulnerability management platform, InsightVM, thoroughly scans your network assets, on-premise or in the cloud, and identifies vulnerabilities and risks across all of your endpoints. Because not all risks are the same, InsightVM prioritises them and gives your DevOps/SecOps teams detailed insight and instructions for remediation that allows you to be proactive and hold remediators accountable. In addition, the InsightVM dashboard enables you to see your vulnerability and risk status at a glance.
Should you decide to implement the Rapid7 InsightVM platform or any other platform yourself, it will still require dedicated daily attention to operate and maintain. This model, in most cases, results that the ROI cannot be justified.
With NEWORDER as your Information and Cyber Security partner, the Rapid7 InsightVM platform can be implemented within your environment based on the following two models. Your DevOps/SecOps teams can be trained to operate the toolset optimally OR the Rapid7 InsightVM platform can be provided as part of the NEWORDER managed service.
As Information and Cybersecurity expenditure is mainly seen as a grudge purchase, the managed service option talks directly to any organisation burden, “Cost-saving”. You do not need to invest in additional skilled resources to operate the platform and manage a robust vulnerability management programme. All platform functionality from vulnerability prioritisation, vulnerability scan validations, policy development, contextualised vulnerability reporting, proprietary threat intelligence and skilled resources is included in the managed service. Managed VM becomes an extension of your DevOps/SecOps teams.
For more information on Rapid7’s Managed VM and the NEWORDER full range of Information Security and Cyber Security services, contact us today for a no-obligation discussion.
