Good security programs start with a mindset that it’s not about the tools; it’s what you do with them. This mindset is most evident when critical vulnerabilities are released and everyone scrambles to mitigate exploitation.
Most recently, we saw this following the release of the latest critical Windows vulnerability (CVE-2020-0610 and others), which some folks have nicknamed CurveBall. The vulnerability affects Windows CryptoAPI and how Windows handles Elliptical Curve Ciphers (ECC) as part of this service. Microsoft also released two Remote Code Execution (RCE) bugs that are equally important.
It’s critical that companies get out of a reactive fire-drill mode and work toward cyber resiliency. In this article, you’ll learn how to get there with five strategies for improving vulnerability threat management.
- Develop a Vulnerability Threat Management Strategy
- Know Your Inventory
- Implement, Then Continually Improve
- Step Up Your Vendor Management
- Build a Professional Network
Contents
Develop a Vulnerability Threat Management Strategy
Vulnerability threat management (VTM) is one of the most important business strategies to build your security program around. VTM strategies should include effective, timely, and collaborative reporting of actionable metrics. Avoid simple items such as the number of vulnerabilities on Windows systems. Instead, focus on meaningful items such as remediation rates of exploitable vulnerabilities on critical systems.
It’s important to keep in mind that VTM is a culture and an operational mindset. An effective VTM program should be implemented in concert with the larger security operations organization to mitigate threats and reduce threat actors’ overall attack landscape. It goes beyond scanning for vulnerabilities and telling IT ops to “not suck at patching.”
I recommend splitting your VTM strategy into two phases:
- Detection aims to ensure effective, risk-based reporting and prioritized vulnerability mitigation by gathering all your data, validating the results, and applying a business risk. Automation can make this process easier.
Further, the Observe, Orient, Decide, Act (OODA) loop continually reduces the time it takes to locate and inform IT ops and development teams where corrective action needs to take place. - Response is where the rubber meets the road. It’s also where many of us pass on the work to other businesses to assist in applying patches or hardening systems.
To that end, ensure the VTM team is recommending the correct solution (mitigation or corrective action)and that the agreed-upon solution has been tested and won’t break production.
In deploying the VTM solution, it’s critical that IT ops and development get prioritized patching and that we provide as few false positives as possible. Trust is earned through transparency and repetition, but it can be destroyed through bad data in an instant.
Trust is earned through transparency and repetition, but it can be destroyed through bad data in an instant.
Know Your Inventory
Knowing where your assets are and who owns them is the basis of an effective and efficient VTM program. Inventory management is a common struggle, partially because VTM teams use a combination of sources to identify where assets live. There are widely available tools to automate and integrate inventory systems so you can avoid time-consuming inventory pulls or maintaining manual spreadsheets.
I also recommend partnering with the leaders across your business lines to ensure that when new systems are spun up, the VTM program is effective.
Implement, Then Continually Improve
Don’t wait for the sky to fall to realize that you should have practiced. Just like any other part of an effective security organization, your VTM program should constantly improve.
I’ve been a big fan of OODA loops for years. They are highly effective for continually improving an operational program where every initial Observation exits the loop with an Action to adjust the next Observation. If you’ve seen the same thing twice, you’re failing.
Leverage cyclical processes to continually improve VTM operations and continually measure your own effectiveness.
Step Up Your Vendor Management
While we cannot simply run vulnerability scans or penetration tests against our vendors, we can put contractual obligations in place with vendors that have access to our sensitive data to secure it appropriately.
Rights to audit are key in any contract. I see many large financial institutions conducting audits on client programs. It’s a great way to validate how effective a program is. But keep in mind that it’s also very expensive to operationalize.
Finally, don’t be shy in working with your vendors. Build relationships with their security and IT organizations. That way when a critical vulnerability is released, you know whom to call, and it’s not the first time you have spoken.
Build a Professional Network
When I first entered the security field several decades ago, collaboration between security organizations in different companies was taboo. Today, it’s required. This sounds simple but is key: As a CISO or security leader, you must have an external network of peers to collaborate with. We must put egos aside and ask each other simple questions around the common problems we all face.
Collaboration between security organizations used to be taboo. Now, it’s required.
The release of new security vulnerabilities is only going to continue in the years to come. The most successful (and secure) companies will be able to look outside their network for actionable information and develop internal strategies to stay ahead of increasing threats.
This article was originally published in Dark Reading.
