2023 saw a significant increase in vulnerabilities, with the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) which recorded an increase of 17% year-on-year. Since its inception three decades ago, the NVD has cataloged 234,579 CVEs, and half of these were discovered in the last five years alone. This data highlights an attack surface in rapid expansionwith more and more interconnected devices and the complex software they hide vulnerability in third-party components. Vulnerability management therefore becomes crucial to address this growing threat.
Time to exploit vulnerabilities: A critical issue
Skybox Security’s report highlights a significant gap in vulnerability remediation efforts. 75% of new vulnerabilities are exploited within 19 days since their discovery, while the average time to apply patches exceeds 100 days. This discrepancy highlights the urgency of adopting modern vulnerability management strategies to protect against escalators risks of cyber attacks. The window for patching has shrunk dramatically, with the mean time to exploitation (MTTE) plummeting to just 44 days in 2023.
The concentration gap in security
Nearly half of the vulnerabilities discovered in 2023 were classified as high or critical. This overwhelming influx creates a “concentration gap” for security teams, making it difficult to prioritize effectively and potentially leaving the overlooked critical risks. With a new vulnerability emerging every 17 minutes, security teams are faced with a overwhelming workload which makes traditional methods of vulnerability management ineffective.
Towards modern vulnerability management
To combat the increase in vulnerabilities, organizations must adopt an integrated vulnerability management approach as part of an ongoing exposure management program. This approach implies:
Continuous identification of vulnerabilities: Use automated techniques to constantly discover new vulnerabilities in systems and networks.
Risk-based prioritization: Focus on the most critical threats based on factors such as exploitability, potential impact to critical systems or data, and whether patches are available.
Leveraging existing controls: Use vulnerability management solutions to identify how existing controls can mitigate risks posed by specific vulnerabilities, even before a patch is available.
Ethical and legal compliance: Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations and adopt ethical cybersecurity practices.
The need for rapid and effective action
The speed with which vulnerabilities are exploited and the long delay in identifying them harmful activities require rapid and effective response mechanisms from organizations. Vulnerability management cannot be limited toapplying patches, but must include a comprehensive approach that involves continuous identification, prioritization based on risk and implementation of timely controls. Only in this way can organizations deal with the complexities of modern threats And reduce the risk of attacks computer scientists.
Adopting these strategies is not just a tactical choice, but a strategic necessity to guarantee the information security and the resilience of digital infrastructures in the increasingly complex and threatening landscape of cybersecurity. Vulnerability management is therefore essential to protect organizations with increasing risks and ensure their operational integrity.
