Vulnerability managers play the vital role of ensuring that companies are able to seal up their most exploitable weak points in the face of the most modern cyber security threats. Symantec reports that in the past three years, over $3 billion has been stolen from businesses through simple spear-phishing attacks. No matter how well-fortified in business’s digital security may seem at a glance, many modern security systems are riddled with all kinds of unseen vulnerabilities putting everything inside at risk.
All it takes is the exploitation of the weakest link in the security chain for a business’s entire network to become completely compromised. With the help of a seasoned vulnerability manager on the team, the chance that a business will be compromised by a sudden lapse in its defense will be far lower than otherwise.
Countermeasure Development
The different exploits that can put a business’s data at risk grow in number ever day, but thankfully, the number of ways that we have to defend ourselves against these emerging threats increases along with them. A vulnerability manager is tasked with staying on top of what the latest threats to digital vulnerability are in order to make sure that the business has the right set of solutions to take against them.
Through the continued action of the vulnerability manager, businesses are better able to determine just what the differences are between urgent breaches of security and benign anomalies. Through fostering a more clear window of insight into the nature of various security vulnerabilities, these managers give businesses have a much more developed ability to understand what the extent of the threat actually is.
Once the true extent of a threat has been fully determined, a vulnerability manager can more accurately determines what the vector analytics of the threat are.
Long-Term Analyses
Depending on exactly what the nature of the threat is, vulnerability managers may sometimes need to go through weeks of analyses in order to draw the most accurate conclusions. Though it may not be possible for them to consistently develop verdicts on cyber threat levels overnight, all of the time that spent collecting data for their eventual conclusion proves more than wort it.
In order to perform their job to the best degree of proficiency, vulnerability managers will make use of cutting-edge vulnerability assessment tools, patch management software packages, cloud scanners and other solutions to make sure that the more subtle vulnerabilities are addressed.
Vulnerable Asset Identification, Patch Linking And Solution Mapping
At the beginning of their jobs, vulnerability manager need to make sure that they understand exactly what the business’s most valuable assets are. Upon realizing where the vulnerabilities in valuable assets lie, the vulnerability manager will need to report that details regarding exactly what the nature of these vulnerabilities are.
Vulnerability managers will provide valuable links to any patches can be used to remedy the gaps in protection. In addition to the patches, managers will also provide insight into the most advisable means of remedying the vulnerabilities of today.
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While vulnerability management was formerly an entirely manual practice, today’s vulnerability management can be done automatically; however, there’s still need for a touch of human discretion. Seasoned vulnerability managers be able to control for any potential errors in automated vulnerability assessment software that could possibly skew their accuracy.
