Actionable guide to threat & vulnerability management for mobile apps

In order to be prepared for such emergent security threats, organizations must rely on the best threat and vulnerability management solutions to have the most robust security posture possible. The essentials are covered at the outset of this vulnerability management guide. It introduces you to the step-by-step procedure, roles and responsibilities, and the best practices that must be followed to make the most of vulnerability management inside your company.

What is Vulnerability management? 

Vulnerability management is a continuous process to assess, identify, prioritize, fix, and mitigate security vulnerabilities in an IT infrastructure. This process also involves categorizing and ranking different security vulnerabilities based on criticality. 

A security vulnerability refers to a weakness or flaw in a system’s functionality, code, or structure that a hacker can detect and exploit to breach data or conduct a cyberattack. Examples: Firewall misconfigurations, unpatched software bugs, etc. 

As a part of an organization’s cybersecurity strategy, vulnerability management aims to safeguard computer systems, software, and networks from harmful data breaches, unauthorized access, and attacks. 

With the evolving attack surface and new vulnerabilities found frequently, organizations must perform vulnerability assessment and management continuously and adopt automated vulnerability management solutions to save time and secure IT assets. 

What is Vulnerability assessment?

Vulnerability assessment is the process of defining, identifying, categorizing, and ranking the vulnerabilities in computer systems, mobile applications, and network infrastructures. Vulnerability assessment also gives an organization the knowledge, awareness, and risk background it needs to understand the threats to its environment and act on them.

When it comes to the security of mobile apps, having an adequate vulnerability assessment service provider is a must. And that's where leading cybersecurity firms like Appknox come into the picture. 

Appknox's SAST, DAST, and APIT tools are the best security solutions to ensure that your code and overall mobile application are secure. Appknox VA tools identify and eliminate security vulnerabilities and software defects early in development. That helps to ensure that your software is secure, reliable, and compliant. 

Appknox VA helps you: 

• Identify and analyze security risks and prioritize severity based on the CVSS reporting 
• Perform real-time fast and API to further down on the vulnerabilities 
• Fulfill standard compliance requirements 
• Verify and validate through testing 
• Achieve compliance and get certified faster

What is the difference between vulnerability management and vulnerability assessment?

Vulnerability Assessment is typically a component of the entire vulnerability management system. Organizations will probably conduct several vulnerability assessments to gather more data for their vulnerability management action plan.

Why is vulnerability management crucial for organizations?

According to a report, 60% of data breaches happen due to unpatched security vulnerabilities. As a result, organizations risk losing customer trust and suffer financial setbacks. This is why non-profits like the Center for Internet Security (CIS) emphasize strategies like vulnerability management. Here’s why you need to implement it: 

Enhanced app security

Vulnerability management gives organizations comprehensive visibility into their security posture to find gaps and strengthen security. It involves scanning applications regularly for security vulnerabilities and threats, enabling teams to fix them in time before they become a serious concern. 

Improved compliance 

With vulnerability management, you assess, identify, and fix security and privacy issues to prevent data breaches and unauthorized access. Documenting and reporting them proves due diligence and risk reduction to auditors. 

This enables you to improve compliance with applicable regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, ensuring data privacy and safety while avoiding penalties due to non-adherence. 

Operational efficiency

Recovering from a cyberattack incident or data breach consumes significant time and resources and disrupts operational efficiency due to service delays and downtimes. 

Implementing continuous vulnerability management allows you to detect and prevent attacks without impacting operational efficiency.  

Optimized resources

By identifying and prioritizing vulnerabilities, organizations can better allocate IT resources based on the degree of severity. You can remediate the highest-priority risks first to enhance security posture. 

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Roles and responsibilities in vulnerability management 

The following roles must be identified within an organization while establishing a vulnerability management process. 

a) Security Officer: The security officer is in charge of the whole process of managing security flaws. They are in charge of putting together the entire plan and ensuring it works correctly. 

b) Vulnerability Engineer: After hiring a security officer, it's crucial to figure out what a vulnerability engineer does. This person is responsible for setting up vulnerability scans and maintaining the scanners in good shape. 

c) Asset Owner: The system assets that are scanned as part of the overall vulnerability management process are primarily the responsibility of the asset owner. They also determine whether the vulnerabilities are mitigated, or additional enhancements are needed. 

d) IT System Engineer: The IT system engineers, one of the most crucial pillars in the vulnerability management process, are in charge of putting into practice the corrective actions discovered after identifying security vulnerabilities.

Best practices for effective vulnerability management

Follow the below best practices to create an effective vulnerability management program tailored for your organization:

Update asset inventory

Keep updating your digital asset inventory, including software, APIs, computer systems, network systems, devices, databases, servers, cloud infrastructure, third-party solutions, and more. Doing this will help you gain greater visibility on your organization’s attack surface and the impact of cybersecurity risks on each asset. 

Using Appknox’s vulnerability assessment, you will get comprehensive visibility into your digital asset inventory and find security flaws quickly. You’ll also get a detailed report and CVSS score to prioritize critical issues. 

Conduct regular pen tests

Conducting penetration testing is important for organizations to detect and remove new vulnerabilities. It also provides insights into areas where you lack and where you are strong so you can adjust your strategies accordingly.

Appknox offers reliable penetration testing performed by our security experts to analyze your IT infrastructure thoroughly and detect unknown vulnerabilities. You’ll get a detailed report highlighting vulnerabilities and their:

• Severity 
• Business impacts
• Screenshots
• Proof of concept

Get a 1:1 call with our security researchers to discuss a remediation plan and secure your systems. 

Utilize threat intelligence 

Stay updated with different types of vulnerabilities, their impacts, and ways to counter them. Follow security communities such as OWASP, forums, trusted social media groups, databases, and cybersecurity experts. You can also take up reliable cybersecurity courses and attend webinars to keep up with recent happenings in the world of cybersecurity. 

Use the latest security technologies 

The evolving threat landscape has made it vital for organizations to use the latest, advanced security solutions like Appknox. 

Instead of going manual, use our automated tools like 1-click static scans (SAST), dynamic scans (DAST), API scans, and penetrating testing to identify vulnerabilities in under 60 minutes. 

FAQs

Q. What is called a vulnerability?

A. A vulnerability is a security flaw, weakness, or error in a digital system that an attacker can exploit to conduct a full-blown cyberattack. It could be software misconfigurations, software bugs, etc. 

Q. What are the four main types of vulnerabilities?

• Human-errors
• Operating system vulnerabilities
• Network vulnerabilities
• Procedural vulnerabilities 
  
  

Q. What’s the difference between a vulnerability, a threat, and a risk?

• Vulnerability: It’s a security weakness in a digital system’s design, operation, or functionality that an attacker can find and exploit. 
• Threat: It’s a potential adverse action or danger that an attacker can pose to harm an individual, organization, or system. 
• Risk: It’s the loss potential from a cyber threat. 

Ready to create a solid vulnerability management program?

Secure your mobile applications and IT infrastructure by creating an effective vulnerability management program with Appknox. 

Get a 360-degree view of your security posture and identify vulnerabilities faster with our automated, advanced VA solutions like SAST, DAST, API scans, and penetration testing. Grab a detailed CVSS report on vulnerabilities and a step-by-step remediation plan guided by our security researchers to secure your applications. 

Detect vulnerabilities with Appknox now!