Leveraging Threat Intelligence to Proactively Mitigate Emerging Cybervulnerabilities

As digitalization use increases, cybercrime too grows rapidly, with each passing year witnessing a surge in ransomware, phishing and malware attacks.¹ Security leaders are grappling with challenges such as a rise in the frequency and complexity of attacks, an ever-expanding attack surface to safeguard, and a scarcity of skilled cybersecurity experts to manage defenses.² Cybersecurity professionals must devise proactive strategies that integrate threat intelligence into their vulnerability management processes. This enables them to promptly address and mitigate the ever-increasing variety of cyberattacks and vulnerabilities to enhance their overall security posture.

Vulnerability Management Processes

Vulnerabilities are similar to open doors or windows that hackers can use to break into an organization’s systems and steal sensitive data, disrupt operations, or cause other kinds of damage. By managing vulnerabilities, an organization can mitigate the risk of security breaches and protect its data, reputation and financial resources. Vulnerability management involves identifying weaknesses or flaws in an organization’s computer systems, software or applications, and taking steps to fix or patch those weaknesses before hackers can exploit them.³

The vulnerability management process is a systematic approach to identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities in an organization. Its purpose is to minimize the risk of a security breach by reducing the attack surface and addressing vulnerabilities before they can be exploited, thereby protecting organizational assets, data and reputation. The steps of this process generally include:⁴

• Discovery—Identify vulnerabilities in the IT assets and systems.
• Assessment—Detect vulnerabilities using automated tools or manual testing.
• Prioritization—Rank vulnerabilities based on their severity and potential impact.
• Remediation— Implement multifaceted strategies such as patch management, secure configurations and access control measures to mitigate identified vulnerabilities.
• Verification—Confirm proper vulnerability resolution.
• Monitoring—Continuously detect and manage new vulnerabilities.

Common Approaches to Discovering Vulnerabilities

Effective discovery of vulnerabilities is the first step in the vulnerability management process. If vulnerabilities cannot be identified, it impedes the initiation of the mitigation process. Organizations typically use a combination of methods and tools to discover vulnerabilities, such as:

• Vulnerability scanning—Scanning tools can be used to regularly scan networks, systems and applications for known vulnerabilities. These tools typically rely on databases of known vulnerabilities to identify potential security weaknesses in the target environment.
• Manual testing—Scanning tools may miss some vulnerabilities; therefore, additional tests should be performed. This approach involves simulating real-world attack scenarios using a combination of knowledge, experience and creativity to uncover security weaknesses.
• Security audits—Security audits can be conducted to evaluate an organization’s information systems and security controls to determine their effectiveness and compliance with relevant regulations, standards and policies. The audits may help identify vulnerabilities in areas such as system configurations, access controls and security policies
• Incident response—If any security incidents occur, the root cause should be investigated. This often leads to the discovery of previously unknown vulnerabilities. Lessons learned from the incidents can be used to improve the organization’s security posture and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Organizations often do not incorporate threat intelligence as a regular component of their vulnerability management strategies.

These approaches certainly have benefits; however, they may be considered somewhat passive. There may be certain limitations, such as:

• Limited scope—These approaches often focus on known vulnerabilities. They may not be able to detect new or emerging threats, zero-day vulnerabilities or sophisticated attack techniques employed by advanced threat actors.
• Reactive nature—These approaches usually identify vulnerabilities after they have already been introduced into the environment. As a result, organizations can only react to identified vulnerabilities rather than proactively preventing their occurrence.
• Time-consuming—Manual testing and security audits can be time-consuming and resource intensive processes. They may not be able to cover the entire attack surface or address the rapidly changing threat landscape effectively.
• False positives and negatives—Scanning tools may generate false positives or false negatives. This can lead to wasted resources or a false sense of security.
• Dependence on human expertise—These approaches rely heavily on the expertise of cybersecurity professionals. A shortage of skilled experts may limit the effectiveness of these methods.

Applying these methods is only one part of an effective vulnerability management program. In addition to these measures, it is imperative to integrate threat intelligence into the vulnerability management process, establishing active defenses and security controls that preemptively detect and prevent security threats.

Threat Intelligence

Organizations often do not incorporate threat intelligence as a regular component of their vulnerability management strategies. Threat intelligence involves gathering, analyzing and sharing information about potential or current cyberthreats that may affect an organization’s networks, systems or data. The primary aim of threat intelligence is to enable organizations to proactively identify and address potential security risk and vulnerabilities.⁵ Threat intelligence can be derived from various sources, including security vendors, open-source intelligence, social media and dark web monitoring.

Threat intelligence can significantly aid in discovering vulnerabilities within an organization’s IT environment by providing timely, relevant and actionable information about potential and existing cyberthreats. Its effectiveness in identifying vulnerabilities depends on the organization maintaining an updated technology inventory list and having an effective inventory management system,⁶ which requires proper asset classification, timely updates and clear responsibility assignments. These practices work together to create benefits such as:

• Comprehensive visibility—A well-maintained technology inventory management system offers a clear view of all hardware, software and network assets within an organization. This visibility enables the organization to map threat intelligence data to specific assets, ensuring that the relevant vulnerabilities are identified and addressed.
• Context-aware prioritization—If the organization’s technology landscape is well understood, threat intelligence can provide valuable context for vulnerability prioritization. When it is combined with an up-to-date inventory, organizations can focus on addressing vulnerabilities in critical systems or applications that pose the highest risk, making vulnerability management efforts more targeted and efficient.
• Timeliness and accuracy—An updated technology inventory allows organizations to benefit from the most recent threat intelligence, which is crucial due to the rapidly evolving threat landscape. By staying informed about emerging threats and vulnerabilities, organizations can be proactive in safeguarding their IT environments.

Integrating threat intelligence into a cybersecurity strategy is crucial for enhancing threat detection and vulnerability management efforts.

Integrating threat intelligence into a cybersecurity strategy is crucial for enhancing threat detection and vulnerability management efforts. By maintaining an up-to-date technology inventory and subscribing to threat intelligence services, organizations can more efficiently pinpoint vulnerabilities within their infrastructures. This approach enables organizations to make informed decisions regarding their security postures and effectively prioritize remediation efforts, reducing their reliance on time-consuming scanning and reviewing processes, especially when dealing with a diverse range of technologies.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity professionals must develop effective strategies to enhance security and address the increasing number of attacks and vulnerabilities they face. By integrating threat intelligence into their vulnerability management strategies, organizations can be more proactive and quickly and efficiently identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in their IT systems and applications, reducing the risk of security breaches and safeguarding their assets, data and reputations.

Endnotes

¹ CyberEdge Group, 2022 Cyberthreat Defense Report, USA, 2022, http://cyber-edge.com/cyberthreat-defense-report-2022/
² (ISC)²,(ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Study: A Critical Need for Cybersecurity Professionals Persists Amidst a Year of Cultural and Workplace Evolution, USA, 2022, http://media.isc2.org/-/media/Project/ISC2/Main/Media/documents/research/ISC2-Cybersecurity-Workforce-Study-2022.pdf
³ Dildy, T. J; “Enterprise Vulnerability Management,” ISACA^® Journal, vol. 2, 2017, http://congou.everwoodsite.com/archives
⁴ Souppaya, M.; K. Scarfone; National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-40 Rev. 4 Guide to Enterprise Patch Management Planning: Preventive Maintenance for Technology, USA, 2022, http://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/40/r4/final
⁵ Barnett, P.; “How to Use Cyberthreat Intelligence to Proactively Reduce Cyberrisk,” ISACA Industry News, 22 November 2022, http://congou.everwoodsite.com/resources/news-and-trends/industry-news/2022/how-to-use-cyberthreat-intelligence-to-proactively-reduce-cyberrisk
⁶ Sharkasi, O. Y.; “Addressing Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities,” ISACA Journal, vol. 5, 2015, http://congou.everwoodsite.com/archives

T. W. K WAN | PH.D., CISA, CISSP, CITP, CSQA, ISP, PMP

Is a cofounder of Intellect Technologies, a cybersecurity start-up that specializes in providing organizations effective protection against digital threats. With an extensive IT career spanning 30 years, Kwan has accumulated a wealth of experience and knowledge across various domains, such as IT governance, compliance, risk management, information security, quality assurance and system development.