Recently there have been vulnerabilities out in the wild that have had security teams racing to patch systems and gather an inventory of their assets. We believe in being proactive. As with working out – It is easier to stay in shape and form good habits to keep you there then to get in shape. The same can be said for the health and hygiene of your network. Keeping the inventory up-to-date, and running ongoing vulnerability scans proactively, will save you time and stress when a new time-sensitive vulnerability pops up.

What are the steps you need to follow to make running after vulnerabilities less stress-inducing? Here are a few things to consider: 

1) Catalogue your inventory, including what applications are exposed externally and what services your assets are running. 

2) Understand what vulnerabilities exist in your network by running ongoing vulnerability scans or hiring a company to do it. 

3) Know what domains and assets are managed by your company or by a third party and how to get in touch with the owners if needed.

4) Investigate what security controls are in place or can easily be put in place to protect your network while updating configurations or patching systems.

When a new vulnerability that promises to bypass your controls and infiltrate your network comes again (and they will come again!) you’ll have a plan and can take steps forward in a logical and orderly way.