Threat and Vulnerability Management

Threat and vulnerability management combines vulnerability scanning, threat intelligence, asset criticality, and exploit likelihood to prioritize remediation efforts. Programs include regular scanning, patch management, penetration testing, and metrics tracking. Modern approaches integrate vulnerability data with threat intelligence to focus on actively exploited weaknesses. For instance, a retailer might identify 10,000 vulnerabilities across its infrastructure but prioritize patching the 50 critical vulnerabilities in internet-facing payment systems with known exploits. Effective programs establish SLAs for remediation based on severity, maintain asset inventories, coordinate with development and operations teams, and report metrics to risk committees. Cloud environments and DevOps require continuous, automated scanning integrated into deployment pipelines.