Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Prioritizing Vulnerabilities Is Key to Patching Success, Report Finds

    By
    Sean Michael Kerner
    -
    January 22, 2019
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Kenna Security Cyentia Institute

      There is no shortage of software vulnerabilities, but not all flaws have equal severity and only a subset must be patched immediately. That’s one of the core themes from a report released by Kenna Security and the Cyentia Institute on Jan. 22, titled “Prioritization to Prediction: Getting Real About Remediation.”

      The report analyzed 3 billion vulnerabilities that were managed across more than 500 different organizations. In that data set, the researchers determined that approximately 544 million vulnerabilities were rated as high risk. The good news is that organizations have patched 70 percent of the critical vulnerabilities. The bad news, however, is that still left 163 million vulnerabilities open.

      “Enterprises would ideally patch every vulnerability within their infrastructure, but we know the reality is that they don’t have the time or resources to do so,” Ed Bellis, CTO at Kenna Security, told eWEEK. “Due to that reality, security and IT teams need to prioritize their remediation efforts to target the riskiest vulnerabilities for remediation first, then move down the line as time and resources permit.”

      Looking at the overall threat landscape, the report noted that only approximately one-third of all published Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) are ever actually seen in live environments. A CVE is an assigned number given to a known vulnerability.

      Additionally, the researchers found that of the published CVEs, only approximately 5 percent actually have known exploits against them. Bellis said that the 544 million vulnerabilities identified in the research map to the 5 percent of CVEs that are observed in enterprise environments and have known exploits against them. 

      When looking at risk, Bellis added that the Kenna Security platform uses multiple factors to calculate risk beyond the existence of an exploit, including asset criticality, volume and velocity of attacks across the globe, type of attack, metadata from the vulnerability descriptions and exposure of the asset, among other risk factors.

      Open Vulnerabilities

      Looking at the open high-risk vulnerabilities, the report found that Java- and Acrobat-related flaws were the most unpatched software applications by organizations.

      “Generally, a fix is available, but the organization has not deployed it,” Bellis said. “We didn’t dig into the reasons why certain types of vulnerabilities were not remediated in this report, but there are various factors likely at play.”

      One factor cited by Bellis is the proliferation of the specific technologies within enterprises, so technologies from vendors such as Oracle, Microsoft and Adobe are in use far more frequently within enterprises, making them a more appealing target. He added that Java can be harder to patch as it is deployed in code and built into older systems and applications, making it difficult to update without impacting the business.

      Among the surprising data points in the study according to Bellis was that while Microsoft has a very high total volume of vulnerabilities within its various products, enterprises in the study were far more effective at patching them in aggregate. 

      “This is likely attributed to factors like how patching Microsoft Office applications typically won’t create much business downtime,” Bellis said. “We also want to point out that running programs like Patch Tuesday likely has a strong positive impact for the businesses that use Microsoft software.”

      Patch Tuesday is Microsoft’s regularly scheduled date for providing patching to its users, which typically occurs on the second Tuesday of every month. 

      What’s Next

      Looking forward, Bellis said that for his firm’s next report, the researchers are mapping out the concepts of coverage, efficiency and survival analysis (time-to-fix) to the entire data set.

      “Organizations today need to find ways to prioritize vulnerabilities based on their inherent risk to the enterprise,” Bellis said.

      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner is an Internet consultant, strategist, and contributor to several leading IT business web sites.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×