BEYOND PATCHWORK SECURITY: UNIFIED VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND SYSTEM DESIGN FOR COMPLEX IT OPERATIONS

Abstract

In the dynamic landscape of modern Information Technology (IT), organizations are faced with the daunting task of managing vulnerabilities across diverse and complex IT environments, including on-premises infrastructure, public cloud platforms, and various Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions. This paper introduces a unified strategy for effective vulnerability management in this dynamic, expanding IT landscape. It shows how to embrace the new paradigms in the computing model, software development methodologies, and different types of virtualizations of physical computing and networking infrastructure and effectively manage vulnerabilities by addressing the additional challenges from these new paradigms. Central to this strategy is risk-based prioritization, continuous assessment, controlling attack surface and vulnerability data self-service. Through this unified vulnerability management strategy and a system design, the paper argues that organizations can enhance their security posture and achieve more efficient use of their remediation resources. By moving away from traditional, reactive, and siloed approaches and embracing a holistic approach, organizations can better position themselves to tackle the challenges posed by the ever-evolving threat landscape in the modern IT environment.