Page 18 - Cyber Warnings August 2017

Finding the Needle in the Stack of Needles

The vulnerability management adage “finding the needle in a stack of needles” is the problem
TCVM aims to solve. Here’s how it does it:

• Discover: Gather data on the vulnerabilities within an organization’s systems and
incorporate them into a comprehensive model of the network and its assets

• Add threat intelligence: Through feeds and security analyst research, know which
vulnerabilities are actively being exploited in the wild, packaged in publicly available
attack tools or have published PoC exploit code available.

• Prioritize: Using the model and threat intelligence, simulate how attacks could play out
in a unique network, considering existing security controls or weaknesses, and analyze
results

• Remediate: Apply available patches or other compensating controls (e.g., IPS
signatures, access rules, configuration changes) to prevent exploitation; the urgency of
remediation is aligned with the threat posed by (e.g., responding within a day or less is
crucial in new campaigns)

• Track and monitor: Track remediation to ensure threats are neutralized and monitor
remaining vulnerabilities for changes in exploitability or exposure

Taking the TCVM approach takes vulnerability management beyond the standards of yesterday
and puts it in the reality of today’s networks, security and threats.

About The Author

Marina Kidron is the Leader of the Skybox Research Lab at
Skybox Security, a dedicated team of security analysts who
daily scour data from more than 30 public and private
security feeds and investigate more than 700,000 sites on
the open and deep web. Kidron has more than 10 years of
experience in business and statistical data analysis, data
modeling and algorithms development, working for
companies in fields of IT, mobile technology, internet and
financial services. Kidron holds a Master’s in Political
Marketing and a Bachelor of Computer Science and
Mathematics. Marina can be reached online at
[email protected] or @MarinaKidron on
Twitter and at our company website
https://www.skyboxsecurity.com/

18 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – August 2017 Edition
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