Maintaining the information security of an organization has become a necessity in the present times. Though identifying and patching potential vulnerabilities is important, it may not always be possible to completely shield your network against hacking attacks. Therefore, it is essential to formulate a strategic vulnerability management program to strengthen your IT security system. It will not only help to detect the risks, but also identify the most viable way to understand and mitigate them.

Given below are some of the steps that you need to take for better vulnerability management:

Identify Your IT Assets

Though this may sound quite obvious, it is really important to identify and keep a track of your IT assets in order to adequately protect them against attacks. Cloud computing technologies and adoption of mobile devices have expanded the boundaries of an organizations’ IT infrastructure. To deal with this problem effectively, IT professionals must create an inventory of all the computer systems and applications that have access to the corporate network. You can even use some cloud based tools to streamline the process and automatically record all the internal as well as external IT assets.

Understand The Risk

Vulnerabilities can exist in any layer of the network. Hence, an in-depth scanning is critical to understand what all systems are at risk and the level of risk they pose for the company, in the event of a data breach. Conduct an external penetration test as well as internal application scan to identify all the potential threats to the network. Prioritize the vulnerabilities according to their severity so that you can focus on rectifying the more critical risks first. Set exceptions on the level of risk that you can accept and manage at a later point of time.

Identify Which Controls Are Already In Place

Take a note of the security measures that have already been deployed in your organization. These may include firewall, intrusion detection and prevention system (IDPS), data encryption, virtual private network (VPN), data loss prevention etc. Identify the efficiency of these systems to protect your confidential data and other IT resources. This will also give you an idea of the threats that are not being managed and require the use of more sophisticated security software.

Centex Technologies is a leading IT security company serving business firms in Dallas, TX. For more information, you can call us at (972) 375 – 9654.