Complete Guide to Vulnerabilities in Cybersecurity

Every business today should maintain a clear view of their digital vulnerability in cybersecurity. Known as vulnerability management, the ability to see, control, and mitigate the risks of modern digital operations relies on first knowing where your vulnerabilities lie. 

The first step is to perform a comprehensive vulnerability analysis. An analysis will identify all of the potential security weaknesses in your own business tech infrastructure. That way, teams can understand which common vulnerabilities threat actors are actively exploiting, referred to as vulnerability intelligence.

Security officers must gain insights into the landscape of potential digital threats. ZeroFox can provide the essential solution for proactive vulnerability management. Starting with this complete guide to the vulnerabilities to watch out for.

What Causes Vulnerabilities? 

Vulnerabilities are usually flaws in the stack of hardware, software, and services that make up a business' tech operations. They create gaps in your cybersecurity defenses, opening up weaknesses that could allow threat actors to access your network, control certain processes, or load malware. 

Vulnerabilities tend to come from several common sources.

• Bugs in the code may accidentally create an exploitable flaw in the defensive design of business software.
• Incomplete or incorrect configuration can leave ports open.
• Unsecured web applications can leave your website vulnerable to corruption.
• Outdated software can expose a business to vulnerabilities that teams have already patched in future versions.
• Software stack conflicts create vulnerabilities when two programs' security measures do not fully and securely overlap.

The Importance of Identifying and Preventing Vulnerabilities 

Your company's security posture and ability to maintain secure operations rely on proactive cybersecurity measures. This includes constant effort to identify, prioritize, and prevent vulnerabilities before real cyber threats occur. 

If your digital infrastructure is compromised, the two most common impacts are interrupted operations and stolen sensitive data. Ransomware can lock you out of your systems and severely limit your company's ability to function. Worms can corrupt and damage essential systems and data. A corrupted website can turn your site into a source of infection against your users and expose data that moves through the site.

You can see the consequences of a cyberattack and poor security when analyzing the most vulnerable industries and what occurs when they are targeted.

What are the Different Types of Vulnerabilities in Cyber Security?

Vulnerabilities come in several notable variants. The most common vulnerabilities that are targeted by hackers and malware include software, network, web app, human, and configuration-related vulnerabilities. Each one represents a different aspect of your security infrastructure. And the vulnerabilities that occur must be dealt with in different ways. 

By understanding the specific risks associated with each type of vulnerability, security officers can tailor their defenses to address the diverse landscape of potential cyber threats.

Software Vulnerabilities

Software vulnerabilities are among the most often discussed. This is partly because they require constant monitoring. Companies change their software stacks, configurations, and settings constantly in the search for the most optimized tools and workflow. Software updates constantly. And not all the software in a company stack is designed to remain perfectly secure by default when combined with other solutions. Software bugs and design flaws can provide opportunities for hackers to penetrate your tech stack by exploiting these technical weaknesses.

Zero-day vulnerabilities occur when hackers discover a new vulnerability in cyber security. Then, they exploit it in a rush against all companies known to use the compromised software before a patch is developed.

Incompatibility issues occur when a company uses more than one software solution and the security measures of each program do not perfectly overlap. For example, sending data between programs may not be encrypted, and the data may be exposed briefly in transit. 

New software updates can also cause vulnerabilities where they didn't exist before. This happens either by introducing a bug in new code or by creating an incompatibility where security was once continuous between programs of matching versions.

Network Vulnerabilities

Network configuration has always been an important element of cybersecurity, and more so now that cloud and local networking is more complex for every business.

It determines who can enter and exit your business network, accessing devices and files. You can close ports to prevent unnecessary traffic and monitor network behavior to identify unusual and suspicious activity. Advanced business networking provides opportunities to create sophisticated traffic control; however, poor network preparation can allow unauthorized access in order to enable malicious network activity.

Web Application Vulnerabilities

Web applications are the most public-facing aspect of a business' tech infrastructure, and are also vital in reaching and providing services for your customer base. This makes it an optimal target for hacking and exploitation, leveraging vulnerabilities such as those listed here:

• SQL injection is when hackers use an entry form option to insert harmful code into the website.
• Cross-site scripting is when hackers use a connection to trusted websites to inject harmful code.
• Hijacking is when hackers insert their ads, links, and redirects into your website so that users wind up clicking their content and landing on their pages instead of yours.

Authorized Access Vulnerabilities

Insider threats and hacked accounts pose a unique type of vulnerability in cyber security. In which, one account can do a significant amount of harm if its authorization is misused. For example, an employee's account might be used to delete important databases, uninstall or foul up the configuration of critical software, or copy and steal archives of sensitive data. 

Whether the account is operated by an inside threat or a hacker using stolen account credentials, it becomes vital to both reinforce authorization methods for each account and limit the total access even authorized accounts have in order to limit the damage - accidental, hacked, or intentional - that any one account can do.

Human-Related Vulnerabilities

Human-related vulnerabilities come from the fact that employees can be tricked into opening the company up to a cyber attack. Downloading infected files, opening infected links, or taking risky actions can all create a cybersecurity incident that routes around the usual firewall and security features that would usually protect your infrastructure.

This is usually achieved through a method known as social engineering or phishing. These are scam tactics rather than methods of hacking that seek to fool employees into becoming the weakest link in the digital security chain. The most common, and least effective, of these methods are automated spam emails. However, some hackers will go to great lengths to impersonate coworkers, executives, and loved ones to achieve their objectives.

Configuration and Operational Vulnerabilities

Lastly, there are configuration and operational vulnerabilities. A company might have the best firewall, network, and security software on the market. But if it is not properly configured and used securely, gaps will be created that can be easily exploited by any hacker who knows the common configuration errors. For example, leaving a security software login as the default (ex: 'admin' and 'password'). These vulnerabilities are often discussed by aspiring hackers in dark web forums.

Techniques for Identifying Vulnerabilities

Identifying the vulnerabilities present in your company infrastructure is the first step to becoming the impenetrable data fortress every business strives to be. Vulnerability management hinges first on a comprehensive assessment of the attack surface that puts your company at risk. There are three top techniques for identifying vulnerabilities and exposures, which will assist in identifying and prioritizing potential weaknesses.

Vulnerability Assessment

A vulnerability assessment is a combination of automated scans and comprehensive manual analysis that can identify flaws in code, network, and security configurations.

Penetration Testing

Penetration testing is a proactive method in which a security team uses known exploits and threat actor techniques to determine if the company's infrastructure is susceptible to these attacks.

Security Audits

Security audits are full and detailed assessments of a company's security policies, procedures, and structure to ensure that standards meet both regulatory and industry compliance.

Best Practices for Vulnerability Management in Cyber Security 

Once you have identified the potential vulnerabilities in your company's tech stack, you will be able to take proactive measures to close security gaps and mitigate risks. Vulnerability management best practices suggest the following methods.

Regular Update of Software and Hardware

Make sure that all of your hardware and software are updated when updates are available. Having the latest hardware ensures top performance and built-in security measures such as advanced networking chips and included security programs. Upgraded software includes security patches and code improvements that close pre-existing security gaps and respond to recent hacker exploitation techniques.

Employee Training on Cyber Security

Employee training can help to overcome the risks of social engineering. Employees must know how to watch out both for typical scam attempts and personally targeted scams. Training to protect sensitive information, avoid potentially infected files, and protect themselves from targeting are all essential.

Implement protocols that reward caution, confirmation, and reporting to prevent employees from being used as access points through the technical elements of your cybersecurity. Rewards also incentivize employees to stay vigilant, including cybersecurity drills and rewards for reporting test phishing messages.

Implementing Strong Authentication Processes

Reinforce your authentication process and what each account is authorized to do. Implement 2-factor authentication. This not only enforces stronger security, but also provides an effective alert to the user if their credentials are used by someone else.

Implement IAM (Identity and Access Management) paired with the Policy of Least Trust. This means each account is only granted access to the files and systems they need to do their job. This creates an airlock system so stolen accounts and insider threats can only do minimal damage.

Also, implement account monitoring to raise red flags should an account suddenly log in from a new geographic region, outside normal times, or on an unknown device.

Use of External Attack Surface Management Tools

Lastly, make use of external attack surface management tools. This allows you to monitor whether new exposures arise, schedule routine vulnerability analysis, and remediate any findings quickly and cleanly. Using these methods ensures a robust defensive strategy against evolving cyber risks.

Stay Ahead of Emerging Vulnerabilities with ZeroFox

When your business needs to identify and resolve vulnerabilities, ZeroFox is ready to help. Through our proactive solutions, you can quickly prioritize and resolve risks and achieve comprehensive digital risk protection.

Tags: Digital Risk Protection