Cybersecurity is becoming more important to ensure organizational security due to the increasing value of data as well as the evolving threat landscape. For building new business relationships, cybersecurity is essential to protect employee and customer data assets. To protect system assets effectively, organizations must identify and manage security weaknesses.
What is a Cybersecurity vulnerability?
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities are weak points or open spots in an organization’s internal controls or system processes that allow cybercriminals to gain access to information systems. It is essential to monitor cybersecurity vulnerabilities in order to ensure that your organization has a complete security posture.
Types of security vulnerabilities
System Misconfigurations

The risk of misconfigurations of networks and systems is increasing with the widespread adoption of digital solutions by organizations around the world. These misconfigurations are caused by network assets with vulnerable settings and/or contrasting cybersecurity measures. Cybercriminals examine networks in order to find vulnerabilities and exploit them.
Access Credentials for missing or weak access

To gain unauthorised access to a network, cybercriminals often use weak credentials such as usernames and passwords. This is often due to unaware users disclosing their access credentials via fake websites.
Software that is out of date or not updated

Attackers often look at networks for unpatched software, similar to system misconfigurations. They can gain access to networks and steal sensitive data.
Insider Threats

Insider threats can be caused by malicious insiders and disgruntled workers who help cybercriminals breach networks by revealing critical organizational data. These threats are difficult for people to recognize because employee actions often appear to be legitimate and raise few red flags.
Weak or missing encryption

Cyber adversaries can use poorly encrypted networks to obstruct system communication, steal sensitive data, and inject false or negative information into the system. This can lead to cybersecurity compliance being compromised and could result in regulatory agencies imposing fines.
Zero-day Threats

Zero-day vulnerabilities are software threats that are not known to organizations, but are detected by cyber adversaries. These threats are dangerous because they have not been reported to the vendor of the system and don’t have a fix.
How to Manage Vulnerability
Vulnerability management involves identifying, categorizing and mitigating security threats. Below are the steps to vulnerability management.
Detecting Vulnerabilities

It involves identifying and recording any gaps in network operations that could be exploited. This is done by scanning the network for potential vulnerabilities and identifying file system misconfigurations. The scan reports are then matched to predefined security intelligence databases. To accurately and effectively assess and correct system vulnerabilities, it is recommended that you properly configure and update the scanner.
Assessing Vulnerabilities

Once you have identified vulnerabilities, it is important that you assess them to determine the risk. A cybersecurity vulnerability assessment is used to do this. These assessments enable organizations to assign each identified vulnerability a risk rating and help prioritize remediation efforts. They can also be used to improve compliance by allowing for the identification and remediation of vulnerabilities before cyber attackers can exploit them.
Addressing Vulnerabilities

The next step after identifying the vulnerability risk is to treat it. To effectively treat vulnerabilities, you can use the following steps:
Remediation – This is the preferred method of treating vulnerabilities because it eliminates risk by fixing, or patching, a vulnerability.

Mitigation – This involves reducing vulnerabilities’ risk and exploitability. This can be used to buy some time to find the right patch.

Acceptance – If the risk potential is low or the cost to treat the vulnerability is greater than the cost incurred by cybercriminals, accepting the vulnerability is logical.

NetCom Learning – Explore the intricacies Cybersecurity
Individuals who are interested in core security operations or cyber security risk assessment should pass the SY0-601 CompTIA Security+ Certification Examination. CompTIA Security+ Certification Prep (Exams SY0-601) was offered by NetCom Learning to assist those who are interested in obtaining the CompTIA Security+ certificate.