How can Banks Improve Vulnerability Management?

The future of banking depends on using new technology and focusing on digital business. The digital payments market is expected to grow to US$11.55tn by 2024, improving customer experiences and creating new ways for banks to earn money.

However, this shift also increases the risk of data breaches and cyberattacks. In 2024, India became a major target for cyberattacks due to its growing digital and online banking sectors, highlighting the importance of strong cybersecurity in banking’s future.

Learn about the future of banking, including how digital payments will grow and how they improve customer experiences but also increase cybersecurity risks. Understand why India is a target for cyberattacks and why cybersecurity is crucial for the future of banking.

Table of Contents

1. What is Cloud Vulnerability Management?
2. Best Practices for Vulnerability Management
3. How Alliance PRO Helps Fix Issues:
4. FAQs
5. Conclusion

What is Cloud Vulnerability Management?

Cloud vulnerability management involves continuously finding, categorizing, and fixing security issues in cloud environments. It’s important because these environments are complex and keep changing, presenting unique risks compared to traditional IT.

Best Practices for Vulnerability Management

However, managing vulnerabilities across various cloud services and software is challenging. Traditional tools often can’t keep up with changes, missing important security issues like misconfigured storage or outdated software. Also, the lack of integration between security tools and development processes can cause delays in applying security updates, making it easier for cyberattacks and data loss to occur.

1. Understand Your Digital Environment

 It’s crucial to know what’s in your digital space to make smart security decisions. This means knowing all about your assets and their risks at every stage of your application’s life. This knowledge helps you choose the best security strategies and prevent problems before they happen.

2. Keep an Eye on Cloud Security

 Being able to see what’s going on in your cloud is key to making good security choices. This lets everyone involved in managing risks and fixing problems understand the situation better. It also helps different teams work together more effectively.

 3. Use Different Scanning

Techniques Organizations need to use various scanning methods to find all their vulnerabilities. This includes both non-agent-based and agent-based scanning, as well as getting information from other sources. It’s especially important for companies with applications in both public and private clouds.

 4. Choose the Right Scanning Tools

The best tools should work for both types of scanning and cover all your security needs. Non-agent tools are good for managing a lot of workloads and checking out systems that don’t work well with traditional agents. Agent tools offer constant monitoring and more detailed information, helping to spot risks and prioritize fixes.

5. Find the Most Important Security Issues

 After understanding the whole process of the application, it’s important to focus on the security issues that are most dangerous. Security issues can be different in how serious they are. The most dangerous ones need to be fixed right away, while less dangerous ones can wait. However, deciding which to fix first isn’t always simple. The details of the issue, how risky it is, what your business needs, and the overall situation all play a role in deciding.

 How to decide which security issues to fix first:

• How easy it is to attack: How likely is it that someone will attack this issue?
• Fix the ones that are easy to attack first.
• How bad it could be: Issues that could cause a lot of damage should be fixed first.
• How many systems it affects: Issues that affect more systems should be fixed first.

 By focusing on the most important security issues, companies can better protect themselves from cyberattacks.

6. Act and Fix Security Issues

 After finding and ranking security problems, it’s important to act quickly to reduce risk. This involves fixing issues like software updates, changes in settings, or other solutions to address the problems.

Challenges in Fixing Issues:

Too Many Problems:

Security teams might be too busy to deal with all the issues at once. It’s important to prioritize and have good workflows. –

Patch Problems:

 Fixing software can cause other problems or stop operations. It’s crucial to balance security with keeping things running smoothly.

Third-Party Software:

Fixing problems in software from other companies depends on the company fixing the issue. Sometimes, organizations need to push the company to fix it or find workarounds.

Good Ways to Fix Issues:

Focus on the Biggest Problems:

Start with the most dangerous issues, considering how likely they are to be used and how much damage they could do.

 Use Automation:

 Automate as much as possible to speed up fixing and avoid mistakes.

 Create Clear Steps:

Make sure there are clear steps for fixing issues, including testing and how to go back if something goes wrong.

 Keep an Eye on Progress:

Watch how fixing issues is going and see if the security program is working well.

7. Keep an Eye on and Share Risk Progress

 It’s important to always watch and share updates on how well your program is managing risks.

Why Watch and Share:

 Find New Risks:

 Risks are found all the time, so keeping an eye on things helps you stay on top of new threats.

See How Remedies Are Going:

 Keep track of how fixing vulnerabilities is going and spot any problems that haven’t been solved yet.

Check How Much Risk Is Going Down:

Look at how much risk is being reduced as vulnerabilities are fixed.

Share Useful Information:

Reports should give useful information like how many risks are left and how serious they are.

Look for Patterns:

Check how often risks are found and fixed over time to see where you can do better.

Talk to Stakeholders:

Keep everyone informed about the risks and how they’re being fixed.

How Alliance PRO Helps Fix Issues:

Prioritize Issues:

 We help decide which issues to fix first, focusing on the most important ones.

Automate Fixing:

 We can automatically apply fixes to systems, making the process faster and more accurate.

 Work with Ticketing Systems:

 This process works with ticketing systems to make communication easier and keep track of fixing tasks.

Detailed Fix Information:

It gives detailed information about fixes to help make decisions and test before applying them.

FAQs

1).  What are the vulnerabilities of a bank?

 Banks can be vulnerable due to a combination of liquidity and solvency risks. A significant shock to assets or a loss of funding can lead to a bank’s failure. The run vulnerability index quantifies this risk by considering the size-weighted average of individual banks’ vulnerabilities.

2). Why are banks vulnerable to runs?

Banks are susceptible to runs when there is a sudden loss of confidence from depositors or investors. This loss of confidence can stem from events like economic downturns or financial crises, where public perception of the bank’s stability is shaken, leading to withdrawals and potential insolvency.

3). What is the best approach to vulnerability management?

The best practices for vulnerability management include:

• Discovering vulnerabilities within your systems and applications.
• Prioritizing vulnerabilities based on their severity and potential impact.
• Remediate vulnerabilities promptly to mitigate risks.
• Validating that vulnerabilities have been effectively addressed.
• Reporting on vulnerabilities and the effectiveness of mitigation efforts.

Conclusion

Secure your organization’s future with Alliance PRO Managed Services. Our tailored approach to vulnerability management ensures comprehensive protection against evolving cyber threats.

With over a decade of expertise and a strategic “Assess, Design, Implement, and Manage” framework, we empower businesses to navigate digital transformations securely.

Safeguard your data and fortify your cloud strategy today with Alliance PRO. Contact us now to discover how we can support your cybersecurity goals.