In today's cybersecurity landscape, many companies invest significantly in tools and processes to protect their digital assets. However, a considerable proportion of these organizations make a critical mistake: they incorrectly prioritize vulnerabilities, leaving significant gaps exposed to potential attacks.
According to a report by Tenable, only 40% of companies believe they effectively manage the prioritization of vulnerabilities, while the rest face challenges in this process. This invisible failure in prioritization can turn seemingly insignificant vulnerabilities into gateways for cybercriminals, resulting in devastating consequences.
How, then, can companies ensure that they are targeting the right vulnerabilities? It is exactly these points that we will explore throughout this article.
What does prioritizing vulnerabilities mean?
What are vulnerabilities and how do they arise?
Most corporate environments deal with a large number of vulnerabilities in their systems on a daily basis. Vulnerabilities are flaws or weaknesses in software, networks or devices that can be exploited to compromise information security. They arise due to various factors, such as configuration errors, code flaws and outdated third-party dependencies.
Not every vulnerability represents the same risk
However, not all vulnerabilities pose the same level of risk. Some flaws are critical and can be exploited immediately by hackers, resulting in data leaks, the hijacking of information via ransomware or even the paralysis of essential services. Others, although technically vulnerabilities, have no realistic potential for exploitation, making them less of a priority for immediate remediation.
The mistake of prioritizing quantity over real risk
Companies often make the mistake of prioritizing the number of vulnerabilities fixed, rather than focusing on the real risk they pose. This approach can generate a false sense of security, as resolving a large number of flaws doesn't necessarily mean that the most critical risks have been mitigated. According to a report by Tenable (2024), around 60% of companies fail to prioritize vulnerabilities correctly, which leaves them exposed to attacks even after remediation processes.
In addition, another common mistake is to rely exclusively on the CVSS score to define the criticality of a vulnerability. According to Tenable, this approach can be flawed because the CVSS rating does not take into account the specific context of each organization. A vulnerability may have a high CVSS score but be barely exploitable in the company's real environment, while another with a lower score may represent a much greater risk, depending on the infrastructure and exposure of the system.
The solution to this problem involves a contextual prioritization model, which takes into account factors such as the accessibility of the vulnerability, the potential impact on the business and the likelihood of exploitation by attackers, ensuring that efforts are concentrated on the flaws that really present the greatest danger.
Accessibility analysis as a strategic solution
A more effective approach to prioritizing vulnerabilities involves accessibility analysis. This methodology seeks to identify which flaws are actually exploitable in the company's specific environment, ensuring that the security team focuses on mitigating the most relevant risks.
For example, a leak of credentials in a database exposed to the internet represents a much greater risk than a failure in an internal service without an external connection. Prioritizing vulnerabilities correctly means understanding the potential impact of each failure within the company's reality and acting strategically to mitigate the most urgent risks first.
The most common mistake: Companies patch the wrong vulnerabilities
Excessive focus on volume: a recurring problem
Many organizations believe that they are strengthening their security by fixing as many vulnerabilities as possible. However, this approach can be a fatal mistake, as not every vulnerability that is fixed actually reduces the company's cyber risk.
The first common mistake is an excessive focus on volume. Companies that adopt this mentality prioritize fixing less relevant flaws simply to reduce numbers in internal reports or meet regulatory requirements, while critical vulnerabilities remain open. According to a study by Tenable (2024), 60% of companies fail to prioritize vulnerabilities correctly, exposing themselves to significant risks.
The impact of a lack of risk context
This problem is exacerbated by a lack of risk context. A flaw that may be insignificant for an e-commerce business, for example, could be devastating for a bank that handles highly sensitive data. Only 3% of vulnerabilities often result in significant risks, according to recent research, which reinforces the need for careful evaluation before any fix.
Another frequent strategic mistake is to prioritize "easy" flaws to fix just to meet compliance requirements. Many companies implement superficial patches to meet audits, but leave out critical vulnerabilities that pose real risks of invasion. This kind of approach leads to a false sense of security, leaving loopholes that can be exploited by cybercriminals.
The importance of automation in vulnerability management
The lack of automation in vulnerability management is a contributing factor to this strategic failure. Without the support of intelligent tools, security teams end up overloaded, making decisions based on urgency rather than real impact. Manual processes make it difficult to identify and prioritize the most critical vulnerabilities, making the organization a more vulnerable target for attacks.
To avoid this mistake, companies must adopt a risk-based approach, not just the volume of faults corrected. Implementing automated technologies, combined with a contextual analysis of vulnerabilities, allows organizations to focus on mitigating the most urgent risks and avoid wasting time and resources on ineffective fixes.
How do cybercriminals exploit this invisible flaw?
Hackers exploit flaws overlooked by companies
Hackers and cybercriminal groups constantly monitor companies' security practices, looking for flaws that have been overlooked. They know that many organizations patch vulnerabilities without a clear criterion and exploit precisely those flaws that have not received due attention.
Automated attacks: scanning networks for loopholes
Criminals use automated attacks to scan corporate networks for unpatched loopholes. If a known vulnerability is still active, they can exploit it quickly, before the company realizes the risk. This approach has become even more efficient with the use of artificial intelligence, which allows for more sophisticated and targeted attacks.
The use of artificial intelligence to enhance attacks
In 2024, cyber attacks reached record numbers, with hackers using AI to create extremely convincing phishing messages, and even cloning voices to apply social engineering scams, such as vishing.
BYOVD: The new tactic for compromising systems
Another advanced technique exploited by hackers is BYOVD (Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver), which allows vulnerabilities in Windows drivers to be exploited in order to disable security solutions and install malware on victims' systems. This type of attack grew by 23% in the second quarter of 2024 alone, becoming one of the most exploited vectors last year.
Third-party dependencies: a growing risk in the supply chain
The exploitation of third-party dependencies continues to be a growing concern. Companies that use software from external suppliers may be exposed to vulnerabilities in these systems. Supply chain attacks became more frequent in 2024, with hackers exploiting vulnerabilities in third-party software to break into multiple organizations simultaneously.
Even flaws that have been known for years are still being exploited. The Log4Shell vulnerability, discovered in December 2021, has affected thousands of companies globally. Even after three years, many organizations still haven't applied the appropriate patches, allowing hackers to use this flaw as a gateway for attacks.
The combination of these techniques gives cybercriminals a strategic advantage, as they exploit overlooked vulnerabilities before companies become aware of the problem. With attacks becoming faster and more sophisticated, a failure to prioritize vulnerabilities can be the weak link that paves the way for a major security incident.
The consequences of poor vulnerability management
Data theft and exposure of sensitive information
The lack of an effective vulnerability prioritization strategy can have a severe impact on any organization. One overlooked breach can be enough to result in massive data theft, exposing confidential customer and partner information. In addition, companies that fail to correct critical vulnerabilities can face heavy fines for failing to comply with standards such as the LGPD and ISO 27001.
Financial loss: the high cost of a data breach
The financial impact of a data breach is also alarming. According to IBM's "Cost of a Data Breach 2024" report, the global average cost of a security incident has reached US$ 4.88 million, representing a continuous increase in recent years. In Brazil, this average cost reaches R$6.75 million, with the health sector leading the losses. This figure reflects recovery costs, loss of revenue, reputational damage and regulatory penalties.
Operational interruptions and impacts on business continuity
In addition to financial losses, an attack can compromise a company's operations, interrupting critical systems and affecting business continuity. Response time is also a decisive factor: according to studies, organizations that take longer to detect and contain a breach face significantly higher costs.
Damage to reputation and loss of market confidence
Another serious impact is on corporate reputation. Companies that suffer data breaches often lose credibility in the market, alienate customers and can suffer permanent damage to their image. A worrying trend identified in 2024 is that 63% of organizations plan to pass on the costs of data breaches to consumers by increasing the price of their products and services. This move not only undermines public trust, but can also have a negative impact on the company's competitiveness.
With the rapid growth of cloud computing, new challenges are emerging. Public cloud environments now represent the most lucrative targets for cybercriminals, as they store large volumes of sensitive information. The average cost of a data breach in the cloud has reached US$5.17 million, reinforcing the need for continuous and rigorous vulnerability management in these environments.
Faced with this scenario, it' s not enough just to fix vulnerabilities - you have to fix them strategically. Companies that fail to prioritize risks not only expose their systems to attacks, but also compromise their financial future and reputation in the market.
How to reduce the invisible risk?
Fixing vulnerabilities is not enough: the importance of strategy
Cyber security is not just about fixing vulnerabilities, but about fixing them intelligently. Companies that prioritize flaws in the wrong way run an invisible risk: they believe they are protected, while critical loopholes remain open to exploitation.
Cybercriminals don't waste their efforts attacking just any vulnerability. They exploit specific and strategic flaws, knowing that many companies overlook silent but highly exploitable loopholes. The problem lies not only in the existence of these vulnerabilities, but in the false sense of security that many organizations get from fixing what seems to be the most urgent, without a clear vision of the real impact of each threat.
The essential question is not "How many vulnerabilities have we fixed?", but "Are we fixing the right ones?".
How to mitigate risks and strengthen cyber security
Adopt a strategy based on risk, not just volume. Not every vulnerability represents an immediate threat. Prioritize what can be exploited and have a real impact on your business.
Use advanced threat analysis tools. Technology can help identify flaws that, at first glance, seem harmless, but which could pave the way for devastating attacks.
Invest in continuous monitoring and rapid response. Detecting an attack before it happens is the key to avoiding severe financial and operational damage.
Work with cybersecurity experts. Relying on a specialized outside view can eliminate blind spots in your security strategy and ensure that vulnerabilities are prioritized intelligently.
Why can having specialists be the difference?
Asper, as a benchmark in cyber security, helps companies see beyond the obvious, bringing a precise and effective approach to vulnerability management. It's not just about fixing flaws, it's about protecting what really matters.
If your company doesn't know which vulnerabilities to fix first, it could be leaving the door open for the next attack.
Are you sure you're protecting the right points?
Contact Asper and find out how to strengthen your vulnerability management before it's too late.
