Vulnerability Management & Application Security Services
We support security teams in creating an integrated system for vulnerability management, through value-added managed services and cutting-edge proprietary technology.
Our managed Vulnerability Management service is designed to support the Client in implementing a framework for managing all phases of the Vulnerability Management process, providing security managers with the tools and expertise necessary to address the growing operational challenges associated with the expanding attack surface.
Vulnerability Management
“Vulnerability Management”, or VM, refers to a cyclical and continuous process of identifying, categorizing, and managing software and system vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities can be defined as ‘weak points’ of a system or organization, caused by security flaws or errors that, if exploited by hackers to breach the organization’s perimeter, can become a significant risk factor for the entire company.
The ultimate goal of Vulnerability Management is to eliminate these flaws and reduce the vulnerability of companies, thereby enhancing cybersecurity levels and reducing the risk of breaches that could lead to security incidents and potentially severe damage to the organization, both financially and reputationally.
The need for companies to adopt a Vulnerability Management program primarily arises from three factors:
- Speed of digitalization processes: The rapid evolution of business towards a digital approach and the increasing technological adoption increases the risk of security flaws and errors in information systems.
- Escalating threats: The uncontrolled increase in known vulnerabilities exploitable by hackers, combined with the impossibility of applying patches to each of them, has made all companies, whether small or large, more susceptible to cyber attacks.
- Regulatory pressure: The establishment of sector-specific regulations and laws on data management requires businesses to adopt a structured approach in managing, and responding to, these threats.
Phases of the Vulnerability Management Process
Discovery or Perimeter Identification
In the initial phase of the framework, the organization's assets (including software, hardware, operating systems, and services) are reviewed, and the objectives of the assessments to be conducted are defined, along with the rules and configurations necessary to set up the activities. For proper perimeter identification, it is essential that the attack surface is constantly monitored (Attack Surface Management, ASM) and that the software development lifecycle (Software Development Life Cycle, SDLC) is correctly managed.
Assessment
Evaluation of vulnerabilities identified based on their risk level and/or criticality, through specific security tests for different types of vulnerabilities:
Infrastructure Vulnerability Assessments, Web Application scanners, tools for SAST (Static Application Security Testing) and DAST (Dynamic Application
Security Testing). Preferably, the information collected by various tools refers to a centralized repository related to all types of vulnerabilities. The assessment phase also includes activities such as Context Enrichment (enriching vulnerability data with governance information from corporate directories, asset management, and other internal sources within the organization) and Prioritization (determining actions to be taken first based on information about vulnerabilities, context, assets and threat intelligence).
Analysis, Alerts and Reporting
This phase involves the analysis, categorization, and assignment of vulnerabilities based on the policies defined by the organization and internal stakeholders.
This step allows for streamlining actions, managing and closing open practices, automating the process and actions as much as possible, and using operation tracking systems to ensure both maximum operational efficiency and the ability to perform auditing and compliance checks. This phase also includes dashboard set-up, executive and detailed reporting to correctly define the strategies to be implemented and document each action.
Remediation
This stage entails finalizing the security strategy to be implemented to address the identified vulnerabilities. It includes defining an automated remediation process based on clear parameters set by those who are in control of the vulnerability lifecycle. This allows for proper planning of intervention timelines, mitigation actions, escalation procedures, and continuous monitoring of the progress of the case file.
Re-Checking
This phase includes an overall evaluation of the security strategy implemented, with assessments to ensure that the measures have effectively reduced or successfully eliminated the priority threats identified.
Alfa Group Services throughout the Vulnerability Lifecycle
Application Security and Vulnerability Management
Application security is a combination of best practices, processes, functions, features, tools, and controls aimed at preventing the theft or hijacking of data or code within applications/software. It involves an ongoing process of gathering information on the detection, prevention, and resolution of threats related to various business assets (such as hardware, software, and procedures), with the goal of proactively identifying and/or minimizing security risks and vulnerabilities.
There are various types of application security programs, services, and devices that an organization can use. Firewalls, Web Application Firewalls (WAFs), secure coding policies, antivirus systems, and data encryption are just some examples of measures to prevent unauthorized access to a system. If an organization wishes to protect specific sensitive data sets, it can establish unique application security criteria for those resources.
Today, the growing volume of applications developed, deployed, used, and patched on networks has made application security practices even more crucial, especially in the realm of Vulnerability Management. In vulnerability management processes, it’s essential to have a clear view of the threat landscape, the security environment, and real-time IT developments. Application security provides and strengthens the context necessary for the effective implementation of this process.
Capabilities
Security Assessment
A process aimed at identifying the valuable/critical assets/services of an organization and assessing the level of protection they have at the time of evaluation in relation to the inherent vulnerabilities of all relevant components within the reference context.
Depending on what one aims to protect, there are different approaches to security assessment:
Attack Surface
Analysis of everything publicly associated with the organization, typically used to define indicators of its security level and reputation. Through checks on domains, DNS, public whois, threat intelligence feeds, OSINT sources, and the dark web, it is possible to identify and map all assets, whether known or unknown, of the organization. The output of this investigation and analysis often serves as input for further assessment activities aimed at determining the security level of the detected assets. The assessment provides a detailed report with results and a final evaluation of the client's security exposure level.
Infrastrutture
Security infrastructure assessment conducted by a dedicated team of Defensive Security experts. The service can be configured as a 'one-shot,' providing the organization with both executive and detailed reporting to assess their exposure to vulnerabilities. Alternatively, it can be set up for continuous monitoring, with periodic reports showing trends in vulnerability status. These reports highlight new vulnerabilities, resolved ones, and those that have reoccurred after being addressed during the observation period.
Cloud
Extension of security controls over Cloud infrastructures to which services and applications are migrated in order to outsource their control, infrastructure management and routine maintenance. The service, managed by the Defensive Security team, provides a complete view of all the organisation's cloud assets and their security level, and total control of hosts and applications. The technologies used also allow scanning activities, either at a fixed frequency or defined by the needs of the frameworks used by the customer. The assessment also includes executive and detailed reports on the security exposure status of cloud infrastructures.
Active Directory
Continuous monitoring of the Active Directory, anticipating threats by detecting breaches and proactively responding to attack attempts by managing the incident. The defensive security team analyses various attack or exposure indicators and the related configuration problems of the AD itself.
It is possible to activate the monitoring and management of alerts or forward them to SIEM or Incident Response platforms in use at the client itself.
The assessment includes the creation of executive reports with a frequency that can be defined according to the customer's needs.
Application Security
The assessment of application security is conducted by a dedicated team of Offensive Security experts. The service can be configured as a ‘one-shot’ or continuous mode, adjusting the frequency of execution according to the needs of the organization’s Software Development Life Cycle.
Tests are carried out using automated tools in either black-box mode (from outside the application) or white-box mode (using application credentials provided by the client).
The assessment includes the creation of executive and detailed reports containing information and suggestions for remediation activities. In the case of continuous activities, trend analyses of vulnerabilities are also included.
Vulnerability Lifecycle Management (Remediation Monitoring)
Alfa Group provides dedicated remediation activity monitoring for organizations without a dedicated function for this purpose. Leveraging the expertise of its Defensive Security team and its own Vulnerability Lifecycle Governance platform (available in both “Cloud” and “on Premise” modes), Alfa Group assists organizations in collecting evidence from various types of security assessments: infrastructure, application (DAST or PT), application source code (SAST), or software composition analysis (SCA). The collected vulnerabilities are categorized, correlated, and aggregated with organizational context information to establish appropriate remediation plans and assign operational tasks to internal or external teams or services responsible for patching, fixing, and hardening. Each task is monitored to provide executive and detailed views and reports on the progress of vulnerability mitigation activities.
Vulnerability Management Strategy Assessment
Analysis of the company’s strategy for reducing security exposure on its external and internal surfaces, conducted by expert consultants in vulnerability lifecycle management.
The assessment includes analysis and reporting on:
- Any gaps related to vulnerability management.
- Any gaps in remediation activities.
- The entire process adopted for vulnerability management.
- Specific phases of the process that require review or integration.
- The company’s ability to respond promptly to threat reports.
- Specific interventions to be implemented for evolving and improving the process and addressing the gaps.
Threat Intelligence
Analysis and mediation of Threat Intelligence information. During the onboarding phase, the offensive security team assists the client in defining key information for receiving threat alerts and selecting the most relevant ones for the organization.
All reports are evaluated and categorized according to agreed-upon parameters, in order to provide the security team with relevant, timely, and actionable information.
The threat intelligence information can then be presented through reports or analyzed and shared in the form of alerts to the organization’s SIEM or Incident Response platforms.
Penetration testing
The penetration testing activities are manually conducted by specialists from the Offensive Security team on entire web or mobile applications or on individual functionalities within them.
The testing frequency can be defined based on the organization’s SDLC, ensuring the continuity of security checks following each application release. While strongly guided by the context in which the applications operate, penetration testing activities follow best practices and methodologies recognized at both national and international levels, such as OWASP and OSSTMM.
Support and VM Software Maintenance
Support and maintenance of Security Assessment Applications that allows organizations to focus on vulnerability lifecycle management, even in the absence of specific in-house expertise on assessment tools. It is a managed service in which a team with certified vertical skills in Vulnerability Management collects reports on anomalies, doubts, and strategic needs, manages support requests, and provides detailed reports on the health status of the assessment infrastructure.
Technology / Vulnerability & Cyber Threat Management
The technological solutions for the management of vulnerabilities and the identification of threats.