Leveraging common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE) to strengthen cybersecurity posture

RiskXchange Common Vulnerabilities And Exposures Database RiskXchange The leader in Third-Party Cyber Risk Management

As organisations across finance, healthcare, and logistics continue to transfer their operations to cloud-based applications, it raises concerns about third-party vendor attacks.

Cyber attacks via third parties and vendors have been on the rise in recent years. Research shows over 1,767 reported data breaches in 2021, and experts claim that this number will go up within the next few years.

To reduce incidents of vendor attacks, many organisations are improving their cybersecurity posture because it indicates their ability to predict and withstand a cyberattack. 

Cybersecurity posture is crucial because it analyses all aspects of the business, including regular procedures, before determining how sophisticated their cybersecurity systems are. 

In order to improve their cybersecurity posture, organisations have been turning to different external sources of information such as the common vulnerabilities and exposures database (CVE database). 

The CVE security vulnerabilities database is a lynchpin of vendor security and will play a vital role in the next few years.

What does the CVE do?

The CVE was founded in 1999 by MITRE to provide a common reference point for all known security vulnerabilities and flaws. 

Security administrators can access technical information about a specific threat across multiple CVE-compatible information sources. 

The common vulnerabilities and exposure database provide essential information for understanding existing security vulnerabilities. If security advisors want more information on threats, they must refer to other CVE-compatible information sources to get extra information.

Nonetheless, the CVE plays a crucial role in vendor security. IT professionals plan their security efforts using the CVE, and researchers use the database as a reference point when addressing security vulnerabilities. 

Due to the wealth of data within its database, the CVE plays an integral role in improving cybersecurity posture. 

The connection between CVE and cybersecurity posture

A Ponemon Institute study found that 60% of breaches are traceable to a vulnerability registered in the CVE database. 

This indicates that the data on common vulnerabilities provide the ideal foundation for a cybersecurity posture. 

Following the CVE database can help security experts create a comprehensive cybersecurity posture by providing valuable feedback on known threats. 

Vendor security experts can refer to the database for known vulnerabilities and ensure that current infrastructure does not mirror security flaws. 

In addition, the CVE database can help security experts prioritise vulnerability patches and fixes. 

The database contains a common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) for assigning scores that reveal the severity of each vulnerability. Each score ranges from 0.0 to 10.0, with higher numbers representing the severity of the security weakness.

Security experts can use the scoring system to inform their vendor security, implementing fixes and placing failsafe to improve cybersecurity posture through a planned, coordinated effort. 

The CVE can inform vital vendor security procedures related to maintaining your cybersecurity posture. One example is vendor risk management; the  CVE can inform risk management by providing security experts with information on possible threat levels to mitigate security threats. 

While CVE can augment their cybersecurity posture, there are other tools that can help improve security posture. 

Other effective measures for building a cybersecurity posture

Two key elements that power cybersecurity posture are bug bounty programs and Vulnerability Disclosure Programs (VDPs). 

Bug bounty programs offer a reward for reporting vulnerabilities that could undermine security systems. Security experts use this program to find unknown security vulnerabilities that malicious actors can exploit.

Meanwhile, vulnerability disclosure programs create guidelines for researchers to submit security vulnerabilities to find and remediate problems before they undermine security. 

Both measures improve cybersecurity posture by expanding an organisation’s common vulnerabilities and exposures database to facilitate threat mitigation.

Improving cybersecurity posture with RiskXchange

As vendor attacks become a significant concern, organisations are expanding their cybersecurity posture to mitigate threats and create a more secure environment for data.

However, to complete their cybersecurity posture, organisations need a solution to oversee their internal environment.

This is where the RiskXchange solution becomes useful. It is a 360-degree vendor risk rating solution that can help organisations improve oversight into the network. 

Our risk rating solution provides continuous, data-driven insight to prevent security breaches and assess current security capabilities. The solution can prevent internet-based attacks, take stock of your assets, and monitor vendor activity—all of which are crucial for improving the cybersecurity posture.