Sherlocked Security – Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (RBVM)

Prioritize Vulnerabilities and Mitigate the Most Critical Risks to Your Organization

1. Statement of Work (SOW)

Service Name: Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (RBVM)
Client Type: Enterprises, SMBs, Highly Regulated Industries, Organizations with High Attack Surface
Service Model: Vulnerability Assessment + Risk Assessment + Remediation Guidance
Compliance Coverage: NIST 800-53, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR

Service Focus Areas:

Vulnerability Assessment (Networks, Applications, Endpoints)
Risk Scoring & Prioritization Based on Business Impact
Threat Intelligence Integration for Risk Context
Remediation Planning & Support
Continuous Vulnerability Monitoring & Reporting

2. Our Approach

[Asset Discovery & Inventory] → [Vulnerability Scanning] → [Risk Assessment & Scoring] → [Remediation Planning & Coordination] → [Ongoing Monitoring & Trend Analysis] → [Continuous Improvement]

3. Methodology

[Asset Identification] → [Scan for Vulnerabilities (Nessus, OpenVAS, Qualys)] → [Risk Prioritization Based on CVSS, Asset Value, & Threat Intel] → [Detailed Remediation Plan] → [Post-Remediation Validation & Monitoring]

4. Deliverables to the Client

Comprehensive Vulnerability Assessment Report
Risk-Based Vulnerability Prioritization & Scoring
Remediation Strategy and Plan for High-Risk Vulnerabilities
Threat Intelligence Feed Integration (to enhance risk context)
Vulnerability Management Metrics & Executive Reporting Dashboard
Post-Remediation Validation & Risk Reduction Summary
Continuous Vulnerability Monitoring Setup & Alerts

5. What We Need from You (Client Requirements)

Access to infrastructure and network details (IP ranges, cloud environments, etc.)
Information on assets critical to business operations (systems, applications, databases)
Existing vulnerability scanning or asset management tools in use (if any)
Participation from internal IT, security, and development teams for remediation planning
Access to current threat intelligence feeds or vendor data (if available)
NDA and scope confirmation

6. Tools & Technology Stack

Vulnerability Scanners: Nessus, OpenVAS, Qualys, Tenable.io
Risk Scoring: CVSS, ThreatConnect, RiskLens
Threat Intelligence Feeds: Anomali, ThreatConnect, AlienVault
Remediation Tools: Jira, ServiceNow, DevOps Pipelines for automated patching
Continuous Monitoring: Rapid7, Qualys Continuous Monitoring, Splunk
Cloud Security: Prisma Cloud, AWS GuardDuty, Azure Security Center

7. Engagement Lifecycle

1. Kickoff & Asset Inventory Review → 2. Initial Vulnerability Scanning → 3. Risk Scoring & Prioritization → 4. Remediation Planning → 5. Validation & Trend Monitoring → 6. Continuous Monitoring & Reporting

8. Why Sherlocked Security?

Feature	Sherlocked Advantage
Prioritized Risk-Based Approach	Aligns vulnerability management with critical business assets and risks
Real-Time Threat Intelligence	Enhances risk context with up-to-date, actionable threat intel
Continuous Vulnerability Monitoring	Proactive monitoring and alerting for new vulnerabilities and emerging threats
Tailored Remediation Strategies	Provides clear, actionable remediation steps based on risk levels
Post-Remediation Validation	Ensures vulnerabilities are fixed and re-scanned to confirm resolution

9. Real-World Case Studies

Major Financial Institution with Over 1000 Assets

Issue: The organization lacked visibility into the true risk posed by vulnerabilities in their infrastructure
Impact: High exposure to potential cyberattacks, unnecessary patching of non-critical vulnerabilities
Fix: Implemented RBVM program to prioritize vulnerabilities based on asset criticality and threat intelligence. Remediation plan was created, reducing high-risk vulnerabilities by 75% within three months

Healthcare Provider Struggling with HIPAA Compliance

Issue: The healthcare provider had inconsistent vulnerability management practices and no clear risk prioritization
Impact: Non-compliance with HIPAA requirements, with potential fines and breaches
Fix: Developed a risk-based vulnerability management process that aligned with HIPAA regulations, prioritized vulnerabilities based on patient data exposure, and tracked ongoing mitigation efforts

10. SOP – Standard Operating Procedure

Asset Discovery & Inventory
- Conduct inventory of networked systems, applications, endpoints, and critical business assets
- Classify assets based on importance to business operations and regulatory compliance
Vulnerability Scanning
- Run comprehensive vulnerability scans across the identified assets (network, cloud, apps, endpoints)
- Integrate threat intelligence feeds to identify targeted vulnerabilities
Risk Assessment & Prioritization
- Assess vulnerabilities based on risk scoring (CVSS) and contextual threat intel
- Prioritize vulnerabilities based on potential business impact and exploitability
Remediation Planning & Execution
- Develop a detailed remediation plan for high-priority vulnerabilities
- Coordinate with IT, DevOps, and security teams to patch, mitigate, or reduce risks
Post-Remediation Validation & Verification
- Re-scan after remediation to ensure vulnerabilities are properly fixed
- Track resolution timelines and report on progress
Continuous Vulnerability Monitoring
- Implement a continuous vulnerability scanning solution for real-time threat detection
- Set up automated alerts and reports for newly discovered vulnerabilities

11. Risk-Based Vulnerability Management Checklist

1. Asset Inventory & Classification

Comprehensive asset inventory maintained (network, applications, cloud, endpoints)
Critical business assets (data stores, client-facing apps) classified and tracked
Asset owners and responsibilities clearly defined

2. Vulnerability Scanning & Risk Assessment

Scheduled vulnerability scans on critical assets (weekly, monthly)
Integration of threat intelligence feeds to enhance risk context
Vulnerability data enriched with business impact analysis (CVSS, CVE correlation)
Prioritized vulnerability list based on risk scores and exploitability

3. Risk Prioritization & Reporting

Clear risk scoring methodology (CVSS, Asset Value, Threat Intel) used for prioritization
Dashboard with high-risk vulnerabilities highlighted for executive and technical teams
Reporting format tailored for technical remediation teams and executive stakeholders

4. Remediation Strategy

Actionable remediation plans developed for each high-priority vulnerability
Defined roles for remediation: security team, DevOps, IT infrastructure teams
Target dates and SLAs for fixing vulnerabilities based on risk

5. Post-Remediation Verification

Re-scanning of critical systems to validate successful remediation
Verification against compliance requirements (HIPAA, PCI, GDPR, etc.)
Metrics on remediation effectiveness and resolution times tracked

6. Continuous Monitoring & Alerts

Continuous vulnerability scanning solution deployed for real-time alerts
Automated patching and remediation workflows for critical vulnerabilities
Alerts for new CVEs and vulnerabilities affecting critical assets
Metrics and trend analysis to identify recurring vulnerabilities or systemic issues

7. Threat Intelligence & Contextualization

Regular updates from threat intelligence feeds for zero-day vulnerabilities
Contextualized threat intel (exploitability, attack trends) used for prioritizing patches
Analysis of threat actor techniques to identify emerging vulnerabilities and patch needs

8. Metrics & Executive Reporting

Regular vulnerability management reporting (monthly/quarterly) for executives
Dashboards with key metrics (total vulnerabilities, high-priority issues, time to remediation)
Trend analysis showing improvement in risk posture over time

9. Compliance Alignment

Regular vulnerability reviews in the context of compliance requirements (ISO, PCI-DSS, HIPAA)
Vulnerability management process mapped to relevant security frameworks
Compliance-driven vulnerability remediation tracking and reporting

Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (RBVM)