Best Practices for Automating Vulnerability Management

Finding, prioritizing, and mitigating vulnerabilities before they're exploited requires good vulnerability management. Yet manual processes are slow and take time - adding risk.

Automation platforms like Blink Ops simplify security steps. This helps security teams find, prioritize, and remediate vulnerabilities faster - protecting applications and infrastructure.

Meet four use cases where Blink Ops automates vulnerability management:

1. Automated Web App Security Testing with OWASP ZAP

Web applications are common attack targets, so regular security testing is essential. OWASP ZAP can find injection vulnerabilities, authentication weaknesses and misconfigurations in web applications. With OWASP ZAP and Blink Ops, security scans can be automatically scheduled or triggered after major application changes. This proactive approach identifies vulnerabilities early so your web applications are not exploited.

How Blink Ops Automates OWASP ZAP Scans:

1. At regular intervals or after key changes, Blink-Ops triggers OWASP ZAP scans.
2. Vulnerabilities like injection flaws or authentication problems are detected.
3. An extensive report goes out via Slack to the security team.
4. High-risk issues generate Jira tickets.
5. The security team fixes problems before they are exploited.

2. Third-Party Risk Monitoring with Black Kite

Vulnerabilities do not just originate from within - third-party vendors pose a risk as well. Black Kite can track your vendors' security posture based on security practices, incident history, and more. Such assessments can be automated with Blink Ops for real-time visibility into third party security health. Blink Ops will alert your team when a vendor risk score is below a defined threshold.

Bullet-Point Steps:‍

1. Blink Ops schedules Black Kite risk assessments for third party vendors.
2. Black Kite rates vendor risk based on things like security history.
3. Blink Ops sends an alert via Slack if a vendor's risk score drops.
4. The security team is told to investigate or contact the vendor.

3. API Security Testing with Burp Suite

APIs are easy entry points for attackers if not secured. Burp Suite tests APIs against injection attacks, authentication vulnerabilities and insecure data transmission. Automated API testing with Blink Ops lets your team watch for vulnerabilities when APIs get added/modified. Security reports from Burp Suite give teams actionable insight. Then Blink Ops alerts teams to fix the issue.

Bullet-Point Steps:‍

1. Blink Ops triggers Burp Suite to run security tests on APIs.
2. Burp Suite detects vulnerabilities such as injection attacks.
3. A vulnerability report is sent to the security team via Slack.
4. High risk issues generate Jira tickets.
5. The security team fixes the issues, and Blink Ops retests.
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4. Patch Management with Qualys and Ivanti RiskSense

Most important to vulnerability management is patching, but manual patching can be slow. Detecting vulnerabilities with tools like Qualys and Ivanti RiskSense will trigger patching workflows automatically. Blink Ops integrates with these tools to automate patch management - from finding vulnerabilities to deploying patches.

This automation ensures that patches are applied in a timely manner, reducing the window of exposure and helping you maintain a secure environment.

Bullet-Point Steps:

1. Vulnerability scan is initiated by Blink Ops using Qualys or Ivanti's RiskSense.
2. Known vulnerabilities with available patches are identified.
3. Patch deployments are scheduled based on the issue criticality.
4. Teams receive notification of patches and maintenance windows via Slack.
5. The patches are deployed automatically and the environment is secured.

Make Your Applications More Secure With Blink Ops

Managing vulnerabilities effectively is no longer optional for modern security and resilience. Unpatched systems, badly configured APIs, and insecure third-party connections can all lead to serious breaches if not addressed quickly.

With Blink Ops, you can automate tasks like web application testing with OWASP ZAP, continuous third-party risk monitoring with Black Kite, API security testing with Burp Suite, and automated patch management with Qualys and Ivanti RiskSense.

Automations like these help you avoid being hacked by minimizing vulnerabilities. Your team can focus on wider security with Blink Ops—reduce manual workloads, prioritize high-risk vulnerabilities, and respond faster.

Don't wait for a breach to reveal your vulnerabilities.‍‍

Get started and automate vulnerability management with Blink Ops today to protect your organization's future.