A Phased Approach to Cybersecurity Remediation Using ServiceNow

Cybersecurity remains a critical concern for organisations across all sectors. With the evolving threat landscape and increasing complexity of IT infrastructures, managing vulnerabilities effectively is paramount. 

In this blog, I’ll share some of the key principles to consider when developing your attack surface management program. I’ll also highlight how ServiceNow is streamlining the remediation process, ensuring a proactive defence against potential threats.

Understanding the Challenge

Cyber vulnerabilities come in various forms, from software flaws and misconfigurations to outdated systems and unauthorised access points. Each presents a unique risk to the organisation's security posture, demanding a systematic approach to identification, assessment, and mitigation.

A Phased Approach

Most organisations have a robust infrastructure that they need to keep secure, including private and public cloud environments, containers, home-grown applications, and, for some, operational technology devices. Given that these are generally managed by multiple vulnerability and secure configuration scanning tools, the idea of connecting them all to ServiceNow and managing work in a single source can be daunting.

While some customers approach security hardening with an ‘implement everything at once’ mindset, many will handle this in a phased approach, targeting one or two data sources or data types at a time. For example, if infrastructure vulnerabilities are managed by a combination of Wiz and Qualys, and client device vulnerabilities are managed by CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection, an implementation might start by managing vulnerabilities from Wiz and Qualys in ServiceNow.

This phased approach allows teams to understand how vulnerabilities are managed in ServiceNow before expanding into other data sources (e.g., Crowdstrike) or data types such as container vulnerabilities or secure configurations.

Phase 1: Identify and Enrich

Once the scope has been defined, ServiceNow can be configured to ingest vulnerabilities from your initial scope of scanners. Vulnerabilities are then enriched with supporting integrations such as the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) and CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) integrations. With the enrichment data and information from your CMDB, vulnerabilities get prioritised, assigned, and grouped into actionable tasks.

Phase 2: Remediate

Armed with prioritised vulnerabilities, organisations can develop targeted remediation plans. ServiceNow Vulnerability Response (VR) allows for easy integration into Change Request processes to schedule and gain approval for changes that resolve vulnerabilities.

For vulnerabilities that cannot be immediately resolved, ServiceNow can manage approvals for exception requests within VR or through an integration with Integrated Risk Management to manage exceptions. With remediation plans in place, teams can execute necessary patches, updates, or configuration changes. An advanced feature, Vulnerability Patch Orchestration, enables integrations with patching tools like BigFix and Microsoft SCCM to schedule patch deployments.  

Phase 3: Validate and Report

Real-time dashboards and reports provide visibility into ongoing efforts, facilitating timely validation of fixes and ensuring compliance with security policies. Closed-loop validation with the scanners ensures resolved vulnerabilities are closed or re-opened based on the results of re-scans.

Key Benefits of ServiceNow VR and Configuration Compliance

• Centralised Visibility: Consolidates vulnerability and compliance data into a single platform, enhancing visibility and control.
• Efficient Workflows: Automates repetitive tasks, accelerates response times, and reduces human error.
• Scalable Solutions: Adapts to organisational growth and evolving security needs, supporting long-term cybersecurity strategies.
• Compliance Assurance: Ensures adherence to regulatory requirements and industry standards, mitigating legal and financial risks.

Reduce Your Attack Surface and the Effort to Manage It

Effective cybersecurity remediation demands a structured, phased approach leveraging advanced tools like ServiceNow VR and Configuration Compliance. By integrating vulnerability management and compliance monitoring into unified workflows, organisations can enhance their resilience against cyber threats while maintaining operational efficiency. Embracing these technologies not only safeguards sensitive data but also fosters a proactive cybersecurity posture in an increasingly digital world.

Explore our newest Built With ServiceNow offering, Cybersecurity Hardening, to learn how you can leverage the power of ServiceNow's Security Operations suite of tools more quickly and comprehensively.