Editor’s Note: This is the fifth serialized blog based on our recently published Security Guide: 5 Steps to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead of Application Vulnerabilities. You can also download the entire guide here. In each section of this guide we cover Key Questions, Challenges faced by organizations, and how AppSOC addresses these challenges. 

Key Questions

• Can I automate the remediation process?
• Does this integrate with ticketing systems?
• Can I automatically alert all stakeholders about critical issues?
• How do you keep false positives and exceptions from recurring?

Challenges

The best security detection systems are useless if you don’t act upon critical alerts for vulnerability remediation and prevent or minimize impact. But in many major breaches, the security signals were available to thwart attacks, but the tools or organizational structures were not in place to respond before damage was done.

The best way to speed your response is to eliminate communication gaps between teams (usually where security intelligence goes to die…) and automate processes wherever possible to eliminate human delays. This is where security automation plays a crucial role in the vulnerability remediation process.

Integration with ITSM and Notification Systems

Security tools should not try to reinvent wheels that are already running smoothly. For example, advanced ticketing systems like Jira or ServiceNow have been in place for years, and provide the comprehensive infrastructure needed for vulnerability remediation tracking and to remediate issues.

Similarly, well established communication channels, such as Slack, are already in place and can be set to alert the right stakeholders with the appropriate level of urgency.

The weak link with any of these processes is automating the input from intelligent systems. Far too often, tickets are created manually with cumbersome processes, or alerting systems aren’t automated, or are flooded with low-priority chatter.

The Same False Positives Keep Recurring

It’s frustrating and time wasting, when false positives from one system have been documented, yet alerts keep recurring through multiple channels. Once a false positive has been validated, it needs to be flagged to prevent it from repeatedly popping up daily. 

Similarly, many alerts have known causes, and developers often agree to make exceptions on low priority issues so they can focus on critical ones. But without robust and automated workflows to track exceptions, the same known issues keep recurring, and distracting analysts and managers from real issues.

Best Practices for Automated Vulnerability Remediation

ASPM systems play a critical role in the remediation process, and need to automate workflows and integrate seamlessly with established systems, including:

• ITSM integration: tickets should be created automatically, based on established thresholds. These need to include all relevant background and remediation guidance.
• Bidirectional integration: for major systems like Jira or ServiceNow, issues that are managed or modified, need to feed data back to the ASPM through a bidirectional integration.
• Automatic Notifications: integrated with widely used messaging, paging, and alerting systems.
• Managing False Positives: workflows to suppress recurring false positives across multiple tools and channels.
• Exception Handling: workflows for requests and approvals, that can reduce noise from known and approved exceptions.

‍How AppSOC Automates Remediation Workflows

AppSOC understands that remediation of vulnerabilities is the last, most critical mile for mature security processes. The solution extends ASPM across the entire security lifecycle, ensuring that critical issues are identified accurately and addressed efficiently.

Seamless ITSM integration

AppSOC has partnered closely with major ticketing systems including Jira, Azure Boards, and ServiceNow to ensure that all critical issues are remediated quickly, with automated ticket creation based on configurable thresholds.

These tickets include all relevant information about the vulnerability source, scoring, and recommended remediation steps so that recipients can react quickly, without redundant research.

Bidirectional Integrations

With select partners, including Jira and ServiceNow, AppSOC provides bidirectional API integration so that issues can be managed or modified in the ITSM system, with feedback, tuning, and other data returned to the AppSOC platform.

Automatic Notifications

The platform is directly integrated with popular messaging, paging, and other team notification systems including Slack, email, Pager Duty, and Microsoft Teams. Alert thresholds can be adjusted, while notifications include detailed information and context so recipients can react quickly and appropriately.

False Positive and Exception Management

AppSOC eliminates the annoyance of recurring false positives, with automated workflows to identify false signals across tools, manage approvals, and suppress recurring noise from known issues.

Similarly, the platform provides robust exception management workflows for requests and approvals, leading to reduced noise from known and approved exceptions.