Imagine this: you’re the head of IT security at an organization, and every day, new vulnerabilities pop up across your network. Some are minor; others are major risks to your company’s infrastructure. While you know you need to act fast, the question is: which vulnerabilities should be addressed first? In many organizations, the answer isn’t always clear, and more often than not, security teams are left scrambling to prioritize patches for vulnerabilities without a structured approach.
Enter the SanerNow Patch Management SLA feature to bring clarity, accountability, and precision to your vulnerability management process. Instead of applying a one-size-fits-all SLA for every vulnerability, this feature lets you tailor remediation timeframes based on the severity and criticality of each issue. Now, you can ensure that high-risk vulnerabilities receive the immediate attention they deserve while still addressing less urgent patches in a timely manner.
By allowing for differentiated SLAs based on the risk profile of each vulnerability, SanerNow PM ensures your security team focuses its energy where it matters most—reducing the window of opportunity for attackers and strengthening your organization’s defenses. Whether you’re working with high-risk vulnerabilities that need a 24-hour turnaround or lower-risk patches that can wait a little longer, this new feature helps streamline the process and ensure no vulnerability falls through the cracks.
With SanerNow PM, managing vulnerabilities becomes more than just a task—it becomes a strategic effort to protect your infrastructure and your organization’s future.
What is a Service Level Agreement?
The SLA feature in SanerNow Patch Management (PM) allows organizations to set and manage different SLAs for different categories of vulnerabilities. Rather than applying the same remediation timeframe for all vulnerabilities, this new feature empowers organizations to define specific SLAs tailored to the criticality and risk associated with each vulnerability. This enables businesses to focus their efforts on addressing high-risk vulnerabilities more urgently while ensuring that all vulnerabilities are handled within a defined timeframe.
Why is SLA Crucial in Remediation?
When it comes to managing vulnerabilities, not all issues are created equal. Some vulnerabilities might be low-risk and could take longer to remediate without putting the organization’s infrastructure at immediate risk. On the other hand, high-risk vulnerabilities—such as those that allow for remote code execution, data breaches, or privilege escalation—pose significant threats that require immediate attention.
By imposing the same remediation SLA across all vulnerabilities, organizations risk delaying remediation efforts for high-risk vulnerabilities, leaving critical systems exposed to potential exploitation. This oversight could have dire consequences for the organization, including data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage.
With the Remediation SLA feature in SanerNow PM, organizations can now define specific SLAs based on the risk level of each patch. For instance, critical vulnerabilities can be addressed within 24 hours, while medium and low-risk patches may be given a longer timeframe, such as 48 hours or even a week. This lets security teams focus on the highest-priority patches first, ensuring that the organization’s most vulnerable points are secured as quickly as possible.
Key Benefits of SLA in SanerNow PM
1. Prioritize High-Risk Vulnerabilities
By defining different SLAs for various patch categories, enterprises can ensure that critical vulnerabilities are remediated immediately, significantly reducing the risk of exploitation. By giving high-priority vulnerabilities a short timeframe, you minimize the window of opportunity for attackers.
2. Improved Accountability and Discipline
The Remediation SLA feature introduces a structured approach to vulnerability management. By clearly defining and tracking SLAs, organizations can hold security teams and IT departments accountable for meeting remediation targets. This discipline ensures that vulnerabilities are not only detected but addressed in a timely manner, thus improving the overall security posture.
3. Streamlined Vulnerability Management
SanerNow’s new feature simplifies the process of managing vulnerabilities across different departments, teams, or locations. Organizations can set different SLAs to align patching activities with their risk management policies and business objectives, ensuring a tailored and efficient vulnerability management approach.
4. Real-Time Monitoring and Reporting
SanerNow goes a step further by providing detailed, real-time reports on patching activities. These reports show whether your organization’s vulnerability remediation efforts meet the prescribed SLAs, allowing for quick intervention if necessary. This transparency helps organizations stay on top of their patch management efforts and continuously improve their processes.
5. Proactive Security Posture
By ensuring that vulnerabilities are remediated in a timely manner, SanerNow’s Remediation SLA feature helps maintain a proactive security posture. When patches are applied on time and in line with an SLA, security teams are always ahead of potential threats, reducing the likelihood of successful cyberattacks.
Real-Time Reports for Continuous Improvement
In addition to the remediation SLAs, SanerNow PM includes new reports that give real-time insights into whether the patching activities meet the defined SLAs. These reports are crucial for tracking progress, identifying bottlenecks, and refining the vulnerability management process. Security leaders can use these insights to make data-driven decisions, allocate resources efficiently, and ensure that their organization’s security efforts remain on track.
Conclusion
Vulnerability management is a critical aspect of cybersecurity, and it requires a tailored approach to ensure that threats are mitigated quickly and effectively. The Remediation SLA feature in SanerNow PM allows organizations to set specific remediation timeframes based on the risk level of each patch. This helps prioritize high-risk vulnerabilities, ensures timely patching, and introduces greater accountability and discipline into the organization’s security operations.
By leveraging this feature, organizations can improve their overall security posture, protect their infrastructure, and reduce the likelihood of costly cyber incidents. With the addition of real-time reporting and monitoring, SanerNow PM ensures that vulnerability management is effective and transparent, making it easier for organizations to stay ahead of cyber threats.