Context Awareness
To further assist with vulnerability prioritization, organizations need to have context awareness. Context awareness refers to understanding the environment in which a vulnerability exists. This is important because context awareness reviews the specific conditions and factors that may affect a vulnerability’s severity and potential impact beyond its technical characteristics. This helps in making informed decisions on how to prioritize vulnerabilities based on their relevance to the organization’s operations, security posture, and overall risk management strategy.
There are three main contexts to consider for awareness:
- Internal context: Vulnerabilities within an organization’s internal network or systems, where factors such as access controls, system configurations, and critical assets influence the potential impact. A vulnerability in an internal system might have a different risk profile compared to an external-facing system. ...
