Vulnerability management: an attitude of mind?

Vulnerability management is now an essential aspect of IT security, in order to mitigate the risk of system exploitation. This article examines the scale of the task and the extent to which it is eased by the availability of tools to automate the identification and rectification of problems. It is argued that even though the vulnerabilities are technical in nature, much of the challenge in addressing them can come down to the mindset of those responsible for maintaining the protection. Specifically, they need to have both an awareness of the problem and a willingness to address it. In some cases this may require overlooking negative past experiences and recognising that credible vulnerability management is now increasingly expected by the wider community.