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How to

Establish and Maintain a Remediation Process

- SafeGuard 7.2

Here's a step-by-step guide to establishing and maintaining a risk-based remediation strategy documented in a remediation process, as per the requirements in CIS Control 7 - Continuous Vulnerability Management, Implementation Group 1 (IG1):

 

Step 1: Identify Vulnerabilities and Weaknesses:

  1. Continuously assess your organization's IT environment to identify vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and security gaps. This could involve vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and security assessments.

 

Step 2: Prioritize Risks:

  1. Evaluate the identified vulnerabilities and weaknesses based on their potential impact and likelihood of exploitation. Use a risk assessment framework to assign risk levels.

 

Step 3: Develop a Remediation Strategy:

  1. Develop a risk-based remediation strategy that outlines how vulnerabilities and weaknesses will be addressed. Define the criteria for determining which issues need immediate attention and which can be addressed over time.

 

Step 4: Document the Remediation Process:

  1. Document a step-by-step remediation process that details how vulnerabilities will be mitigated. Include procedures for patching, configuration changes, system updates, and other remediation actions.

Step 5: Assign Responsibility:

  1. Assign responsibility for each remediation action to specific individuals or teams within your organization. Clearly define who is accountable for implementing the fixes.

Step 6: Set Timeframes:

  1. Establish realistic timeframes for addressing each vulnerability based on its risk level and potential impact. Prioritize critical issues for immediate remediation.

Step 7: Implement Fixes:

  1. Execute the remediation actions as outlined in the process. Ensure that patches, updates, and changes are applied promptly and accurately.

This process will help you efficiently address vulnerabilities and weaknesses in your environment to minimize security risks.

Step 8: Review and Verify Remediation:

  1. Regularly review and verify that the remediation actions have been successfully implemented. This could involve testing, validation, and verification procedures.

 

Step 9: Monthly or Frequent Reviews:

  1. Conduct monthly, or more frequent, reviews of the remediation process. Evaluate progress, assess completed actions, and determine if any adjustments are needed.

Step 10: Monitor Ongoing Risks:

  1. Continuously monitor your environment for new vulnerabilities and changes that could impact your risk landscape. Adjust your remediation strategy as necessary.

Step 11: Document Updates:

  1. Document any updates or changes to the remediation process based on lessons learned, changes in technology, or shifts in the threat landscape.

Step 12: Communication and Reporting:

  1. Communicate progress and results of the remediation process to relevant stakeholders, including management, IT teams, and security personnel.

Step 13: Continuous Improvement:

  1. Continuously refine your risk-based remediation strategy based on the effectiveness of past actions and emerging threats.

Step 14: Training and Awareness:

  1. Ensure that personnel involved in the remediation process are trained on the process, their roles, and the importance of timely and effective remediation.

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By following these steps, you'll establish a structured and risk-based remediation process that supports your incident response efforts, aligning with the requirements of CIS18 Controls. This process will help you efficiently address vulnerabilities and weaknesses in your environment to minimize security risks.

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