Cyber Defense eMagazine October Edition for 2021

Eliminating discovered threats
It may be difficult to provide one piece of advice here since any actions will largely depend on the
assessment results. However, there are some things any team can do to mitigate the existing threats (of
course in case it has the relevant talent and expertise).
First, a team can use the assessment results to develop patches for the discovered vulnerabilities.
Although this is not a one-size-fits-it-all solution, this way enterprises can increase the security of their
software if there is no other way possible. Also, here the team should tread particularly carefully —
sometimes, patches and upgrades may generate new risks and vulnerabilities; therefore, if the team isn’t
sure about the positive result, it may be better to entrust this task to third-party cybersecurity experts.
Second, based on the assessment, the team can develop new security policies or improve their existing
ones. For example, an enterprise may implement user segmentation to limit access to the most
vulnerable modules of its application. Alternatively, teams can start running regular penetration tests to
be able to find and fix any threats quickly.
Considering software modernization
Although the above-listed measures may help with advancing security, legacy software may generate
new risks and vulnerabilities anyway. Therefore, enterprise managers should still consider modernizing
their software; this is the only fully reliable way to ensure that the corporate infrastructure is up-to-speed
and follows best cybersecurity practices. For instance, teams can renovate their app architecture, migrate
solutions to a more modern and secure platform, transfer data to the cloud, or implement selective
customizations. If more radical measures are required, teams can also consider refactoring or developing
a completely new solution instead of the old one.
Final thoughts
For many enterprises, legacy software remains an integral part of their digital infrastructures. While
outdated solutions continue to provide some value, they also pose security risks; to mitigate them, teams
can conduct cybersecurity assessments and fix vulnerabilities by deploying patches and enhancing their
security policies. Still, only a comprehensive application modernization may guarantee advanced and
future-proof cybersecurity.
Cyber Defense eMagazine – October 2021 Edition 62
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