Vulnerability Management is essential to maintaining information security in an increasingly complex threat landscape. The expansion of the attack surface, driven by technological advances and the migration to hybrid environments, has brought new challenges for companies of all sizes. More than fixing flaws, it is necessary to prioritize real risks and protect the business’s most critical assets to keep operations secure.
Companies that still measure efficiency only by the volume of vulnerabilities addressed may be allocating resources to low-impact issues, leaving critical gaps exposed. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024, the average time to identify and contain a breach is 258 days. Organizations that structure their management continuously and with a risk-based approach tend to significantly reduce this timeframe, because they can prioritize and fix the flaws that truly pose a threat.
In this article, we will show why the focus should be on risk rather than quantity, and how this shift strategically strengthens security posture. We will also present practices and tools that support this approach, including how SAW — Security Anywhere accelerates response in the field. Check it out!
The False Sense of Security in “Clearing the Backlog”
In many companies, “clearing the backlog” is treated as a strategic objective. The idea is simple: eliminate all vulnerabilities listed in security reports. While this may seem like a valid goal, such an approach can create a false sense of security and lead to inefficient use of time and resources.
The backlog is essentially the set of identified vulnerabilities that have not yet been remediated. In complex corporate environments, this list can contain thousands of records — including critical flaws, but also low-impact or non-relevant issues. When the focus is only on quantity, teams often end up addressing vulnerabilities that are unlikely to be exploited, while high-risk threats remain active.
A practical example
Imagine two vulnerabilities detected in the same scan. The first is on an isolated test server with no sensitive data. The second is on a production payment system exposed to the internet. Both appear in the backlog, but their impact is completely different. A risk-based approach ensures that the second is addressed immediately, while the first can be scheduled for later remediation.
Teams that concentrate efforts on the highest-impact vulnerabilities are able to reduce the attack surface more effectively and optimize resolution time. This creates a more agile cycle of detection, prioritization, and remediation, boosting operational efficiency and reducing exposure to serious incidents.
What Is Real Risk and How to Prioritize
Not every vulnerability represents the same threat to the business. The concept of real risk considers not only a flaw’s technical severity but also its context and potential impact on critical assets.
To understand real risk, evaluate three main factors:
- Likelihood of exploitation: whether the vulnerability has known exploits or is being actively exploited.
- Asset exposure: whether the system is internet‑facing, on an internal network, or isolated.
- Business impact: direct consequences if the flaw is exploited, such as service downtime, data leakage, or disruption of essential operations.
Risk‑based prioritization crosses these variables with your asset inventory and threat intelligence. Risk‑Based Vulnerability Management (RBVM) tools and sources like the NVD help map risk levels and set remediation order.
For example, a vulnerability with a medium Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score may deserve high priority if it affects an internet‑exposed server holding customer data. Conversely, a critical‑score vulnerability on a restricted, non‑external system can be scheduled for later remediation.
By adopting this approach, your company directs effort to what truly threatens operational continuity, reducing exposure and optimizing resources. It also enables a smarter response cycle, with decisions based on real impact rather than isolated severity metrics.
The Role of Maturity in the Vulnerability Management Process
Maturity in Vulnerability Management goes far beyond running periodic scans and fixing critical flaws. It means evolving from a reactive posture to a structured, continuous approach aligned with business objectives.
Low‑maturity companies usually act only when an incident occurs or when an audit flags issues. This creates unstable remediation cycles, overloads teams, and makes results hard to measure. Mature organizations, in turn, follow well‑defined processes, with clear governance, distributed responsibilities, and indicators that guide decisions.
Signs of maturity in Vulnerability Management
Some signs of maturity in the VM process include:
- Integration with the asset inventory: ensuring every vulnerability is tied to a specific asset and its criticality level.
- Use of automation: running regular scans, correlating data, and generating reports with risk‑based prioritization.
- Strategic metrics: tracking indicators such as mean time to remediate by criticality, percentage reduction of critical vulnerabilities, and backlog evolution.
- Alignment across security and operations: engaging infrastructure, development, and compliance to execute corrective actions quickly.
According to the IBM X‑Force Threat Intelligence Index, exploited vulnerabilities are among the main causes of incidents in critical sectors. This reinforces that mature Vulnerability Management processes can reduce the time that exploitable flaws remain exposed and, consequently, the likelihood of serious incidents.
This evolution is visible in long‑term partnerships. In a project led by iT.eam’s MSS team, a large Brazilian company transformed its Vulnerability Management over five years.
The work began in 2020, with a 94.25% reduction in vulnerabilities in the first cycle and the implementation of governance and scan automation. In the following years, the strategy advanced to risk‑based prioritization, a 36.23% reduction in backlog, and the achievement of targets such as managing 1,666 vulnerabilities in 2024.
In 2025, even as the environment expanded, critical assets remained protected and overall risk was classified as low — the result of a mature, business‑risk‑oriented process that continues to evolve.
By investing in maturity, the organization builds a sustainable process capable of handling technological change, environment growth, and new threats without losing efficiency or visibility.
Where SAW Comes In: How the App Supports Field Teams with Agility in Corrective Actions
When it comes to reducing response time and ensuring that fixes are applied efficiently, it is not enough to just identify and prioritize vulnerabilities. Technical teams need practical tools to execute actions as quickly as possible.
And this is exactly where SAW — Security Anywhere stands out.
The Vulnerability Management module in SAW integrates risk-based prioritization with features that streamline daily execution. Its key differentiators include:
- Centralized visibility: all vulnerabilities and related assets are available in a single, real-time updated interface.
- Smart filters: segment flaws by criticality, asset, or status, helping teams focus on what truly matters.
- Integration with recognized catalogs: such as MITRE ATT&CK and NIST NVD, providing additional context for each vulnerability.
- Field tracking: technicians can access the platform from anywhere, log completed fixes, and update status immediately.
This mobility and integration reduce the need for constant email exchanges, spreadsheets, or follow-up meetings. By centralizing and streamlining corrective actions, SAW helps shorten the exposure window, improve cross-team communication, and ensure critical assets receive immediate attention.
In addition, the solution enables historical analysis and progress tracking through evolution metrics. Managers can clearly see the impact of actions taken and the maturity progress of the Vulnerability Management process.
Start Focusing on Business Risk
Addressing vulnerabilities with a risk-based approach is not just a technical priority shift but a strategic decision that directly impacts business continuity and security. By focusing efforts on what truly threatens critical assets, companies can reduce their attack surface more effectively, optimize resources, and accelerate decision-making.
Tools like SAW further enhance this approach by connecting strategic prioritization with practical execution, shortening the time between identifying a vulnerability and fixing it.
If your company still measures Vulnerability Management effectiveness solely by the number of flaws resolved, it’s time to rethink the model. Adopting a risk-based approach means being prepared to face the threats that truly matter.
Want to understand how to apply this approach in your company? Request a free assessment with our experts!
