Episode 65 — Vulnerability Management at r2
Asset coverage must include every place your code and data live, whether cloud based or on premises, because blind spots create silent exposure. Start with a reconciled inventory that ties business services to hosts, containers, functions, and devices, and keep it updated through automated discovery. Tag assets with ownership, criticality, and environment so triage later has context. Cloud native components, like managed databases or serverless functions, require different collection methods than traditional servers, so your tooling mix must match your stack. On premises appliances and endpoints cannot be afterthoughts; prove they are visible in the same dashboards. A small scenario demonstrates the risk: a forgotten staging subnet holds an old build agent that still accepts inbound connections. Without inventory parity, scans miss it, and attackers find it first. Comprehensive coverage is the foundation; every later metric, decision, and report relies on this single source of truth.
Authenticated scanning across all tiers turns surface impressions into reliable findings. Unauthenticated probes can hint at issues, but credentials reveal configuration truth, patch levels, and real exposure. Use least privilege accounts designed for scanning, rotate them on a defined cadence, and record where authentication succeeded or failed. Extend coverage to application layers and containers so base image flaws and library issues appear alongside operating system items. In virtualized or cloud environments, pair network scans with agent based checks to capture ephemeral assets that appear and vanish within hours. A common misconception is that authenticated scanning slows production; in reality, careful scheduling, throttling, and scoping prevent disruption while producing richer data. When assessors ask why a host shows no results for months, your logs should show an authentication failure and a tracked fix, not silence. Depth, not guesswork, earns confidence at r2.
Vulnerability metrics and leadership reporting convert raw activity into accountability and direction. Useful measures include coverage rates for authenticated scans, time to remediate by risk category, aging of open findings, exception counts by owner, and the percentage of exploited items closed within target. Present them by product or business service so leaders can allocate resources where they matter. Trend lines reveal whether improvements hold or fade after a push. Pair numbers with short narratives that explain causes and planned actions, not excuses. When leadership sees consistent coverage, faster closures, and declining backlog age, they recognize real progress. When the opposite appears, they can intervene with funding, staffing, or scope decisions. Metrics are not decoration in r2; they are the way you manage the program between assessments.
