Small security teams are often putting out fires, and as a result, burning out fast. A 2024 study revealed that 50% of cybersecurity professionals expected to deal with burnout within a year.
So, to stay functional and avoid burnout, they need to optimize their existing processes as much as possible. In this article, we look into how small security teams can improve the process of vulnerability management (VM) so that they both make it effective and don’t go crazy.
1. Define and Limit Your Asset Inventory Scope
You can’t secure what you don’t know. So, the first step in vulnerability management, which is actually often overlooked, has nothing to do with vulnerabilities — it’s about asset discovery.
Use asset discovery tools to get an asset inventory and make sure it’s continuously and automatically updated. Don’t rely on spreadsheets — the cost of not updating that spreadsheet on time could be too high. Besides, the more you reduce manual work, the more you would be able to cover, and we all know how stretched small security teams always are.
2. Prioritize by Risk
CVSS is not enough. It’s a good starting point, but the difference between “that’s a critical issue”, “that critical issue is actively exploited by ransomware gangs”, and “that critical and known-to-be-exploited issue is in our main public website” is drastic.
So, CVSS scores are a starting point, not the whole picture. You need to make sure you also consider the likelihood of exploitation (you can use EPSS), known active threats (use the CISA KEV catalog), asset exposure, and business context.
A CVSS 10 on a disconnected printer matters less than a CVSS 6 on your public login portal.
3. Stick to a Cadence
You know you can’t scan and patch continuously. But you shouldn’t procrastinate that either. So, what do you do? Establish a cadence and stick to it.
We shouldn’t be telling you how often you should do it, it depends on a lot of variables that only you know. But there should be a schedule: say, you run weekly external scans and monthly internal scans. There will also be ad hoc scans when some changes occur. Automate and schedule these scans so they run whether you’re available or not — the goal is to make sure that the cadence works (and that you get notified if a scan surfaces something ugly).
Consistency is key to many things, and that’s one of them. Regular scans help catch regressions and bring shadow IT to light before it’s too late.
4. Automate
Did we mention that one already? Small teams don’t have time for busywork. So, it’s best to automate everything you can: recurring scans, patch deployment for common software that shouldn’t break things, support ticket creation, alerting, and even basic notifications to asset owners.
You shouldn’t be spending hours copying scan results into emails. The platforms should do that. Let the platform do that, and save your time for problems that basic automation doesn’t solve.
Even basic automation can shave days off remediation time.
5. Use Tags and Grouping for Faster Triage
Many vulnerability management and exposure management platforms offer tags. They help add context. Use them. Tag assets by function, owner, environment (prod/dev/staging), and criticality. This helps both filter scan results faster and speed up remediation, because you immediately know whom to talk to.
IT would also be much happier if, instead of dumping a list of hundreds of findings on them, you find the right person and say “these three servers on prod need urgent attention.”
6. Track Fixes, Not Findings
Finding vulnerabilities is easy. Fixing them is where the real work begins — and where things often get lost. So instead of just tracking what you’ve found, make sure you track what’s been fixed, by whom, and when.
Ideally, your VM tool should integrate with your ticketing system or ITSM platform. Once a vulnerability is found, it should be logged as a task and assigned with a deadline. And once it’s marked “done,” it needs to be verified. No assumptions.
A critical vuln that stays open in Jira for months helps no one.
7. Always Rescan and Verify Fixes
You deployed the patch — but did it work? Don’t assume that fixing the issue is the same as closing it. Some patches fail silently. Some systems don’t get restarted. Some teams forget to deploy to all servers.
Set up rescans after patches are applied and confirm that the fix worked as expected. If not, escalate. Fix failures are common. So, confirming fixes should be part of your default workflow, not something that you occasionally do (and occasionally forget to do).
8. Measure What Matters
You don’t need fancy dashboards or dozens of metrics. Well, we wish this was completely up to you — we know convincing management might not be easy, but at least try to influence it as much as you can.
Tracking too many metrics takes time. What you really need are a few metrics that actually help you track important things. Here’s what comes to mind:
- Median time to remediate (MTTR)
- Number of open vulns by severity
- % of vulns fixed within SLA
The key is not to overcomplicate it. Measure enough to catch trends, track improvements, and make a case if you need more support or tooling. These metrics should work both for you and for the management.
9. Work With the People Who Own the Systems
Security doesn’t own all the systems — but you do depend on the people who do. So, it’s best to build relationships with them.
How? Well, it’s a personal thing, but it’s also worth noting that yet another task list with minimal context dumped on engineers and IT teams probably doesn’t help. Clarity often does, though.
So, give them context. Show them why it matters. When possible, route findings directly to the responsible owner using tags or integrations, providing useful suggestions instead of a “most comprehensive list of remediation measures.” That way, you’re helping them take action — not just passing the problem along.
The more collaborative you are, the faster things get fixed.
Final Thought
Small teams get stretched fast — so the key isn’t to do more, it’s to do the right things better. Vulnerability management is non-negotiable, you won’t avoid it. So, to make sure you get the most out of it, focus on automation, context, and collaboration.
You don’t need to patch everything — you need to patch the right things, fast. And you also need management to understand that — so show them this article, if you need to.