The vulnerability dashboard of a CSPM tool focuses specifically on monitoring and managing vulnerabilities within an organization’s cloud environment. It is a key component of a CSPM platform, providing real-time insights into security weaknesses and potential risks associated with cloud resources and configurations. The following screenshot provides a glimpse of a vulnerable resources dashboard in Microsoft Defender for Cloud under the Workload protections offering:

Figure 10.7 – Microsoft Defender for Cloud – the Workload protections dashboard (Source: Microsoft Defender for Cloud CSPM dashboard)

Here are the key aspects and functionalities of a vulnerability dashboard within a CSPM tool:

• Vulnerability scanning: The vulnerability dashboard in a CSPM tool leverages vulnerability scanners or agents to conduct regular scans across the cloud infrastructure. These scans detect vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and security weaknesses in cloud resources and services.
• Cloud resource visibility: The dashboard provides an aggregated view of all cloud resources and their respective vulnerabilities. This includes virtual machines, containers, storage buckets, databases, load balancers, and more.
• Vulnerability prioritization: Vulnerabilities are categorized and prioritized based on their severity levels, such as critical, high, medium, and low. The dashboard highlights critical vulnerabilities that require immediate attention.
• Compliance mapping: The dashboard may map identified vulnerabilities to specific compliance standards, industry best practices, and security benchmarks. This helps ensure that the cloud environment meets relevant security and compliance requirements.
• Frequent dashboard updates: The vulnerability dashboard in a CSPM tool continuously updates as new scans are performed or as configurations change, providing up-to-date information on the security posture of the cloud infrastructure.
• Risk scoring: Some CSPM platforms assign risk scores to vulnerabilities based on factors such as potential impact, exploitability, and resource criticality based on tags (crown jewels) and affected resources. This helps in prioritizing remediation efforts effectively.
• Integration with remediation tools: The vulnerability dashboard can integrate with various cloud orchestration and automation tools to facilitate remediation actions. Security teams can take immediate actions from the dashboard to address identified vulnerabilities.
• Remediation recommendations: This is another important feature that brings all relevant remediations, guideline information, and best practices together to fix vulnerabilities efficiently. These recommendations assist security teams in resolving issues effectively.
• Customizable policies: Organizations can often customize vulnerability scanning policies so that they align with their specific security requirements and compliance standards.
• Historical data and trends: In some cases, the dashboard may maintain historical data and vulnerability trends, enabling organizations to track progress, analyze patterns, and assess security improvements over time.

The vulnerability dashboard aids in optimizing the security posture, reducing the attack surface, and mitigating potential security risks effectively. It allows security teams to stay ahead of cyber threats and ensure the integrity and confidentiality of cloud resources and data.