NetSPI Unveils 2023 Offensive Security Vision Report, Shines Light on the Need for Improved Vulnerability Prioritization

Survey finds lack of resources and prioritization as the greatest barriers to timely vulnerability remediation

MINNEAPOLIS, May 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NetSPI, the global leader in offensive security, today announced the findings from its inaugural 2023 Offensive Security Vision Report, focusing on vulnerability trends across applications, cloud, and networks. The report offers a look back — and forward — at some of the most significant vulnerability patterns of the past year to help security and business leaders focus discovery, management, and remediation efforts on the riskiest vulnerabilities most likely to exist on their attack surface. 

The report analyzed over 300,000 anonymized findings from thousands of pentest engagements, spanning more than 240,000 hours of testing, to identify the most prevalent vulnerabilities across various industries — which include healthcare, retail, finance, and manufacturing. 

Top findings include:

• On average, the highest volume of critical and high severity vulnerabilities were discovered within the government and nonprofit industry. On the contrary, insurance had the lowest volume of critical and high severity vulnerabilities.
• Internal networks have 3x more exploitable vulnerabilities than external networks.
• Of the applications tested, web applications have a higher prevalence of high and critical vulnerabilities compared to mobile and thick applications.
• The two greatest barriers to timely and effective remediation today are a lack of resources (70%) and prioritization (60%).
• 71% of respondents shared that less than one-fourth of security roles budgeted were entry-level, with 46% of those reporting no plans for entry-level hiring in 2023.

"One narrative made evident from our Offensive Security Vision Report is that vulnerability prioritization is critical," said Vinay Anand, Chief Product Officer at NetSPI. "The reality is that we cannot fix every vulnerability discovered, but if prioritization and support continue to lack, the security industry will fall short. This realization, coupled with the industry experiencing rising burnout rates among developer teams, should evoke a sense of urgency. Our findings can help leaders grasp the severity of the situation to prioritize vulnerability management."

"This report makes it abundantly clear that there's still a lot to be done to support and enable the industry to improve vulnerability management," said Cody Chamberlain, Head of Product at NetSPI. "We hope the observations and actionable recommendations throughout our inaugural Offensive Security Vision Report are a great data-driven starting point for security teams to harden their security." 

The 2023 Offensive Security Vision Report is available to download now. For more information about NetSPI, visit www.netspi.com. 

About NetSPI
NetSPI is the global leader in offensive security, delivering the most comprehensive suite of penetration testing, attack surface management, and breach and attack simulation solutions. Through a combination of technology innovation and human ingenuity NetSPI helps organizations discover, prioritize, and remediate security vulnerabilities. Its global cybersecurity experts are committed to securing the world's most prominent organizations, including nine of the top 10 U.S. banks, four of the top five leading global cloud providers, four of the five largest healthcare companies, three FAANG companies, seven of the top 10 U.S. retailers & e-commerce companies, and many of the Fortune 500. NetSPI is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, with global offices across the U.S., Canada, the UK, and India.

Media Contacts:
Tori Norris, NetSPI
[email protected] 
(630) 258-0277

Jessica Bettencourt, Inkhouse for NetSPI
[email protected] 
(774) 451-5142

SOURCE NetSPI