UK public sector accelerates DNS vulnerability fixes with new system

As reported by The Register, the UK public sector has significantly improved its response to DNS vulnerabilities, achieving an 84% faster remediation rate thanks to a new automated vulnerability scanning system. This initiative, launched early last year, is part of a broader effort to modernize digital government services and enhance cybersecurity.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) introduced its Vulnerability Monitoring System (VMS), which utilizes a combination of commercial and proprietary tools. VMS continuously scans approximately 6,000 UK public sector websites, identifying and flagging around 1,000 different types of vulnerabilities. This system has drastically reduced the time to fix DNS vulnerabilities from an average of 50 days to just eight.

Beyond DNS issues, VMS has also cut the median time for resolving other security flaws from 53 days to 32 days and cleared 75% of critical open domain-related vulnerabilities. The system resolves approximately 400 confirmed vulnerabilities monthly.

Source: The Register