Vulnerability Management Outsourcing

Last updated: November 11, 2026

Vulnerability management outsourcing gives you a team that continuously finds, prioritises and tracks the remediation of security weaknesses across your servers, endpoints, network devices, cloud accounts, containers and web applications. Rather than producing a 400-page scan report once a year, we run an ongoing programme: regular scans, risk-based prioritisation, tickets assigned to the right owners and verification that fixes actually worked. It works best together with SOC security monitoring.

Who is it for and what problem does it solve

Most organisations already run a scanner. The problem is what happens afterwards: thousands of findings, no clear owner, the same critical vulnerabilities reappearing every quarter, and auditors asking for evidence of remediation that nobody can produce. Security teams spend their time exporting spreadsheets instead of reducing risk.

Outsourced vulnerability management suits companies preparing for ISO 27001, PCI DSS or customer security audits, organisations with large or fast-changing infrastructure, and IT teams that have the tools but not the people to run a disciplined programme.

Vulnerability scanning is not the same as penetration testing

	Vulnerability management	Penetration testing
Goal	Continuously find and reduce known weaknesses	Show how an attacker could chain weaknesses to reach a target
Frequency	Continuous or weekly/monthly cycles	Periodic, often annual or before major releases
Method	Automated scanning plus analyst validation	Manual, creative testing by specialists
Output	Prioritised, tracked remediation backlog	Narrative report with exploited attack paths

Both are needed. A good vulnerability management programme makes penetration tests more valuable, because testers no longer spend their time on issues a scanner would have found.

Prioritisation: CVSS, EPSS and context

A CVSS score alone is a poor guide; in a typical environment far too many findings are rated high or critical. We combine several signals to decide what really needs to be fixed first:

CVSS for technical severity
EPSS for the likelihood of exploitation in the near term
CISA KEV and threat intelligence for vulnerabilities known to be exploited
Asset context: internet exposure, business criticality, data sensitivity
Compensating controls such as segmentation or WAF rules

The result is a short list that your teams can act on this week, rather than a long list nobody reads.

Programme maturity: where to start

Stage	Characteristics	Next step
1. Ad hoc	Occasional scans, no owners	Asset inventory and regular authenticated scans
2. Repeatable	Regular scans, manual reporting	Risk-based prioritisation and ticket integration
3. Managed	SLAs per severity, owners, tracking	Metrics, exceptions process, cloud and container coverage
4. Optimised	Automated, integrated with CI/CD and patching	Continuous validation and attack surface management

Service scope

Asset discovery and inventory reconciliation, including external attack surface
Authenticated infrastructure scanning (servers, endpoints, network devices)
Web application and API scanning (DAST)
Cloud configuration and container image scanning
Validation of findings to remove false positives
Risk-based prioritisation and remediation guidance
Ticket creation and tracking in your ITSM or DevOps tool
Re-scans to verify fixes, and an exception process for accepted risks
Monthly reporting and audit evidence

Typical tools include Tenable Nessus and Tenable.io, Qualys, Rapid7 InsightVM, OpenVAS/Greenbone, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP, Trivy and cloud-native posture tools.

Standards and regulations

Vulnerability management is required or expected by ISO/IEC 27001 (technical vulnerability management control), PCI DSS (quarterly internal and external scans), NIST CSF and CIS Controls. In Turkey, where the team operates, KVKK technical measures, the Information and Communication Security Guide, and BDDK rules for financial institutions are relevant. Local rules in your country, such as NIS2 and DORA in the EU, also apply, and we align scan frequency, remediation timelines and evidence with them.

Working models

Model	How it works	Best for
Fully managed programme	We operate scanning, prioritisation, tracking and reporting	Companies without a dedicated team
Co-managed	You own tools and decisions, we run cycles and analysis	Security teams short on capacity
Dedicated analyst	A named analyst works inside your tools and processes	Large or complex environments
Project-based	Programme set-up or a backlog clean-up project	Building the foundation first

Process and typical timelines

Week 1: scope, asset inventory, access and scanner configuration.
Weeks 2–3: baseline scans, validation and first prioritised report.
Week 4: remediation SLAs, owners and ticket workflow agreed.
Ongoing: recurring scan cycles, re-tests, monthly reporting and quarterly programme reviews.

A team typically starts within 1–2 weeks of agreement.

SLA and KPI table

KPI	What it measures
Scan coverage	Share of known assets scanned in the cycle
Authenticated scan rate	Share of scans with valid credentials
Mean time to remediate	Average days to fix per severity
SLA compliance	Share of findings fixed within agreed timelines
Recurrence rate	Fixed vulnerabilities that reappear
Exception backlog	Accepted risks and their expiry dates

Remediation timelines per severity are agreed with you; we do not quote generic figures.

Vulnerability Management Outsourcing — overview

Pricing factors

Factor	Effect on cost
Number and type of assets	Servers, endpoints, network devices, web apps, cloud accounts
Scan frequency	Monthly, weekly or continuous
Scope of validation	Automated only, or manual validation of high-risk findings
Tool licences	Your licences or tools we provide
Remediation support	Tracking only, or hands-on fix guidance and patching assistance
Reporting needs	Audit evidence, executive dashboards, languages

In-house, freelancer or outsourcing

Criterion	In-house	Freelancer	Outsourcing
Continuity	Depends on retention	Irregular	Ongoing programme with replacement process
Time to start	Hiring takes months	Fast but limited	Typically 1–2 weeks
Process and reporting	Must be built	Rarely included	Included

Risks and mitigations

Scans disrupting production: agreed scan windows, safe settings and gradual onboarding of fragile systems.
Scanner credentials misuse: dedicated least-privilege accounts, vaulting and rotation.
Findings without owners: asset-to-owner mapping and ticket integration.
Permanent exceptions: time-limited risk acceptance with sign-off.

Security, data protection, NDA and intellectual property

Vulnerability data is sensitive: it is effectively a map of how to attack you. We store it only in agreed systems, restrict access to named team members and delete it according to the contract.

Contract framework: we work under a B2B service agreement with a clear statement of work. An NDA is signed before any access is granted, and all deliverables, reports, dashboards, scan policies and documentation created for you are assigned to you as intellectual property. Where we process personal data on your behalf, we sign a GDPR-compliant data processing agreement (DPA) with Standard Contractual Clauses (for UK clients, the IDTA or UK Addendum); on the Turkish side the team also complies with KVKK (Law No. 6698). Team members are employed by 360 Soft under Turkish labour law, so there is no employment relationship between them and your company.

Illustrative scenario

Illustrative scenario: a mid-sized e-commerce company runs monthly scans but has a backlog of thousands of open findings. The outsourced team validates the backlog, groups findings by fix (for example one patch closing hundreds of findings), prioritises internet-facing systems with known exploited vulnerabilities, and creates tickets per owner. This example is for illustration only.

Selection checklist

Do they use authenticated scans?
Is prioritisation based on exploitability and context, not CVSS alone?
Are fixes verified with re-scans?
Is there an exception process with expiry dates?
Do they integrate with your ticketing tool?
Can they provide audit evidence?
Are NDA, DPA and IP assignment in the contract?

Frequently asked questions

Is vulnerability scanning the same as penetration testing?

No. Vulnerability management is a continuous programme to find and fix known weaknesses; penetration testing is a periodic manual exercise showing how weaknesses can be exploited. Both are needed.

Which scanners do you use?

We use your existing tools or common platforms such as Tenable, Qualys, Rapid7, Greenbone, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP and Trivy.

Will scanning affect production systems?

We agree scan windows and safe settings, and onboard fragile systems gradually to avoid disruption.

How do you prioritise findings?

We combine CVSS, EPSS, known exploited vulnerability lists, asset exposure, business criticality and compensating controls.

Do you fix the vulnerabilities?

Remediation is usually done by your system owners. We provide guidance and tracking, and hands-on patching support can be added to the scope.

Do you cover cloud and containers?

Yes. Cloud configuration and container image scanning can be part of the programme.

Can you help with PCI DSS scans?

We run internal scans and help with remediation evidence. External PCI scans must be performed by an Approved Scanning Vendor, which we can coordinate with.

How often should we scan?

At least monthly for most environments, weekly or continuously for internet-facing and critical systems, depending on your risk profile and regulations.

How quickly can you start?

Typically within 1–2 weeks of agreement.

Who owns the reports?

You do. All reports and documentation are assigned to you under the contract.

Talk to us

Tell us about your vulnerability management needs and we will come back with a scoped proposal, a team plan and a realistic start date (typically 1–2 weeks). Call +90 850 335 10 87, message us on WhatsApp, email info@360-soft.com or use the contact page. 360 Soft Marketing Yazılım ve Danışmanlık Ltd. Şti., Nidakule Ataşehir Batı, Barbaros Mah. Begonya Sk. No:1 D:2, 34746 Ataşehir/İstanbul.

Related services

All services: Outsourcing Services