Lean vulnerability management: five leading indicators that fuel performance

Vulnerability management is the primary mechanism for protecting an organisation’s digital assets. It is well known that unpatched vulnerabilities are a leading cause of data breaches. According to IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report, 9% of worldwide breaches continue to be caused by vulnerabilities that have not been patched.

The global average cost of a data breach remains staggeringly high at USD 4.4 million. Interestingly, organisations using automation reduced their average breach costs to USD 3.62 million, compared to the USD 5.52 million for those who were not. It is clear that high patching performance is directly correlated to cost reductions.

Vulnerability management also plays a central role in an organisation’s Information Security Management System (ISMS). A well tailored policy is simply not enough. A robust vulnerability management programme must include a functioning system to identify, assess and remediate vulnerabilities in line with clearly defined timelines.

Without proper metrics, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of a vulnerability management programme. Many lean teams rely on metrics provided by scanning tools, but these are often too generic. Instead, organisations should focus on developing leading metrics that offer a clear, actionable view of their vulnerability landscape while helping flag potential performance issues early on.

These metrics should be easy to understand across technical and non-technical stakeholders, enabling informed decisions without adding unnecessary complexity.

Fortunately, there are five leading vulnerability management metrics that lean teams can use today. We will look at each in turn, explaining what they are, why they matter and how to use them. These metrics, while simple on the surface, can reveal deep insights into an organisation’s vulnerability management posture and help identify areas for performance improvement.