Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)

How is CTEM Different From Traditional Vulnerability Management Programs?

Best Practices for Implementing CTEM

CTEM is a powerful framework for strengthening your cybersecurity posture – but only when implemented effectively. To ensure your organization secures the full benefits of CTEM, you should:

1. Collaborate with cross-functional teams for a unified vision. Effective collaboration prevents silos from emerging, which can lead to gaps in your implementation or inefficient processes.
2. Measure security maturity regularly to highlight areas for improvement. Using clear, verifiable metrics to measure your progress helps showcase the impact of CTEM for key stakeholders. It also allows you to measure any improvements against industry benchmarks.
3. Integrate with other cybersecurity platforms. For maximum impact, integrate your CTEM program with your
   external attack surface management (EASM) toolset and Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) implementations for broader and deeper threat scanning.
4. Invest in data analytics and artificial intelligence. In a fast-paced cyber environment, you need to embrace cutting-edge technologies that can process large quantities of data and identify unusual activity and suspicious access patterns without delay.
5. Emphasize risk prioritization and efficient mobilization efforts. Closing the CTEM loop means turning asset discovery and vulnerability assessments into effective remediation. This ensures that enhanced visibility translates into a reduced likelihood of breaches.

Incorporating these best practices into your CTEM implementation will maximize its impact on your organization. You will be well-prepared to build a more resilient future, no matter what new threats emerge.

CTEM Examples

• Real-time threat monitoring. CTEM enables organizations to implement systems for constant network monitoring. You will be able to detect threats in real-time and respond before they escalate. For instance, suspicious network activity can trigger alerts that prompt immediate investigations or preemptive action to prevent an attack.
  
• Endpoint security. CTEM can deploy advanced AI-driven solutions to identify and respond to threats at endpoints. From on-prem workstations and servers to virtual machines, CTEM enables you to quickly spot anomalous behaviour and zero-day exploits.
  
• Threat intelligence integration. Integrating threat feeds directly into your vulnerability management efforts enables up-to-date threat awareness and risk scoring based on real-world attack patterns. That means you can focus your remediation efforts on vulnerabilities that are being actively targeted by known threat actors.
  
• Cloud security. In today’s remote-first world, it’s essential that you can continuously assess and secure your cloud assets. CTEM enables you to identify and respond to misconfigurations, overly permissive access controls and other vulnerabilities without delay.
  
• Incident response automation. CTEM’s emphasis on automated processes accelerates your ability to respond to cybersecurity incidents and minimizes the potential blast radius of an attack – all without waiting for manual intervention.

CTEM Tools

To effectively implement CTEM, organizations can leverage a range of cybersecurity tools and technologies. Here are some tools commonly used in the CTEM process:

• Vulnerability scanners. These automated tools continuously scan systems, applications, and networks to identify vulnerabilities that could be targeted by attackers.
• Threat intelligence platforms. These platforms aggregate and analyze global threat data to identify emerging threats and new attack techniques.
• AI-driven threat detection. These solutions use artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse threat data and detect sophisticated threats in real-time.
• Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools. These tools help organizations maintain a secure cloud infrastructure by assessing cloud configurations against security best practices and compliance frameworks.

By integrating these tools into a unified cybersecurity program, organizations can achieve continuous vigilance and stay one step ahead in identifying and mitigating risks.

What to Look for in a CTEM Platform

To secure the significant benefits that CTEM can offer, you need to work with a partner who can provide the support you need. By providing access to a full range of capabilities and targeted support, the right partner can supercharge your CTEM efforts.

When choosing a vendor to help implement your CTEM solution, look for: 

• • Functionality. An effective CTEM solution should incorporate vulnerability scanning, asset discovery, attack surface analysis
    and risk management capabilities to cover the full five-stage CTEM framework. 
  • Cloud and on-prem support. Your CTEM vendor should enable you to manage vulnerabilities and mitigate risks across the full range of physical and digital assets, no matter where they’re located. Your chosen solution should provide comprehensive cloud support, on-prem compatibility and the ability to manage hybrid environments.
  • Seamless integration. If your CTEM platform effectively integrates with your full range of cybersecurity tools, you can streamline your operations and reduce the manual load on your security teams. This improved efficiency can provide cost savings without compromising on safety.
  • Effective reporting. Clear reporting helps you evaluate your threat exposure and track progress toward KPIs. Look for customizable dashboards and user-friendly reporting tools that let you share impactful updates with key stakeholders and make progress monitoring simpler.
  • Advanced capabilities. To stay ahead of emerging threats and scale your cybersecurity efforts as your attack surface grows, you need a platform that deploys cutting-edge technology. Prioritize vendors that offer AI-driven threat detection and automated vulnerability scanning and remediation capabilities.

Taking these factors into account will help you choose a CTEM partner that meets your needs and delivers a robust, efficient and effective cybersecurity solution.