What is CTEM?

Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) refers to a proactive and risk-driven approach to enable security and risk management leaders to build-evidence based security. CTEM involves ongoing processes to evaluate the vulnerability of your organization’s digital assets continually and consistently.

The goal is to establish a well-defined offensive security management strategy that align with business objectives, actively identifying, assessing, monitoring, and reducing security weaknesses before they can cause harm.

CTEM goes beyond traditional vulnerability management by considering a broader range of risks that impact business priorities and overall security posture. The CTEM program follows a cyclical structure with five stages: Scoping, Discovery, Prioritization, Validation, and Mobilization.

How Does CTEM Differ from Traditional Vulnerability Management?

CTEM is a holistic, risk-based approach that goes beyond patching vulnerabilities, considering the broader security landscape and business impact. Below is a chart explaining how CTEM differs from traditional vulnerability management.

Ctem vs. Vulnerability Management
CTEM Vulnerability Management
Scope & Focus Takes a broader view, considering not only vulnerabilities but also other risk factors such as threat exposure, asset criticality, and business impact. Primarily focuses on identifying and patching vulnerabilities in software, systems, and networks.
Proactivity Proactive approach - actively assesses risk, identifies threats, and prioritizes mitigation efforts before vulnerabilities are exploited. Reactive approach - identifies vulnerabilities after they're discovered.
Rick-Driven Approach Prioritizes based on risk to the organization, considering business context, threat landscape, and asset value. Often lacks context - patches are applied based on severity ratings.
Continuous Monitoring Ongoing monitoring and assessment, adapting to changing threats and business needs. Typical periodic scans or assessments.
integration with business goals Aligns security efforts with business goals, ensuring security investments are strategic. May not align with business objectives.

Why Implement CTEM?

There are many challenges that security and risk management professionals face today across the threat landscape.  The CTEM process can help address these challenges for many important reasons.

  1. Continuous and More Sophisticated Threats

    The threat landscape is continuously evolving along with increasingly more sophisticated attack techniques being used by cyber criminals, including assistance from AI.  With new threats and vulnerabilities emerging at a frightening rate, implementing CTEM enables your organization to proactively identify, assess, and mitigate risks, staying ahead of adversaries and reducing the likelihood of successful attacks.

  2. Protect Critical Assets and Data

    Organizations hold valuable digital assets, including sensitive customer data, intellectual property, notwithstanding systems and infrastructure.  Implementing CTEM helps protect these assets by ensuring potential vulnerabilities are detected and mitigated before they can be exploited.

  3. Maintain Regulatory Compliance

    Various industries are subject to strict regulatory and compliance standards regarding data privacy and routine security testing and validation.  Implementing a CTEM program helps organizations maintain continuous compliance with such regulations as PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2, ISO 27001, and others. By demonstrating that your organization is taking a proactive approach to managing cyber risks and protecting sensitive data, continuous security testing and validation becomes part of your overall compliance strategy.

  4. Minimize Financial Risk

    As we are all aware, you just need to read the latest news regarding the most recent data breaches and cyber-attack to understand the significant ramifications.  This includes financial losses, legal liabilities, loss of customer trust, and reputational damage to the organization.  A proactive offensive security approach like CTEM can minimize these risks by reducing the likelihood of a successful attack and ensure that potential incidents are identified and validated quickly to mitigate them promptly.

  5. Make Your Organization More Cyber Resilient

    A robust CTEM program helps your organization develop a comprehensive and holistic understanding of their attack surface and security posture. CTEM enables the prioritization of resources to focus on the most critical threats and attacker entry points.  The result is a more resilient organization that is better equipped to prevent and respond to cyber-attacks.

CTEM Process

Going beyond a hacker’s perspective to reduce risk involves not only context, but a process or architecture to address the challenges organizations will face.  The CTEM process involves five stages to guide security and risk professionals through a holistic, risk-based approach that goes beyond patching vulnerabilities, and considers the broader threat landscape and business impact should a potential attack occur

Implementing an effective CTEM program should not be difficult. Organizations should establish a team of key stakeholders to develop a robust program with the following considerations:

Cultivate a Dedicated Cybersecurity Team

Unify Threat Intelligence and Vulnerability Assessments

Generate an Effective Incident Response Plan

Conduct Regular Security Audits and Assessments

Implement Continuous Security Testing, Monitoring and Enhancement

Foster a Cybersecurity-Aware Culture

BreachLock CTEM Services

  • Small Enterprise

    Small businesses often encounter a range of threats, from outdated software to misconfigured networks, including issues like malware, network attacks, and phishing attempts. The initial step in a CTEM program is to identify and understand these potential threats.

  • Medium Enterprise

    With the expansion of mid-size businesses and their digital presence, their vulnerability to threats also expands. The growth in customer base and operational intricacies widens their potential targets, underscoring the importance of implementing a CTEM program and ongoing processes to evaluate the vulnerability of your organization’s digital assets continually and consistently.

  • Large Enterprise

    Diverse global operations expose large enterprises to a range of threats, including ransomware, Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), and social engineering. Such enterprise requires a tailored CTEM program and proactive security programs that can be deployed promptly and at a considerable scale.

See our pricing and packaging to discover more about our Enterprise Managed Services

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