Continuous threat exposure management services GLOSSARY
What is Exposure Management in Cybersecurity?
January 23, 2025 | 6 MINS READ
In a recent Ponemon Institute survey, 63% of organizations acknowledged the need for improvement in their exposure management capabilities to manage cyber risks effectively. This statistic highlights the growing necessity for organizations to refine their exposure management strategies to better identify, prioritize, and mitigate security vulnerabilities across their digital environments.
With cyber threats continuously evolving, robust exposure management is no longer optional—it’s essential for fortifying an organization’s cybersecurity posture.
In cybersecurity, Exposure Management involves identifying, assessing, and addressing risks associated with exposed digital assets—such as endpoints, applications, and cloud resources— that could be exploited by cyber threats. It’s a fundamental aspect of risk assessment and mitigation, enabling organizations to understand and address vulnerabilities effectively.
Exposure Management vs. Vulnerability Management vs. Continuous Threat Exposure Management
Exposure Management, Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM), and Vulnerability Management all refer to critical processes in cybersecurity, but they have distinct scopes, goals, and methodologies. Here’s a breakdown of the differences:
Exposure Management
Exposure management is a strategic approach to identifying and mitigating all potential attack vectors across an organization’s digital attack surface. This includes not only vulnerabilities but also misconfigurations, shadow IT, third-party risks, and other security gaps that adversaries might exploit. It takes a holistic, proactive, and risk-based perspective, focusing on reducing exposure to threats before they materialize into incidents.
This comprehensive method is ideal for organizations that want to address security gaps across diverse environments, including cloud, on-premises, and third-party systems. By prioritizing risks based on likelihood and potential impact, exposure management ensures resources are directed where they are needed most to protect critical assets.
Vulnerability Management
Vulnerability management helps organizations identify and address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by threat actors. Providers assess and highlight the vulnerabilities most likely to be targeted and offer guidance on creating an effective remediation plan.
By leveraging a vulnerability management service, organizations can automate the detection of vulnerabilities across evolving IT environments, monitor and measure vulnerability lifecycles, alleviate operational and resource challenges, prioritize remediation efforts based on potential business risks, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) is a forward-looking cybersecurity strategy that focuses on continuously uncovering, analyzing, and mitigating security risks across an organization’s entire digital landscape.
By adopting CTEM, organizations transition from relying on sporadic, one-time evaluations to embracing a unified, ongoing approach to risk management.
Why is Exposure Management Important?
Exposure management is a vital part of modern cybersecurity strategy, offering several key benefits. First, it strengthens security operations by aligning them with business objectives and compliance requirements, ensuring a comprehensive and effective approach.
Second, by identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities, it closes gaps in cybersecurity programs and provides visibility into potential blind spots that could be exploited by advanced threats.
Lastly, exposure management optimizes security investments by prioritizing critical risks, enabling organizations to allocate resources effectively and maximize the impact of their security measures.
The Exposure Management Lifecycle
An Exposure Management program involves a structured process designed to proactively identify, assess, prioritize, and mitigate security risks across an organization’s attack surface. Each stage contributes to building a robust and adaptive security posture that keeps pace with evolving threats.
Identify Exposed Assets
The process begins with uncovering exposed assets across the organization’s digital environment. This includes on-premises systems, cloud-based resources, IoT devices, and third-party connections. Understanding what assets exist and how they are exposed lays the foundation for managing vulnerabilities effectively.
Map the Attack Surface
Once assets are identified, the next step involves mapping how they may be exploited. This includes pinpointing publicly accessible services, open ports, software vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and shadow IT. Attack surface mapping creates a comprehensive view of potential entry points for adversaries.
Conduct a Risk Assessment
With a clear picture of the attack surface, each asset is evaluated for its associated risks. Factors such as data sensitivity, the likelihood of exploitation, and the potential business impact of an attack are assessed. This step ensures organizations focus on threats that matter most to their operations.
Exposure Prioritization
Not all risks can be addressed simultaneously, so exposures are ranked based on their severity and potential impact. Critical vulnerabilities and high-risk exposures are prioritized for immediate remediation, ensuring that limited resources are used where they will have the greatest impact.
Mitigate Points of Risk
Mitigating risks involves implementing measures to address vulnerabilities and reduce exposure. This can include patching software, updating configurations, enhancing access controls, or deploying additional security tools to close security gaps.
Do Continuous Monitoring
The lifecycle does not end with mitigation. Continuous monitoring ensures that the attack surface is regularly assessed for new vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, or exposures. It also validates the effectiveness of mitigation efforts, providing an ongoing feedback loop to adapt and strengthen defenses.
The Role of Exposure Management in Building Cybersecurity Programs
Exposure management plays a key role in strengthening cybersecurity programs by fostering proactive and adaptive defenses:
- Enhanced Cyber Defenses and User Resilience: By proactively addressing vulnerabilities, organizations can significantly improve their resilience against cyber threats.
- Alignment with Regulatory Frameworks and Business Goals: Exposure management aligns security strategies with regulatory requirements and business objectives, ensuring that security initiatives are both effective and compliant.
- Comprehensive Visibility: It extends visibility across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, enabling faster and more effective responses to security incidents.
- Continuous Threat Detection: Ongoing monitoring of the attack surface helps security teams quickly address new vulnerabilities and adapt to the evolving threat landscape.
- Optimized Security Investments: By focusing on the most critical exposures, organizations can use their resources more efficiently, ensuring that security efforts yield the greatest impact.
Overall, exposure management is a vital component of a comprehensive cybersecurity program. It enables organizations to enhance security posture, improve user resilience, and align security strategies with regulatory requirements and business objectives.
Benefits of Exposure Management
Exposure management offers several key benefits, including:
- Resource Optimization: Alleviating resource constraints in organizations by assessing the environment and program's maturity.
- Enterprise-Level Security: Developing an enterprise-level cybersecurity program with strong policies and procedures tailored to unique environments, reducing cyber risks.
- Compliance and Threat Visibility: Meeting and exceeding compliance requirements and gaining comprehensive threat landscape visibility.
What is Exposure Prioritization?
Exposure prioritization is a core aspect of exposure management, focusing on identifying exploitable vulnerabilities and breach pathways, and assessing the severity of associated risks. The process involves:
- Identification and Mapping: Identifying exposed assets, such as web applications, endpoints, IoT/OT devices, DNS records, and cloud-based resources. Understanding how each asset is vulnerable to exploitation, including publicly accessible services, open ports, and software vulnerabilities, forms an integral part of attack surface mapping.
- Risk Assessment and Prioritization: Evaluating data sensitivity, the likelihood of exploitation, and the potential impact of an attack on each asset. This assessment guides organizations in prioritizing the remediation of exposures, distinguishing between immediate and subsequent actions based on the severity of risks.
- Exposure Mitigation and Continuous Monitoring: After prioritizing exposure risks, eliminating the risks associated with exposed assets, such as patching vulnerabilities, modifying access control policies, and continuous monitoring to detect new risks and ensure the effectiveness of mitigation actions.
- Effective Communication and Action: Providing a business-aligned view of cyber exposures, to facilitate effective communication with key stakeholders.
Exposure prioritization is a methodical approach to identifying, assessing, and addressing security risks,allowing organizations to allocate resources effectively to reduce cyber risk and prevent attacks.
Why eSentire's Exposure Management Services with Vulnerability and Risk Management
eSentire’s Exposure Management services provide a proactive, integrated approach that goes beyond traditional cybersecurity measures. We combine continuous visibility, real-time threat intelligence, and 24/7 monitoring by our elite Security Operations Center (SOC) to detect and respond to risks before they can be exploited.
Our services are tailored to align with your specific business objectives and regulatory requirements, ensuring that your security strategy addresses the most critical exposures. By integrating exposure management with Vulnerability and Risk Management services, we deliver a comprehensive view of your cybersecurity posture, enabling you to prioritize remediation efforts effectively.
Additionally, eSentire’s proactive threat hunting and incident response capabilities ensure that we don’t just wait for threats—we actively seek them out and neutralize them. Our ongoing assessments and continuous optimization keep your defenses robust against evolving threats, helping you stay secure and resilient.
