Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) is a strategic framework that helps organizations continuously assess and manage cyber risks. It breaks down the complex task of managing security threats into five distinct steps: scoping, detection, prioritization, validation, and mobilization. Each of these steps plays a critical role in identifying, remediating and mitigating vulnerabilities – before attackers can exploit them.
on paper CTEM sounds great. But where the rubber meets the road – especially for CTEM newbies – implementing CTEM can seem overwhelming. The process of putting CTEM principles into practice may seem overwhelming at first. However, with the right tools and a clear understanding of each step, CTEM can be an effective method of strengthening your organization’s security.
That’s why I’ve put together a step-by-step guide on which tools to use at which stage. Want to learn more? Read more…
Step 1: Scoping
When you identify your critical assets during scoping, you take an essential first step toward understanding your organization’s most valuable processes and resources. Your goal is to identify the assets that are vital to your operations, and this often involves input from various stakeholders – not just your security (SecOps) team. Scoping is not just a technical task, it is people the challenge is about truly understanding your business context and processes.
A useful way to approach this is to hold seminars on business-critical assets. These sessions bring together decision makers, including senior management, to align your business processes with the technologies that support them. Then, to support your scoping efforts, you can use tools like good old spreadsheets, more advanced systems like configuration management databases (CMDBs), or specialized solutions like software asset management (SAM ) and hardware asset management (HAM). In addition, Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) tools provide valuable insights by analyzing assets and prioritizing those that need the most protection. (More information about Scoping here.)
Stage 2: Discovery
Discovery focuses on identifying assets and vulnerabilities in your organization’s ecosystem – using a variety of tools and techniques to build a comprehensive view of your technology landscape and enable your security teams to assess potential risks.
Vulnerability scanning tools are commonly used to identify assets and identify potential weaknesses. These tools scan your systems and networks for known vulnerabilities (CVEs) and then provide detailed reports on which areas need attention. Additionally, Active Directory (AD) plays a critical role in discovery, especially in environments dominated by identity concerns.
In cloud environments, Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools are used to detect misconfigurations and vulnerabilities in platforms such as AWS, Azure, and GCP. These tools also address the identity management challenges specific to cloud environments. (More about Opening here.)
Stage 3: Prioritization
Effective prioritization is critical because it ensures that your security teams focus on the strongest threats – ultimately reducing the overall risk to your organization.
You may already be using traditional vulnerability management solutions that prioritize based on CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) scores. Keep in mind, however, that these scores often don’t take business context into account, making it difficult for both technical and non-technical stakeholders to understand the urgency of specific threats. In contrast, prioritization in the context of business-critical assets makes the process more understandable for business leaders. This alignment allows your security services to more effectively communicate the potential impact of vulnerabilities across the organization.
Attack path mapping and attack path management are increasingly recognized as important components of prioritization. These tools analyze how attackers can move laterally in your network, helping you identify the points where an attack can cause the most damage. Solutions that include attack path mapping give you a more complete picture of exposure risks, allowing you to take a more strategic approach to prioritization.
Finally, external threat intelligence platforms are key at this stage. These tools provide you with real-time data on the vulnerabilities in active use, adding critical context beyond the CVSS assessment. Additionally, AI-based technologies can scale threat detection and streamline prioritization, but it’s important to implement them carefully to avoid errors in your process. (More information on prioritization here.)
Stage 4: Verification
The CTEM verification phase verifies that the identified vulnerabilities can actually be exploited – by assessing their potential real-world impact. This step ensures that you’re not only looking at theoretical risks, but also prioritizing real threats that could lead to serious disruption if left unaddressed.
One of the most effective verification methods is penetration testing. Pen testers simulate real-world attacks, trying to exploit vulnerabilities and testing how far they can get through your network. It directly tests whether the security measures you have in place are effective or whether some vulnerabilities can be used as weapons. It offers a practical perspective – beyond theoretical risk assessments.
In addition to manual pen testing, security control validation tools such as intrusion and attack simulations (BAS) play an important role. These tools simulate attacks in a controlled environment, allowing you to test whether certain vulnerabilities can bypass your existing defenses. Tools that use the digital twin model allow attack paths to be tested without affecting production systems—a major advantage over traditional testing methods that can disrupt operations. (More information about verification here.)
Stage 5: Mobilization
The mobilization phase uses a variety of tools and processes that improve collaboration between your security and IT operations departments. Allowing SecOps to report specific vulnerabilities and impacts that need attention closes the knowledge gap, helping IT Ops understand exactly what needs to be fixed and how to fix it.
Also, integrating ticketing systems like Jira or Freshworks can simplify the remediation process. These tools allow you to track vulnerabilities and assign tasks, prioritizing issues based on their potential impact on critical assets.
Email notifications can also be useful for communicating urgent issues and updates to stakeholders, while security information and event management (SIEM) solutions can centralize data from various sources, helping your teams quickly identify and respond to threats.
Finally, it’s important to create easy-to-understand tutorials that describe the steps to address common vulnerabilities. (More about mobilization here.)
Making CTEM accessible with XM Cyber
Now that you’ve read the full list of tools you’ll need to make CTEM a reality, do you feel more ready to get started?
As transformative as CTEM is, many teams see the list above and understandably shy away from it, feeling it’s too complex and nuanced an undertaking. Since the inception of CTEM, some teams have decided to abandon the benefits because even with a roadmap it seems too cumbersome for them.
The most productive way to make CTEM a highly achievable reality is to take a unified approach to CTEM that simplifies implementation by integrating all CTEM steps into one cohesive platform. This minimizes the complexity often associated with deploying different tools and processes. With XM Cyber you can:
- Correlate critical business processes with underlying IT assets to prioritize impact based on business risk.
- Discover all CVEs and non-CVEs (misconfigurations, identity risks, excess permissions) in on-premises and cloud environments, as well as internal and external attack surfaces.
- Get faster and more accurate prioritization based on proprietary Attack Graph Analysis™ that uses threat intelligence, attack path complexity, number of critical assets compromised, and whether it’s at points of overlap for multiple attack paths.-
- Check whether the issues are exploitable in a specific environment and whether security controls are configured to block them.
- Improve remediation by focusing on contextual evidence, remediation recommendations, and alternatives. It also integrates with ticketing, SIEM and SOAR tools to track remediation progress.
CTEM is the Way
XM Cyber’s unified approach to CTEM simplifies implementation by integrating multiple steps into one cohesive platform. This minimizes the complexity involved in deploying different tools and processes. With XM Cyber, you gain real-time visibility into your exposures, allowing you to prioritize remediation based on actual risk rather than theoretical estimates.
The platform enables seamless communication between SecOps and IT Ops, ensuring everyone is on the same page regarding vulnerabilities and remediation. This collaboration contributes to a more effective and faster security system, allowing your organization to respond quickly and effectively to potential threats. (To learn more about why XM Cyber is the most complete answer to CTEM, pick up a copy of our The CTEM Buyer’s Guide is here.)
Ultimately, XM Cyber not only enhances your team’s ability to manage exposure, but also empowers you to continuously adapt to the evolving threat landscape.
Note: This article was expertly written and contributed by Carsten Chiris, US Security Sales Group Leader at XM Cyber.
