Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) is a strategic framework designed to help organizations continuously identify, assess, prioritize, validate, and mobilize responses to risks and vulnerabilities. Instead of reacting to attacks after the fact, CTEM aims to proactively manage the organization’s security posture by addressing vulnerabilities before they can be exploited, providing security teams with the data, assessment and prioritization they need to ensure their security.
CTEM identifies the critical assets, as well as the vulnerabilities that place them at risk, with a holistic view of the entire attack surface, not a specific environment or system. Following prioritization based on asset context, potential impact, and intelligence CTEM validates the effectiveness of your chosen security measures and provides recommendations according to the risk, for either mitigation or risk acceptance.
CTEM Challenges
CTEM is certainly a compelling approach that organizations should adopt to help them anticipate and mitigate risks as early as possible, but it does come with specific challenges. The holistic nature of CTEM program inherently entails gathering data from disparate sources and tools, that can take time and demand specific expertise. Deduplicating and prioritizing vulnerabilities from these various sources requires a comprehensive understanding of the organizational impact and context, which demand time and experience if not automated. CTEM must also be a collaborative effort across the organization, demanding that siloed structures be broken down and multiple teams cooperate without friction. This, on its own, is no small feat.
Opus + CTEM = Security
To mitigate these challenges and ensure that security teams leverage their CTEM program for increased security and an optimized security posture, Opus Security offers a unified platform that integrates with and enhances the CTEM process, using the following:
Convergence of CTEM and ASPM
Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) focuses on maintaining and improving the security posture of applications throughout their lifecycle, continuously monitoring and assessing these applications for new vulnerabilities and exposures, and executing contextual remediation plans across engineering teams. While AppSec and the operational support of CTEM may differ in their focus, they both require prioritization, collaboration across various teams and efficient, time-saving lifecycle management. Consolidating the two into a single remediation platform that manages remediation processes at scale across all attack surfaces, such as Opus, can save money, time and frustration as security efforts are streamlined with centralized visibility across all attack surfaces, heightened security, effectivity and resilience.
The Road Ahead
Security leaders must make a conscious decision to shift from reactive security methodologies that only see what actually happens, to a more holistic approach that continuously assesses the growing number of attack surfaces in the modern business environment to ensure the organization’s agility and resilience as it grows.
Conclusion
Opus Security enhances CTEM programs by providing a unified platform that consolidates and prioritizes vulnerabilities, integrates with existing workflows, improves operational efficiency, and offers comprehensive risk management capabilities. This approach addresses the core challenges of CTEM, making it easier for organizations to manage and mitigate threats effectively.
By merging the operational program of CTEM and ASPM, Opus Security operationally drives risk management across any part of the organization and any attack surface. This integrated framework ensures a holistic, agile, and effective security posture. The convergence of these programs signifies a shift towards a more dynamic and integrated solution for modern security challenges.
This unified approach is essential for adapting to the ever-changing landscape of cyber threats, offering a framework that actually works in tackling security challenges daily. Organizations can achieve a more secure, resilient, cost-effective framework, ensuring a safer digital environment.