Welcome to the CTEM Jungle
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) is a cybersecurity strategy that focuses on identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks within an organization's digital environment through continuous monitoring and enhancement of security posture. CTEM is not a single tool or technology but a set of processes and capabilities that involve a five-step program or framework, which includes scoping, discovery, prioritization, validation, and mobilization.
CTEM is a proactive and continuous approach that differs from traditional vulnerability management by being proactive rather than reactive, focusing on a wide range of threats, incorporating existing security measures, and utilizing advanced simulation tools for validation
CTEM leverages a variety of tools and technologies to support its implementation and improvement. These tools aid in the discovery, assessment, prioritization, validation, and mobilization stages of the threat management cycle. Key tools and technologies include CAASM (Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management), EASM (External Attack Surface Management), EM (Exposure Management), RSAS (Red Team Automation Systems).
These tools provide visibility into network segments, security controls, threat types, and tactics/techniques, and are crucial for identifying and analyzing an organization's attack surface, which includes external, internal, and cloud environment
The five stages of the CTEM program are:
📌 Scoping: Defining the initial exposure scope, considering business-critical assets, and taking an adversarial approach rather than just focusing on known vulnerabilities (CVEs).
📌 Discovery: Actively seeking out and identifying potential vulnerabilities using tools like automated scanners, manual testing, and penetration testing.
📌 Prioritization: Focusing on the most significant threats that could impact the business and prioritizing remediation efforts accordingly.
📌 Validation: Assessing the effectiveness of remediation operations and ensuring that vulnerabilities are properly addressed.
📌 Mobilization: Operationalizing the CTEM findings and defining communication standards and documented cross-team workflows
Best practices for prioritizing threats during CTEM implementation include:
📌 Stakeholder Engagement: Engage with various stakeholders, including IT, legal, compliance, and business units, to understand their specific requirements and concerns
📌 Regular Updates: Establish a regular schedule for updates and patches to strengthen the network against current known threats and preemptively address potential future threats
📌 Incident Response Plan: Design an effective incident response plan to promptly respond to threats. The plan should be kept updated in line with emerging threats
📌 Optimized Risk Mitigation Processes: Ensure all existing risk mitigation processes are optimized and scalable. This will help manage the increased data feed demand between systems after a CTEM program is implemented
📌 Use of AI: Use an AI-based approach to prioritize threats. This can help manage the dynamic nature of threats and ensure resources are channeled where they matter the most
📌 Continuous Improvement: CTEM is a continuous process, and organizations should regularly reevaluate and adjust their threat prioritization strategies as new threats emerge and business objectives evolve