As cyber threats grow faster, more advanced, and harder to detect, periodic security reviews are no longer enough. Organizations need a smarter, real-time approach to stay protected.
Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) provides this by using live data to identify and address risks as they appear. It helps security teams to shift from reacting to incidents after they happen to anticipating and preventing them before they cause harm.
To get started, here are five key steps to putting CTEM into practice.
1. Scoping: Define the Full Attack Surface
The first step in CTEM is scoping, which involves identifying every asset that could be targeted by a cyberattack. This includes not only IP addresses, domains, and subdomains, but also cloud services, SaaS platforms, third-party technologies, and social media accounts tied to your business.
Manual scoping is rarely practical because assets change frequently. Instead, use automated Attack Surface Management (ASM) tools that can continuously detect and catalog your digital footprint. Without this foundation, it becomes nearly impossible to track new vulnerabilities or exposures in real time.
2. Discovery: Identify Emerging Threats
Once your asset inventory is in place, the next step is discovery. This means identifying the specific threats targeting your environment. Traditional scanning tools may miss some of the more elusive risks, such as phishing domains, fraudulent social media profiles, and leaked credentials on the Dark Web.
To uncover these threats, leverage intelligence platforms and test your environment using frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK. This approach allows you to identify gaps that could be exploited using real-world adversarial techniques. The objective is to uncover risks that already exist, not just hypothetical vulnerabilities.
3. Prioritization: Focus on What Matters Most
Not every exposure is equally dangerous, which makes prioritization an important part of CTEM. Rather than trying to fix every issue, businesses should focus their attention on the threats that pose the greatest risk.
Prioritization involves combining asset visibility with threat intelligence and vulnerability data. Key factors include whether an exploit is publicly available, how frequently similar vulnerabilities are targeted, and whether your industry or region is being actively targeted. Mentions of your assets on the Deep or Dark Web can also signal an increased likelihood of attack. These insights help security teams address the most urgent risks first.
4. Validation: Confirm Security Controls Are Working
After prioritizing threats, the next step is validation. This means confirming that the security controls you’ve put in place are working the way they should. Techniques like penetration testing, Red Team exercises, and continuous control assessments allow you to simulate real attacks and evaluate your defenses.
This step confirms that your security measures work when tested against real-world attack scenarios.
5. Mobilization: Take Action to Reduce Risk
The final step is mobilization: putting your findings into action to reduce risk. Given how quickly threats evolve, your ability to respond effectively depends on having clear processes and workflows in place. Playbooks and automation tools can help your team remediate issues quickly and consistently.
By following these five steps, CTEM becomes a repeatable and scalable part of your security strategy. Instead of constantly playing catch-up, your team can maintain a clearer view of evolving threats and take action before they become incidents.
