Threat Exposure Management Called a Strategic Necessity for Modern Cybersecurity

In an interview with Help Net Security, Sanaz Yashar, CEO of Zafran, discusses the growing importance of threat exposure management in cybersecurity. TEM evolved from traditional vulnerability management to address the challenges of increased attack surfaces, fragmented security tools, and faster-moving attackers.

TEM identifies and prioritizes vulnerabilities across an organization’s security landscape to address threats before they can be exploited. Zafran calls it “the crack finder.”

Traditional vulnerability management methods are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of findings. Organizations need help centralizing and prioritizing these findings due to different tools addressing vulnerabilities in various areas, such as cloud environments and identity misconfigurations. Compounding this, attackers are acting more quickly, exploiting vulnerabilities within less than a day.

A TEM strategy should encompass three key elements: discovery, which means consolidating vulnerabilities into one view; prioritization, basing the assessment on actual risk, not just severity; and mobilization, which includes implementing mitigation strategies and addressing configurations to limit vulnerabilities effectively.

When asked about best practices for aligning TEM strategies with enterprise goals like digital transformation, cloud migration, or zero-trust architectures, Zafran stressed that the strategies go hand in hand with digital transformation and cloud migration.

Digital transformation leads to an expanded attack surface beyond vulnerabilities (such as identities, SaaS apps, and supply chain risk) that align with TEM. The move to the cloud increases the volume and fragmentation of findings, requiring new tools to unify risk management across the organization.

In summary, prioritizing threat exposure management ensures a more efficient allocation of resources and enhances overall cybersecurity posture. This is particularly important for firms involved in digital transformation or handling sensitive client data.