In recent years, numerous new categories of security solutions have emerged to mitigate a never-ending tide of risks. One of these categories is Automated Security Validation (ASV), which provides the attacker’s view of compromises and enables security teams to continuously validate compromises, security measures, and remediation at scale. ASV is an important element of any cybersecurity strategy. By providing a clearer picture of potential vulnerabilities and exposures in the organization, security teams can identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
However, relying solely on ASV can be limiting. In this article, we explore how combining ASV’s detailed vulnerability insights with the broader threat landscape analysis of the Continuous Threat Exposure Management Framework (CTEM) can empower your security teams to make better-informed decisions and allocate resources more effectively. (Want to learn more about CTEM? Check out this in-depth guide to getting started with CTEM.)
Background: ASV provides a comprehensive view
ASV is a critical element of any modern cybersecurity program. It can block high-impact attacks by using validation to filter out vulnerabilities that do not put your critical assets at risk and to verify a risk-reducing remediation. It can also increase efficiency by automatically verifying that security controls are properly configured, saving time analyzing and remediating low-risk vulnerabilities. And it optimizes effectiveness by ensuring that your security tool investments are effective at blocking cyberattacks and complying with policies and regulations. (Pssst, XM Cyber has just been named the “Undisputed Leader” in Frost & Sullivan’s 2024 ASV Radar Report – want to know why? Read the report here!)
By automating the validation process, you can reduce reliance on manual testing, saving time and resources while increasing accuracy and coverage. A proactive approach like this allows organizations to identify and remediate security vulnerabilities, maintaining protection against new threats.
Over and beyond:
- ASV offers a comprehensive overview. Traditional security methods can miss hidden assets or fail to account for vulnerabilities in user accounts or security policies. ASV eliminates these blind spots by providing a complete inventory, allowing security teams to remediate vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.
- ASV goes beyond simple discovery. ASV solutions analyze the vulnerabilities in each asset and prioritize them based on their potential impact on critical assets, allowing security teams to focus their efforts on the most pressing threats.
- ASV is super scalable. ASV’s scalability makes it suitable for organizations of all sizes. For smaller teams, ASV automates time-consuming tasks related to asset discovery and vulnerability assessment, freeing up scarce resources for other activities. For large enterprises, ASV provides the scalability needed to effectively manage their ever-growing attack surface.
- ASV is based on the regulatory framework. Initiatives such as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), the National and Information Security (NIS2) Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) all advocate for continuous validation of an organization’s security posture. Implementing an ASV solution demonstrates efforts to comply with these and other frameworks.
And yet … ASV alone is not enough
Attack Surface Validation is a robust solution that provides a comprehensive view of an organization’s attack surface, prioritizes vulnerabilities by risk, and automates tasks to improve efficiency. It is a valuable tool, but on its own it is not sufficient as the foundation for a complete and effective cybersecurity strategy. It does focuses on specific risks but does not necessarily give you a complete picture of your security posture.
Failure to review your attack surface and identify the vulnerabilities that could harm your business can leave security teams in the dark when relying solely on ASV. Additionally, some ASV tools used in live environments can put business operations at risk or provide a path to the unknown for cybercriminals later on. This is why integration with a broader framework—such as the Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) framework—is essential to maximize benefits and minimize potential limitations.
How ASV fits into CTEM
Since its launch in 2022, the Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) framework has proven to be a highly effective strategy for mitigating risk and improving security posture. Unlike other siloed approaches, CTEM provides a proactive cybersecurity strategy that goes beyond simply identifying vulnerabilities. Composed of five interconnected phases—scope, discover, prioritize, validate (yes, that’s where ASV “lives”), and mobilize—CTEM continuously identifies and prioritizes threats to your organization, enabling security and IT teams to mobilize the issues with the greatest impact and fix them first.
By leveraging the capabilities of ASV to implement Step 4 of the CTEM framework, organizations can understand how attacks can occur and how likely they are to occur. And more importantly, by combining it with the threat assessment that takes place in Step 3 of CTEM (you can read all about this Step 3 of CTEM, prioritization, here), high-impact threats can be identified and addressed in the most efficient way.
Combined with threat assessment capabilities, ASV helps organizations block high-profile attacks and achieve remediation efficiency that cannot be achieved with ASV alone.
ASV – The “V” in the fourth step of CTEM, validation
This broader perspective that CTEM provides complements the strengths of ASV, enabling more accurate threat prioritization, more efficient remediation, and an overall stronger security posture. ASV is simply more valuable and reliable when integrated into the comprehensive detection, assessment, and prioritization of vulnerabilities and exposures across the entire hybrid environment.
By integrating ASV with CTEM, organizations can leverage the strengths of both approaches. Together, they enable security teams to make informed decisions, allocate resources effectively, and reduce overall risk to the organization. By combining ASV with CTEM, organizations can achieve a more comprehensive, proactive, and effective approach to managing cyber risk.
You may be interested in the series on the 5 phases of CTEM. In this blog series, we provide a comprehensive understanding of each phase so that organizations can tailor the implementation of CTEM to their needs and goals:
