Threat Trends
5 mins
As we propel ourselves further into the digital age, Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) becomes increasingly critical to ensuring robust cybersecurity. Informed by trends and insights from industry-leading sources such as Gartner and Forrester Research, here are the top five predictions for CTEM for the rest of 2023.
Trend 1: Increase in adoption of Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)
Security experts foresee an expansion from applying vulnerability management on traditional legacy IT, to performing exposure and threat management on more neglected parts of your infrastructure, like operational technology equipment. It is predicted that by 2026, organizations that prioritize their security investments based on a continuous exposure management program will be three times less likely to suffer from a breach.
Organizations need to recognize that just running a scan or bringing in an agency to do testing once or twice a year is not enough. CTEM is an improvement over vulnerability management programs that have been employed in the past, especially in the continuous aspect.
Trend 2: Increase in AI-driven CTEM solutions
As the complexity and volume of cyber threats grow, it's becoming clear that manual threat detection and response methods are inadequate. Predictive security using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms will play a more significant role in CTEM. These technologies can analyze vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and predict future threats, enabling organizations to proactively secure their systems. Research anticipates that AI and ML will be significantly involved in patch management productivity, threat detection, endpoint discovery, and asset management.
When discussing AI-powered offensive cybersecurity and how Hadrian responds to the AI hype, CEO of Hadrian, Rogier Fischer, explains:
In the face of the cyber threat landscape, Hadrian has made a strategic decision to leverage AI, as a potent ally to scale our automated capabilities. The need for this approach stems from a reality: cybercriminals are increasingly focusing their efforts on technologies rather than individual companies.
Rogier Fischer, CEO at Hadrian
Indeed, security professionals are looking for ways to remediate quicker by increasing automated capabilities, from continuous monitoring to risk prioritization. Automation requires less human involvement, leads to fewer human errors, and allows quick response to high-severity threats in the environment.
Trend 3: Cyber risk quantification
Security and risk management (SRM) leaders are increasingly investing in cyber risk quantification (CRQ) for enterprise decision support. Gartner predicts nearly 70% of SRM leaders are planning to deploy CRQ during the next two years. In another Forrester report, CRQ is among the top inquiries from leaders in SMR roles.
Security teams are increasingly required to translate cyber risk into a language the broader business can understand, as CRQ is the foundation for addressing the most critical concerns about a business’ cybersecurity posture. What was once considered a nice-to-have has now reached the inflection point of becoming a must-have cybersecurity solution.
Trend 4: Amplified focus on software supply chain threat exposure management
2023 is set to be a record-breaking year with software supply chain attacks already increasing by 742% between 2019 and 2022. The challenge is pervasive enough that by 2025, 45% of organizations will have experienced attacks on their software supply chains according to Gartner predictions.
Cybersecurity extends beyond an organization's systems and data, reaching third-party vendors and partners. Hadrian predicts that threat actors will increasingly utilize supply chain attacks in 2023 – why attack a single target when dozens or even hundreds of targets can be attacked simultaneously?
Organizations should implement comprehensive CTEM strategies that include their supply chains. CTEM identifies all organizational assets that are accessible from the internet – not just known assets – to maximize the effectiveness of vulnerability management and threat mitigation strategies.
Trend 5: Human-centric security design
Research says that 88% of security breaches have a human error at their core. That’s why Gartner foresees that, by 2027, 50% of large enterprise chief information security officers (CISOs) will have adopted human-centric security design practices to minimize cybersecurity-induced friction and maximize control adoption.
A human-centric approach in cybersecurity practices prioritizes the individual employee and their experience – not the technology, threat, or location – which ultimately encourages better practices while also reducing friction and risk.
For a more in-depth exploration of how exposure management can mitigate risks in today's edge computing landscape, download our e-book, titled "How Exposure Management Reduces Risks on the Edge", in which we delve deeper into the mechanisms of CTEM and practical insights to fortify your security posture.
