When it comes to cybersecurity, reactivity is bad activity. Recognizing this, Gartner has introduced the Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) framework, a proactive, five-stage methodology designed to help organizations continuously identify, manage, and mitigate their cybersecurity exposures.

Yet, the true power of CTEM is often misunderstood. Instead of thinking of it as a checklist of tasks, consider it a strategic pivot that requires an offensive mindset. To defend against a hacker, you must first think like a hacker. This is the very principle that underpins Hadrian's offensive security platform. We believe that by intuitively and methodically scoping, discovering, validating, prioritizing, and mobilizing the same way a real-world threat actor would, you can achieve a level of preemptive security that is simply not possible with a reactive approach.

The hacker’s mindset

A hacker's process is both intuitive and methodical. Hackers operate with a continuous, goal-oriented mindset. Their process begins with a broad reconnaissance of a target, followed by a detailed mapping of every possible entry point. They then filter this information to validate which weaknesses are truly exploitable, and finally, they prioritize their attacks based on what will yield the highest reward with the least amount of effort.

This intuitive process is the exact philosophy that underpins Hadrian's platform. Our agentic AI is trained by seasoned ethical hackers to think, reason, and emulate a real adversary. This enables us to turn the hacker's mindset into a continuous feedback loop, ensuring your security strategy is always one step ahead.

The first step is to map the battlefield

A hacker's first step is to define their target's entire digital footprint, which is everything a threat actor can see and reach from the internet. This is Hadrian's starting point for the Scoping and Discovery phases of CTEM. Our platform automatically defines the addressable scope as all external-facing assets, providing a comprehensive and accurate view from an attacker's perspective.

Hadrian continuously scans the internet to maintain a complete and up-to-date inventory of your attack surface. This process goes far beyond a simple vulnerability scan, leveraging a wide range of advanced techniques for deep reconnaissance. These methods include:

Comprehensive scanning 

We perform passive scans that are non-invasive, including scanning the entire IPv4 space, daily DNS data review, and analysis of certificate transparency logs.

Predictive AI 

Our AI uses predictive scanning to anticipate likely domains and subdomains, ensuring that we find and display only resolvable assets.

Machine Learning validation 

We use machine learning algorithms that review text, images, scripts, DNS records, and other characteristics to validate asset ownership and even detect shadow IT and previously unknown assets.

Dark Web monitoring 

Our platform continuously collects data from infostealer malware marketplaces to detect exfiltrated credentials, cookies, and sessions from employee or contractor machines.

Beyond the basics 

We also monitor digital supply chains for externally observable technologies, and scan for "look-a-like domains" that could be used for phishing or brand impersonation.

By meticulously mapping every possible entry point, just as an attacker would, Hadrian provides an unmatched breadth of discovery that ensures there are no blind spots in your defense.

Finding true exploitability beyond mere hypotheticals

A hacker doesn't waste time on theoretical vulnerabilities. They prioritize based on what is truly exploitable and valuable. This is the core principle behind Hadrian's Prioritization and Validation phases, which are executed simultaneously by AI agents.

The key difference here is the validation process. Many tools can give you a list of potential risks, but Hadrian’s agentic AI acts as an "automated hacker" that emulates real malicious actors to confirm exploitability. When our platform surfaces a vulnerability, it is because we have already tested it and confirmed that it can be exploited.

Automated adversarial testing 

Our AI performs non-intrusive, chained tests that emulate the tactics of complex, multi-dimensional attacks to find zero-day vulnerabilities, OWASP Top Ten issues, and misconfigurations.

Certainty, not speculation 

For every validated exposure, Hadrian provides a detailed Proof of Concept (PoC), outlining the bespoke steps taken to exploit the weakness. This provides verifiable evidence and allows your team to reproduce and confirm the exploit, effectively eliminating false positives.

Intelligent prioritization 

After confirming exploitability, Hadrian prioritizes exposures with a risk score that goes far beyond basic CVSS. Our scoring combines validated exploitability with business context, attacker attractiveness, and real-time intelligence from sources like CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. This ensures that a medium-severity CVSS bug on a mission-critical asset is elevated to a critical finding.

This continuous process of validating and prioritizing mirrors a hacker's own methodology, providing you with a list of actionable, evidence-based decisions rather than a mountain of noise and false positives.

Turn your insight into action with mobilization

Finding exposures is only useful if you can fix them quickly and accurately. This is the goal of the Mobilization phase. Hadrian provides the tools to streamline this crucial step, ensuring that your teams can act with speed and confidence.

Hacker-written instructions 

Our platform provides human-readable explanations of threats, along with step-by-step remediation instructions written by our ethical hackers. These playbooks include the necessary commands and configuration changes, allowing remediation teams to move without getting bogged down in translation.

Automated validation of fixes

Hadrian automatically performs regression tests to confirm the effectiveness of implemented fixes, ensuring that exposures are fully resolved and the threat is contained.

Collaborative workflows 

Features like "Secure Share" allow for seamless collaboration with non-security teams or third parties, enabling the right people to access specific information without granting full platform access. We also provide a "Risk timeline" for activity tracking and monitoring of Mean-Time-to-Remediation.

Integration and reporting 

Hadrian seamlessly integrates with existing security tools, from SIEM to ticketing systems like Jira and ServiceNow, enabling centralized visibility and automated workflows. Our detailed reporting and an "Organizational Security Score" (A-F) provide clear metrics to communicate risk and progress to executives and the board.

From reactivity to proactivity

The true power of CTEM is not in its phases, but in the offensive mindset that drives them. A reactive, checklist-based approach is no longer a sufficient defense against modern threats.

Hadrian’s platform serves as a continuous feedback loop that mirrors a real-world threat actor's process. By adopting this AI-driven, hacker-informed approach, your organization can move from passive defense to a proactive, always-on offense, ensuring your security strategy is as dynamic and adaptable as the threats it faces. Hadrian provides an end-to-end solution for the entire CTEM lifecycle, providing the certainty you need to protect your digital assets in 2025 and beyond.

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