It is late at night, and your company’s network is bustling with activity. Little did you know, a sophisticated cyberattack is unfolding, silently syphoning all the data available. By the time the IT team detects the attack, it’s too late, and all the data is lost. This isn’t merely a scenario that is in the future; it’s a terrifying reality faced by numerous organisations worldwide. The Solution? Experts believe it’s CTEM or Continuous Threat Exposure Management.
The digital transformation the world is witnessing has changed the way humans interact with each other and has brought unparalleled convenience and connectivity. That being said, it has also given rise to complex security threats. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime is estimated to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025, as compared to $3 trillion in 2015. These figures highlight why we need robust cybersecurity measures.
This is where CTEM comes in. It is a proactive cybersecurity strategy designed specifically to protect organisations against ever-evolving cybersecurity concerns. Unlike traditional methods, which use periodic assessments and a reactive approach towards cyber threats, CTEM uses continuous and real-time monitoring, detection, planning and response. This allows organisations to stay one step ahead of cyberattacks and mitigate the risk before the cyberattacks reach the level of a full-blown crisis.
This isn’t something that will happen in the distant future; in fact, CTEM has already saved many organisations from hefty data breaches that would have cost them billions. Equifax stands out as a notable example. In 2017, the credit reporting firm faced a data breach that exposed the personal data of around 147 million people. This breach highlighted the incompetence of the existing security systems and called for a more capable cybersecurity measure. Post-breach, Equifax revamped its cybersecurity details by incorporating CTEM strategy into its existing cybersecurity plan. Then, in 2019, the cybersecurity capabilities of CTEM were put to the test when Equifax faced another data breach. However, this time, the CTEM system recognised unusual activity, allowing the cybersecurity and IT team to act swiftly and patch the vulnerability before it could do any damage.
Similarly, Target, a major retail store, also witnessed a security breach in its systems in 2013. Hackers gained access to the credit card and debit card information of over 40 million people. This was a wake-up call for Target, and they responded likewise. Following the breach, Target implemented some advanced cyber threat detection systems that monitored network traffic in real time. This system came in handy in 2020, when Target experienced yet another cyber attack, this time in the form of Advanced Persistent Threat or APT. This APT tried its payment processing system. However, all thanks to CTEM, Target’s security team isolated the affected systems and neutralised the threat before it could cause havoc. This incident highlights the effectiveness of CTEM in preventing another data breach, which would have been very costly.
Organisations and experts have long been discussing the implementation of new emerging technologies like AI and ML in unethical practices like data breaches and other cyber threats. However, CTEM is the first anti-cyberthreat system that can also benefit from AI and ML implementation, not by a little but by a big margin. AI and machine learning can significantly impact an organisation’s potency to detect breaches and malware. According to Capgemini, 61% of enterprises believe that they cannot detect breaches without AI. The predictive analysis of AI systems allows organisations to predict and prevent cyber attacks before they can cause any significant damage.
The future of CTEM is promising, and it depends mostly on the integration of new emerging technologies. Organisations can use blockchain, quantum and Internet-over-things technologies to increase the effectiveness of CTEM systems. However, the most important of these three is quantum technology. Once it becomes common or even relatively operable, it is believed that every encryption algorithm or any other privacy password or other cybersecurity thing will be rendered useless. This is why it’s extremely important that organisations be able to use CTEM in conjunction with technologies like quantum technology.
The Digital world is a big rabbit hole, and cyber threats have become a big part of it. This is why a cybersecurity strategy like CTEM is extremely important for organisations currently and in the future.
