From Zero to CTEM: An Actionable Approach to the Five Stages

In this webinar, Scott Kuffer, COO, and Tally Netzer, Sr. Director of Product Marketing, guide you through the five stages of Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)—scoping, discovery, prioritization, validation, and mobilization—and show you how to operationalize a program focused on what’s critical to your business.

Key Takeaways

Bridging the Gap Between Security and Business

One of the fundamental challenges in CTEM is the difficulty security teams face in translating technical risks into business terms. 

Without a structured framework for collaboration, organizations struggle to align CTEM efforts with business objectives. Security professionals often prioritize vulnerabilities based on technical risk without considering the broader business impact. 

To address this, organizations should establish CTEM scopes that align with business impact and facilitate workshops between security and executive teams to ensure risk prioritization aligns with business objectives.

Standardizing Risk Prioritization Across Tools

A major challenge in CTEM implementation is the inconsistency in how risk is measured across various security tools. 

Different teams, such as security, IT, and application development, often operate in silos with differing risk assessment methodologies. This fragmentation makes it difficult to develop a unified security strategy. 

To combat this issue, organizations should implement a standardized risk scoring model that consolidates diverse risk metrics. Additionally, developing internal guidelines to align risk ratings across teams can ensure a consistent and cohesive approach to risk management.

Establishing Executive Buy-In and Trust

Resistance from remediation teams often stems from a lack of trust in security’s prioritization of risks. 

Security leaders also struggle to communicate the value of CTEM in terms that resonate with business executives. To gain executive buy-in, organizations should incorporate validation processes such as adversarial exposure testing to increase confidence in risk prioritization. 

Providing executive-level reports that translate technical vulnerabilities into potential business impact can also enhance trust and foster collaboration between security teams and leadership.

The Role of Threat Validation in Prioritization

Another key issue in CTEM is the overwhelming number of vulnerabilities assigned to remediation teams, many of which may not pose immediate threats. 

Without a proper validation process, security teams may send excessive critical vulnerabilities for remediation, leading to frustration and inefficiencies. 

A two-tiered prioritization model can help organizations distinguish between known exploitable threats and potential risks requiring further validation. Implementing automated validation workflows can confirm exploitability before remediation efforts are escalated, ensuring that only the most critical threats receive immediate attention.

Clarifying Remediation Ownership and Accountability

A common obstacle in CTEM implementation is the lack of a centralized process for assigning accountability for vulnerabilities. 

Security, IT, and business functions often operate independently, making it difficult to coordinate remediation efforts. To streamline accountability, organizations should create an ownership matrix that maps security risks to responsible business units. 

Standardizing workflows for tracking remediation tasks can further ensure that teams clearly understand their responsibilities, reducing delays and inefficiencies in risk mitigation.

Next Steps

CTEM implementation remains fragmented in many organizations due to misalignment, inconsistent prioritization, lack of trust, and unclear ownership. 

To overcome these challenges, organizations must take the following steps:

1. Define Business-Aligned CTEM Scopes – Map assets to business impact and establish clear security priorities.
2. Implement a Unified Risk Prioritization Model – Standardize risk assessment across security, IT, and business units to create a cohesive strategy.
3. Enhance Threat Validation Processes – Automate validation workflows and confirm exploitability before remediation.
4. Improve Executive Communication and Buy-In – Translate security risks into business terms and financial impact to align security with business objectives.
5. Assign Clear Remediation Ownership – Map risks to accountable business units and establish tracking mechanisms for remediation tasks.

Final Thoughts

CTEM is more than just a security initiative; it is a strategic business imperative. 

By aligning risk management with business strategy, standardizing risk prioritization, validating threats effectively, and clarifying ownership, organizations can transform CTEM from a conceptual framework into an actionable cybersecurity approach.