Beyond the Firewall: Securing Organisations Through Threat Exposure Management
As cloud computing, remote work, and the use of personal devices for professional uses become the norm, traditional perimeter-based cybersecurity models have become less effective. Boundary-based tools, such as firewalls and VPNs, are now just one tool in an arsenal of options to defend the fluid attack surface of today.
By utilising tools such as context verification and network segmentation, modern cybersecurity teams can no longer rely solely on static barriers and control points. Rather than assuming implicit trust based on network location, access decisions should incorporate real-time assessments of user identity, device health, geographic location, and behavioural anomalies. This shift reduces the attack surface and restricts lateral movement, mitigating the risk of extensive breaches.
Though it is not just internal users who pose a risk, the growing complexities of supply chains significantly compound the challenges cybersecurity teams face. As organisations increasingly rely on a network of third-party providers and interconnected systems, they expand their exposure to threats that originate outside of their direct control.
Adversaries no longer need to batter down a firewall. They just need to find the weakest link: an unpatched server, a misconfigured cloud bucket or even a compromised vendor account.
Gaps in threat exposure are becoming a cybercriminals’ most valuable weapon.
Increasingly, threat actors are turning to overlooked vulnerabilities and systemic blind spots to bypass traditional defences. Two defining examples include the 2020 SolarWinds Orion breach and the 2025 Oracle Cloud compromise. Both reveal how sophisticated attackers exploit these hidden weaknesses to achieve extensive reach and persistence:
- In March 2025, Oracle Cloud disclosed a major security breach involving the exfiltration of over six million records from its Single Sign-On (SSO) and LDAP systems. The breach, orchestrated by the threat actor “rose87168,” compromised sensitive data including Java KeyStore files, encrypted passwords, and authentication key files, all of which were advertised for sale on dark web forums. CISA has since issued alerts highlighting risks associated with vulnerable legacy Oracle systems.
- In 2020, SolarWinds disclosed a major cyberattack involving its Orion IT monitoring platform. Nation-state actors, widely attributed to Russian intelligence services, compromised SolarWinds' internal build systems by September 2019. By October, attackers were testing malicious code injections, ultimately inserting a backdoor known as Sunburst into Orion software updates distributed between March and June 2020. The compromised SolarWinds.Orion.BusinessLayer.dll file, digitally signed with legitimate certificates, allowed the malware to masquerade as part of normal operations, evading detection. Sunburst provided attackers with remote access, enabling them to exfiltrate data and move laterally across networks. More than 18,000 organisations installed the tainted updates, including critical U.S. government agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Treasury.
These breaches expose the reality that modern attacks succeed not by overwhelming defences, but by slipping through unseen cracks. Blind spots offer attackers subtle opportunities. Closing these gaps demands the continuous discovery of unknown exposures, the validation of defences against real-world tactics, and the rapid elimination of weaknesses before adversaries exploit them.
Threat exposure management: Seeing yourself through the attacker’s lens.
One way to find these blind spots (and a company’s actual exposure) is to reverse engineer them. Thinking like an attacker will help cyber teams visualise attack paths: the sequences of weak points that adversaries could string together to reach valuable targets. This requires backwards reasoning. It means starting with the attacker's ultimate goal and building threat models that reveal the hidden routes they could take.
Exposure management requires a holistic view of how systems, identities, and processes interconnect. Without this systemic perspective, defenders miss the subtle vulnerabilities attackers exploit. Advanced persistent threats (APTs) demonstrate this sophistication, using living-off-the-land (LOTL) techniques to exploit legitimate administrative tools and remain undetected. Effective exposure management involves continuously identifying not only technical vulnerabilities but also the architectural weaknesses that APTs and other sophisticated actors can exploit.
What mature exposure management looks like
Mature exposure management is not a static or checklist-driven activity. It is a dynamic, embedded capability that spans the organisation. It begins with comprehensive attack surface visibility, ensuring that every asset, connection, identity, and workload, whether on-premise, in the cloud, or across third parties, is continuously mapped and monitored.
A mature approach fosters an adaptive defence posture. Security measures evolve with real-time threat intelligence and operational changes. Defence strategies shift as new exposures appear, maintaining resilience even as adversaries refine their tactics.
At its core, mature exposure management drives proactive remediation and mitigation. Organisations move quickly to close vulnerabilities as they are found, rather than reacting to alerts after exploitation.
Holistic risk assessments are essential, placing technical weaknesses in the context of business impact, regulatory exposure, and reputation. Prioritisation focuses on addressing risks with the highest potential to cause real-world damage.
Finally, maturity requires continuous monitoring and validation. Environments must be regularly tested through breach simulations and attack path analysis to ensure defences remain effective over time.
How to integrate CTEM into existing security frameworks
Static assessments, annual audits, and periodic penetration tests cannot match the speed needed to reach this state of mature exposure management. Defenders need a new model. A model that continuously uncovers exposures, validates defences, and prioritises remediation based on real-world business impact.
This is the foundation of Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) , a structured approach formalised by Gartner. CTEM shifts security from point-in-time evaluations to an ongoing cycle of discovery, validation, and mitigation. It starts by mapping the complete attack surface (internal, external, cloud, and third-party) and prioritising exposures based on how attackers could exploit them. Continuous validation through breach simulations and adversary emulation ensures that organisations know which vulnerabilities truly matter.
In a threat environment defined by constant change, CTEM empowers organisations to anticipate risks, act faster, and build a more resilient, business-aligned security posture.
Take Your First Step Toward CTEM with Snode’s Value Added OSINT Threat Exposure Assessment:
Snode’s OSINT Threat Exposure Assessment is passive evaluation performed entirely from an external, attacker’s perspective. Without accessing your environment, we can give you clear visibility into risks across your External IT, OT, and IoT (Internet of Things) landscapes.
This assessment delivers a focused, point-in-time snapshot designed to uncover vulnerabilities and areas where your externally facing assets are exposed. We also provide you with actionable insights so that you can protect critical infrastructure. This catalogue of your exposure and the supplied prioritisation of remedial activities based on threat impact, helps you better understand and address your threat exposure.
Leverage Snode’s OSINT Threat Exposure Management (OTEM) assessment today for a strategic view of your external threat landscape and take the first step toward a stronger, more resilient security posture.