August 27, 2024 at 10:19AM
External Attack Surface Management (EASM) bridges gaps in traditional penetration testing, addressing overlooked risks in an organization’s digital defenses. An Informa Tech survey highlights limited coverage and frequency issues of penetration testing, leaving organizations vulnerable to cyber threats. Integrating EASM with Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) provides comprehensive visibility and prioritized remediation, enhancing an organization’s security posture.
Based on the meeting notes, the main takeaways are as follows:
1. Traditional penetration testing may leave significant gaps in coverage, thereby exposing an organization to potential cyber threats due to blind spots, limited asset coverage, and failure to detect new or unknown assets. Only 38% of organizations test more than half of their attack surface each year, and frequency issues are a concern, with 45% of organizations conducting tests only once or twice yearly.
2. The integration of External Attack Surface Management (EASM) with Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS) provides a more comprehensive approach to cybersecurity. EASM solutions, like Outpost24’s, offer continuous discovery, mapping, and monitoring of all internet-facing assets, enabling organizations to prioritize their remediation efforts and address critical issues first.
3. Integrating EASM with PTaaS strengthens an organization’s security posture by combining manual penetration testing’s depth and precision with the efficiency of automated vulnerability scanning, ensuring continuous monitoring and exceptional coverage of technical and business-logic flaws.
4. The benefits of this integrated approach include unparalleled visibility into the entire external attack surface, continuous vigilance, intelligent prioritization of remediation efforts, and the ability to swiftly mitigate newly discovered vulnerabilities.
5. It is crucial for organizations to adapt to a more comprehensive approach to cybersecurity by integrating EASM along with penetration testing. By doing so, organizations can effectively close the gaps between asset discovery and security testing, significantly reducing exposure to cyber threats and ensuring a more accurate measurement of their security posture.
If you are interested in learning more about how PTaaS and EASM could fit in with your organization, I can help you speak to an expert today.