As the business environment evolves, a proactive cybersecurity exposure management program becomes paramount to navigating the complexities of digital transformation and sophisticated cyber threats.

Business leaders are increasingly aware that cyber risk is business risk. As the composition of board directors transforms, with Gartner predicting that 70% will include a cybersecurity expert by 2026, the fusion of cyber risk and business risk becomes evident. Exposure management emerges as a critical practice to uncover security blind spots, assess security performance, and prioritise risk management activities.

Understanding Exposure: Identifying Vulnerabilities and Weaknesses

In the vast digital ecosystem, hidden risks abound—from unpatched systems to misconfigurations, insecure access points, shadow IT, and emerging technologies. Threat actors continuously refine their techniques, making it challenging to stay ahead.

To address these risks, financial organisations must adopt an exposure management approach that provides visibility across on-premises, cloud, and distributed business units. Additionally, with vendors posing a significant cybersecurity risk—alarming statistics reveal that 73% of organisations have encountered at least one major disruption caused by a third party within the past three years— expanding vulnerability detection to encompass these external partners becomes imperative.

Implementing Robust Controls: Strengthening Defences and Reducing Exposure

With a comprehensive understanding of risk exposure, organisations can take strategic measures to enhance security performance and reduce exposure. Key steps include:

1. Focus on Concentrated Risks: Drill down into areas where risk is most concentrated, prioritising remediation efforts in critical assets.
2. Create a Cyber Exposure Response Team: Collaboration across various disciplines—risk management, procurement, sales, HR, and legal—is essential for effective exposure management. Establish clear responsibilities in the event of a cyber incident.
3. Measure Progress: Utilize metrics, security ratings, and benchmarking against industry standards to gauge progress over time. Regularly assess the effectiveness of security controls against established benchmarks.

Best Practices for Effective Exposure Management

Exposure management is an ongoing effort that goes beyond understanding the attack surface. Best practices include:

1. Continuous Monitoring: Avoid reliance on periodic tests; instead, implement continuous monitoring with real-time alerts for emerging risks, abnormal user behaviour, or unpatched systems.
2. Establish a Regular Patching Cadence: Manage vulnerabilities by establishing a routine patching cadence, ensuring the timely resolution of software vulnerabilities.
3. Implement Network Segmentation: Divide the network into isolated segments to contain potential breaches and minimise widespread damage in case of infiltration.
4. Extend Monitoring to Vendors: Monitor the supply chain for emerging risks, ensuring third-party vendors align with risk tolerance and collaborate to address critical vulnerabilities.
5. Improve Employee Cyber Awareness: Mitigate risks from within by enhancing employee cyber awareness through comprehensive training programs.

Effective cyber risk exposure management is not a one-time task but an ongoing commitment to securing financial organisations in the dynamic digital landscape. By adopting these best practices and controls, UK financial services organisations can fortify their defences, stay ahead of cyber threats, and navigate the challenges of the evolving cybersecurity landscape.