Strengthening Threat Management: The Five-Stage CTEM Framework
Aligning the five-stage Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) approach to Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) environments ensures that the development, deployment, and operation of these platforms are secure. Each stage of the CTEM framework addresses potential threats to the system while enabling efficient management of assets and vulnerabilities.
The following explains the application of each stage to LCNC and RPA environments:
1. Scoping
Identify and secure critical assets within LCNC and RPA environments.
Pinpoint essential components, applications, and workflows handling sensitive data.
Assess and manage third-party integrations, connectors, and API calls to ensure they are protected.
2. Discovery
Create an inventory of all LCNC applications, bots, and scripts, including those from non-IT users.
Identify potential vulnerabilities such as inadequate data access controls and security gaps in external APIs.
Maintain visibility by mapping workflows and dependencies to uncover hidden vulnerabilities.
3. Prioritization
Evaluate and rank identified risks using general security criteria and platform-specific factors.
Assess the ease of exploitation, potential impact on business operations, and likelihood of occurrence.
Develop a ranking system to address the most critical vulnerabilities first.
4. Validation
Confirm vulnerabilities through testing and simulations.
Use methods like automated security testing and sandboxing to verify issues such as insecure API usage or improper permissions.
Ensure RPA processes handle sensitive data securely and resist tampering.
5. Mobilization
Engage IT teams and citizen developers in the remediation process.
Provide clear guidance on secure development practices and context-aware remediation strategies.
Update RPA bots to meet new security protocols and involve users in the remediation efforts for comprehensive security management.
By integrating the CTEM approach into LCNC and RPA environments, organizations can better manage the specific security risks that come with user-generated applications and automated processes, ensuring continuous threat exposure management tailored to these evolving platforms.
