Every asset exposed to the internet – from websites to cloud servers, microservices to APIs – can become an entry point for an attack. And often, we don’t realize it until it’s too late. This is where two essential tools for modern security come into play: Vulnerability Management (VM) and External Attack Surface Management (EASM). Together, they enable organizations to uncover what typically remains hidden and take action before an attacker does.
An attack doesn’t always come through the front door.
Every digital transformation – from cloud adoption to IoT devices – expands the attack surface. But as the IT infrastructure grows, visibility often fails to keep up. Shadow IT, forgotten subdomains, accidentally exposed services: it takes only a few overlooked elements to give cybercriminals a way in.
External Attack Surface Management was created specifically to address this challenge. It doesn’t just monitor known systems—it continuously scans the entire internet-facing surface, identifying forgotten assets, sudden changes, and risky configurations. In other words, it acts like an attacker would—but in service of your security.
Vulnerability is not just a technical issue — it’s a matter of context.
Traditional Vulnerability Management relied on periodic scans and metrics like the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System). But this approach is no longer enough. Today, we know that over 70% of high-CVSS vulnerabilities are never exploited. At the same time, low-scoring flaws on critical assets can pose a real threat. That’s why the model is shifting toward risk-based vulnerability management, which takes real-world context into account: the criticality of the system, the likelihood of exploitation, and threat actor activity across the global landscape. Only by prioritizing what truly matters can organizations avoid wasting time and resources on negligible risks.
From dynamic inventory to proactive defense
One of the most common weaknesses in security strategies is the lack of a complete and up-to-date inventory of exposed assets. Companies often don’t know exactly how many systems they have, where they are, or whether they’re properly configured. EASM bridges this gap: through continuous, automated discovery, it provides real-time mapping of everything externally visible—including cloud-native resources, subdomains, APIs, and legacy infrastructure.
It’s the essential starting point for any further action: you can’t protect what you don’t know exists.
The three stages of maturity in vulnerability management
To make a VM strategy truly effective, organizations must move beyond a reactive approach. According to best practices, maturity is built in three stages:
- Accurate identification:
Data collection must be continuous and thorough, going beyond traditional assets to include containers, cloud environments, IoT, and OT. Modern tools are capable of achieving this even in distributed and hybrid environments. - Contextual prioritization:
Vulnerabilities should not be assessed solely based on their “technical severity,” but rather on exploitability, public exposure, and the criticality of the asset. A bug on a core system that’s accessible from the internet carries far more weight than a high-severity vulnerability on an isolated server. - Automated remediation:
The most mature organizations automate corrective actions, minimizing the need for manual intervention. The goal is not only to fix vulnerabilities, but to do so quickly, in a traceable and measurable way.
When risk is hidden in plain sight
One of the main issues highlighted by the data is that many organizations underestimate the extent of their exposed attack surface. According to a recent survey, 33% of organizations scan too infrequently—or don’t scan at all. Even more concerning is that only 9% consider themselves effective at remediation. This creates a dangerous disconnect: risks may be identified (if at all), but action isn’t taken in time.
Moreover, most companies rely on hybrid approaches with too many disconnected tools, leading to fragmented data flows, hampered collaboration between IT and security teams, and slower response times. That’s why the market is now shifting toward integrated solutions that combine EASM and VM into a single automated platform—capable of providing a unified view of priorities.
Toward measurable and strategic security
The true evolution of vulnerability management lies in its transformation into a business tool. It’s no longer just about patching systems, but about objectively measuring risk, tracking its evolution over time, and demonstrating the impact of security actions to executive leadership.
In this context, EASM is the ideal ally—it helps answer increasingly common boardroom questions such as: “Which parts of our infrastructure are truly exposed?”, “Which vulnerabilities are actually at risk of exploitation?”, and “How much have we improved over the past six months?”
The role of 4IT: visibility, prioritization, action
Do you really know what’s exposed on the internet under your company’s name? How many vulnerabilities are you ignoring simply because you can’t see them?
4IT Solutions has developed Security Essentials—a package designed to turn security into part of your daily operations. The service integrates EASM, vulnerability management, MXDR, and exposure analysis to bring together visibility, prioritization, and action under a single framework—without disrupting your existing IT stack.
A modular, scalable approach built to help companies protect what truly matters—before it’s too late.
