NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and Cybersecurity Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) for a better security

CISSP, Security News

	NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)	Cybersecurity Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)
Purpose	Provides a structured framework for managing and improving overall cybersecurity, focusing on risk management and resilience.	Proactively manages and reduces specific cybersecurity threats through continuous exposure assessment and testing.
Primary Focus	Managing cybersecurity risk and resilience for critical infrastructure and organizations across industries.	Identifying, testing, and mitigating specific threat exposures through real-world testing and intelligence.
Core Components	– Five Functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, Recover.	– Continuous Testing: Ongoing assessments (red/blue team exercises, penetration testing).
	– Implementation Tiers: Defines cybersecurity maturity from Tier 1 (partial) to Tier 4 (adaptive).	– Threat Intelligence: Uses real-world threat data to identify exposures and measure defenses.
	– Profiles: Aligns cybersecurity practices to business goals and needs.	– Exposure Management: Focuses on reducing specific vulnerabilities identified through testing.
Approach	Risk management approach to align cybersecurity activities with business needs, prioritizing improvements and resilience.	Operational and tactical approach focused on threat exposure, validation of controls, and mitigation actions.
Testing and Assessment	Primarily involves general risk assessment, control validation, and resilience measurement.	Involves specific threat scenario testing, vulnerability management, and continuous validation of security controls.
Flexibility	Highly adaptable across industries and organizations of different sizes; can be tailored using Tiers and Profiles.	Focused more on organizations that require advanced testing and exposure management capabilities.
Implementation	Broad, long-term framework aimed at improving overall cybersecurity practices and resilience.	Shorter-term, tactical approach focused on rapidly identifying and fixing specific threat exposures.
Maturity Levels	Uses Implementation Tiers to define the maturity of cybersecurity risk management practices (Tier 1-4).	Not maturity-based but driven by continuous improvement cycles in threat exposure and security testing.
Threat Intelligence Integration	General risk management framework, not specifically designed for integrating real-time threat intelligence.	Actively integrates real-time threat intelligence into testing and exposure management processes.
Audience	Designed for organizations across all industries, especially those managing critical infrastructure.	Best suited for organizations that need to focus on mitigating current, real-world threats in dynamic environments.
Goal	To create a resilient, risk-based approach to cybersecurity that can be scaled and adapted to different organizational needs.	To reduce the window of exposure by proactively identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities.