Evaluate CTEM technologies on proof, not promises
Two practical tools to help security leaders and evaluation teams separate demonstrated exploitability from CTEM feature claims.
CTEM is a framework, not a product category—and most teams are already on the journey. The hard part is judging which technologies can actually contribute to a CTEM program.
Many vendors say they support CTEM. What matters is what they can prove: that you’re reducing exploitable exposure over time, with evidence from your environment. This toolkit gives you two ways to hold that standard—an executive checklist to set the bar, and a technical scorecard to test it.
Evaluate CTEM technologies on proof, not promises
Two practical tools to help security leaders and evaluation teams separate demonstrated exploitability from CTEM feature claims.
CTEM is a framework, not a product category—and most teams are already on the journey. The hard part is judging which technologies can actually contribute to a CTEM program.
Many vendors say they support CTEM. What matters is what they can prove: that you’re reducing exploitable exposure over time, with evidence from your environment. This toolkit gives you two ways to hold that standard—an executive checklist to set the bar, and a technical scorecard to test it.
Set the standard with the CISO's CTEM Evaluation Checklist
Before your team compares feature lists, align on what a CTEM technology must demonstrate. This concise executive checklist frames the evaluation around five questions to ask every vendor:
- How do you prove an exposure is actually exploitable in our environment?
- What evidence will you show us of what an attacker can accomplish?
- How does proven exploitability change what we remediate first?
- Can you retest the attack path after remediation to prove the exposure is gone?
- Can you show, over time, that our exploitable exposure is decreasing?
Answers should be demonstrated with evidence from your environment—not accepted as feature claims or roadmap promises.
Go deeper with the CTEM Technology Evaluation ScorecardWhen you’re ready to score, this practical framework helps directors, VPs, security architects, and technical evaluation teams rate what a technology can demonstrate across the full operating model: Discover Exposure, Validate Exploitability, Prioritize, Remediate, Verify Risk Removal, and Repeat.
Each capability is scored 0–3 based on what the technology can demonstrate, while the evaluator records the strongest evidence actually provided. Weighted scoring keeps validation and verification front and center, and an evidence threshold flags gaps a high overall score might otherwise hide.
When you’re ready to score, this practical framework helps directors, VPs, security architects, and technical evaluation teams rate what a technology can demonstrate across the full operating model: Discover Exposure, Validate Exploitability, Prioritize, Remediate, Verify Risk Removal, and Repeat.
Each capability is scored 0–3 based on what the technology can demonstrate, while the evaluator records the strongest evidence actually provided. Weighted scoring keeps validation and verification front and center, and an evidence threshold flags gaps a high overall score might otherwise hide.
What to demand from any CTEM technology
Both tools hold vendors to the same standard: repeatable evidence across the loop, not the longest feature list. Look for a technology that can:
- Prove exploitability through safe, active testing in your actual environment
- Show the attack path—what exploitation makes reachable, from lateral movement to identities and data
- Change remediation priority based on demonstrated attackability and impact
- Retest after remediation to prove the previously demonstrated exposure is no longer exploitable and determine whether the attack path has been broken
- Run frequently enough to show whether exposure is trending down over time
Put your CTEM evaluation to the proof test
Choose the tool that fits your role and evaluation needs. Set the executive standard for what technologies must prove, or go deeper with a structured framework for scoring capabilities and evidence.
CISO’s CTEM Evaluation Checklist
Choose the tool that fits your role and evaluation needs. Set the executive standard for what technologies must prove, or go deeper with a structured framework for scoring capabilities and evidence.
CTEM Technology Evaluation Scorecard
Go deeper with a 23-point framework for evaluating and scoring what technologies can demonstrate across Discover, Validate, Prioritize, Remediate, Verify, and Repeat.