Redefining Cyber ROI With Threat Exposure Management (TEM): A Strategic Necessity in 2025
Many businesses/organisations now operate in threat-saturated environments, where cyber-attacks evolve faster than most security infrastructures can adapt, and the ability to "see the unseen" has become a critical differentiator in cyber security strategy.
PureCyber’s recent webinar on Threat Exposure Management (TEM) shed light on how businesses can uncover hidden digital vulnerabilities and manage them with precision. Far from being just another layer of defence, TEM offers operational clarity, proactive protection, and demonstrable return on investment.
The Expanding Threat Landscape: Out of Sight, Still Dangerous
The traditional perimeter-focused approach to cyber security is no longer enough to identify, counter and remediate threats. As organisations digitise more of their infrastructure and expand their online presence, attackers exploit every shadowed corner they can find.
PureCyber’s Chief Defensive Security Officer, Matt Jones - highlighted that breaches are no longer confined to internal systems. Increasingly, attackers are exploiting weaknesses in areas that companies simply aren’t monitoring, such as forgotten domains, exposed cloud storage, and personal credentials leaked from home devices.
The threat isn’t always loud or obvious. It could be a spoofed website mimicking a legitimate brand, a cloud misconfiguration exposing sensitive customer data, or credentials from a senior/important employee silently sold on dark web forums. These are the types of vulnerabilities that evade traditional scanning and security tools - and where TEM excels.
TEM, in essence, shifts the vantage point of security operations. Rather than just monitoring from the inside out, it allows teams to look from the outside in - through the eyes of an attacker.
Attacker Mindset: From Hacking to Reconnaissance
One of the key insights from the webinar was the behavioural shift in how cyber criminals are operating. Rather than brute-forcing their way into networks, modern threat actors behave more like reconnaissance experts, quietly scanning for leaked credentials, vulnerable domains, or unsecured cloud assets that can be exploited with minimal resistance. This “outside-in” approach flips traditional defence models on their head.
As Matt explained, “These aren’t smash-and-grab attacks - they’re calculated, opportunistic, and tailored to what’s already exposed about your business.”
TEM addresses this shift by replicating the attacker’s viewpoint - surfacing what they can see and act upon before they do.
Identifiers & Monitoring: The DNA of Threat Discovery
Central to PureCyber’s approach is the use of “identifiers” - unique digital assets tied to your organisation/institution. These might include your domain names, IP addresses, email aliases, or the names of executive team members. Identifiers act as search tokens across a vast ocean of threat sources, surfacing where your organisation is being discussed, targeted, or imitated.
The value of identifiers is twofold. First, they provide specificity. Rather than casting a broad net, the monitoring is tailored to your unique digital footprint. Second, they offer clarity, surfacing exposures that are immediately relevant to your business rather than vague threat signals.
Our Chief Offensive Security Officer, Tomas Evans walked through how PureCyber’s TEM platform constantly scans both the clear web and dark web - including forums, Telegram channels, paste sites, malware repositories, and leaked databases - to detect identifiers that appear in compromised contexts. As soon as a compromised identifier is discovered, it’s categorised by severity, and action can be initiated in real time.
This isn't a passive alerting system; it's an active monitoring service. Threats are not just reported - they're triaged, and takedown workflows are initiated swiftly, minimising the time between detection and resolution.
Speed of Detection & Takedown
A key element of PureCyber’s TEM solution is the speed with which threats can be neutralised. Once an exposure is identified - such as a fake domain or leaked credentials - PureCyber’s TEM platform enables takedown requests to be initiated in under 48 hours, with many resolved in under 24.
This rapid response reduces the opportunity for threat actors to exploit the exposure and dramatically limits reputational and operational fallout. Tomas noted, “The key isn’t just finding the threat - it’s how fast you can remove it from the internet before it spreads.”
This efficiency is a key differentiator, especially when compared to manual monitoring efforts that may leave threats unaddressed for days or even weeks.
Discovery and Impact: A Look at Real-World Threats
The value of TEM comes to life when considering the actual, real-world case studies shared during the session:
Domain Impersonation:
One case involved domain impersonation, where a malicious actor replicated a trusted software provider’s website using subtly altered URLs - such as swapping an “l” for a capital “I” or using accented characters that appear nearly identical to the real domain. These counterfeit sites trick users into downloading malware, believing it to be legitimate software. Even trained users can fall victim to these visual clones.
Stealer Malware:
Another case focused on the rise of stealer malware - software that covertly captures login credentials, session cookies, and even full device contents. In this example, a VIP’s credentials were leaked and posted on the dark web, along with browser data and files extracted directly from a personal device. What made the situation more alarming was how silently the infection operated. There were no signs of compromise until the data surfaced on illicit forums.
Leaky S3 Buckets:
An incident involving a misconfigured S3 storage bucket illustrated the dangers of improperly secured cloud infrastructure. A prominent sporting body inadvertently exposed member data, including full names, addresses, phone numbers, and transaction history - all indexed by search engines and available to anyone who stumbled upon the link.
Supply Chain Compromise:
Our webinar also reinforced the critical risk of supply chain compromise - one energy provider only discovered a partner’s ransomware infection through PureCyber’s early alerting system. Although the breach didn’t originate internally, it posed a direct risk to their own operations and data.
In an interconnected digital ecosystem, knowing your partners’ exposures can be as important as knowing your own.
Third-Party Risk: Extending Protection to Your Supply Chain
The risks posed by suppliers and third-party vendors are often underestimated. Yet, they can become weak links that compromise the entire organisation. During our webinar, we looked at a real-world case where PureCyber’s platform alerted a client to a ransomware attack affecting a supplier - well before public disclosure. This in-turn enabled the client to react pre-emptively and secure their data and services.
TEM’s value extends beyond your perimeter. It ensures your business isn’t blindsided by someone else’s exposure and helps you fulfil third-party due diligence obligations more effectively.
Compliance and Audit Readiness
Another often-overlooked benefit of TEM is how well it integrates with compliance efforts. We highlighted how our platform automatically generates logs, reports, and alert histories that can be used directly in audit documentation - particularly for ISO 27001, GDPR, and NIST frameworks. Rather than compiling manual evidence of diligence, security teams can demonstrate continuous monitoring with automated proof.
This operational readiness not only reduces the audit burden but strengthens governance, making TEM a powerful ally for both CISOs and compliance officers.
Why TEM Matters: ROI, Efficiency & Proactive Defence
TEM isn’t just a defensive tool - it’s a business enabler. Our webinar broke down the ROI of implementing threat exposure management, showing that for as little as £20 per identifier/month, organisations can:
Business Impact
- Prevent Costlier Breaches
- Enhance Brand Protection
- Improve Compliance Posture
- Boost Security Efficiency
- Mitigate Reputation Damage
TEM Benefit
Early detection = faster response and mitigation
Takedown of fake domains, removal of impersonation pages
Continuous monitoring helps meet ISO, NIST, and GDPR standard
A managed “hands-off” service - TEM frees up internal teams for core work
Fast response avoids customer trust erosion and bad press
Threat Exposure Management - A Proactive Path Forward
The message from our TEM webinar was clear: visibility is no longer optional, it’s fundamental.
In a world where attackers are increasingly sophisticated and operate from outside traditional defensive perimeters, security teams must take an external perspective. Threat Exposure Management delivers that perspective - and does so at a scale and cost that make it accessible to organisations of all sizes.
More than just another security product, TEM represents a shift in mindset. It allows security and risk leaders to move from reactive firefighting to proactive risk reduction. Helping brands safeguard their public identity and internal assets alike, and most importantly, making cyber ROI visible. Measurable in terms of time saved, reputational damage avoided, and breaches prevented.
How Can PureCyber Help?
The PureCyber team are here to take over the burden of your cyber security and ensure your organisation’s data remains secure and well managed, with proactive monitoring and real-time threat intelligence - providing you with a comprehensive and reliable cyber department to support you in all aspects of your security efforts, including: 24/7 Security Operations Centre (SOC) services, Managed Detection & Response (MDR/EDR),Threat Exposure Management (TEM) & Brand Protection Services & Penetration Testing.
PureCyber is recognised as an Assured Service Provider by the NCSC to offer governance and compliance consultancy services/audits. Contact our team of compliance experts to enquire about our full range of Governance Support - including Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001, FISMA, SOC1 and SOC2 standards.
Get in touch or book a demo for more information on our services and how we can safeguard your organisation with our expert cyber security solutions.
Email: info@purecyber.com Call: 0800 368 9397