What is threat management?

Why is threat management important?

Threat management matters because modern businesses face multiple and continuous cyber threats. Attackers constantly seek new ways to breach network security measures. Threat management evolves to meet new security challenges.

The benefits of adopting a comprehensive threat management strategy include:

• Protecting sensitive data against external threat actors
• Building and retaining trust from customers and corporate partners
• Ensuring the availability of critical IT systems and data
• Guarding against internal threats
• Cutting the cost of cyber-attacks

How threat management works

Threat management involves a collection of related technologies and techniques. The National Institute for Science and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework frames threat management as a systematic security approach where each element combines to strengthen network security.

Modern systems based on the NIST model involve the following core themes:

Identify

Managing threats starts with analysis. Security teams must understand the most important resources and assets. Critical challenges include classifying critical resources, identifying vulnerabilities, and assessing potential threats to establish a comprehensive risk profile.

The Identify function includes asset management, business environment analysis, governance policies, risk assessments, and supply chain evaluations. Each component assesses what requires protection and how to prioritize efforts and allocate resources effectively.

Protect

Security teams must develop and implement technical controls to defend critical assets against cybersecurity threats. The Protect function includes access management, security awareness, data security processes, asset maintenance, and employee training.

Measures include vulnerability management to mitigate exploits and known security gaps. Security teams must also block and contain threats via encryption, MFA, and firewalls.

Detect

Threat management tools must detect cyber-attacks and alert relevant security professionals. Techniques include continuous monitoring and analysis of systems to detect anomalies, adverse events, and vulnerabilities.

For example, companies may install IDS software to detect threats, integrate threat detection with threat intelligence services, and maintain security logs for audits and incident responses.

Respond

Companies must respond promptly and effectively to cybersecurity events. Challenges in the Respond section include analyzing and planning responses, communications, risk mitigation, and security improvements.

Recovery

The recovery function requires plans to restore business assets and recover data after cybersecurity events. This section of the NIST framework includes communicating with relevant stakeholders and taking action to avoid future cyber-attacks.

Threat management: Critical challenges

Managing cybersecurity threats is complex, and teams must plan around potential problems. Critical threat management challenges include:

Visibility

Security teams lack visibility of all network assets—particularly in complex hybrid work environments. As a result, understanding the threat landscape becomes extremely challenging.

Full-spectrum security visibility requires access to many data sources. Security professionals may need HR privileges and access to cloud resources, corporate data containers, and user devices.

Restricted insights

Visibility requires accurate and relevant KPIs, but obtaining uniform threat intelligence is challenging across complex IT environments. Security teams without enterprise-wide performance indicators struggle to prioritize risks, measure control effectiveness, and distribute resources.

Skills shortages

Elite security skills are scarce but essential. Companies without cutting-edge security knowledge expose themselves to advanced attacks from exploits or poorly defended network endpoints.

Skilled professionals also build and maintain threat management systems to identify and respond to threats calmly but promptly. Without that experience, security responses are slower and generally less effective.

Diverse cybersecurity threats

Attack diversity is another critical cyber threat management challenge. Security professionals must safeguard data against malware, phishing, denial-of-service attacks, browser attacks, and exploits—not to mention human error.

Threat management systems must mitigate many critical security threats without neglecting any potential attack types.

Mitigating insider threats

Threat management teams must mitigate external and internal cyber threats—a difficult juggling act. Monitoring activity at the network edge is not enough. Insider threats bypass security controls and attack from within.

Moreover, security tools must detect security threats caused by unintentional policy breaches. For example, a user may connect an external drive to the network without security approval.

Threat monitoring systems must track user activity within the network, alert security officers to genuine threats, and provide evidence of wrongdoing without disrupting legitimate workflows.

Different approaches to threat management

There are several threat protection solutions, with different levels of depth and functionality:

Unified threat management (UTM)

The UTM model blends several security features in a single dashboard. Features vary but often include: Virtual Private Networks, malware detection, web content filtering, threat intelligence insights, and application controls. UTM can also be managed on the cloud or on-premises.

Managed detection and response (MDR)

MDR systems enlist experienced security professionals as third parties. External teams monitor network threats continuously, detect threats, and organize responses. MDR companies tend to draw on advanced threat intelligence services, accelerating responses to evolving cyber threats.

Extended detection and response (XDR)

XDR technology provides maximum visibility across on-premises, remote, and cloud assets. XDR tools gather data from all applications, devices, and endpoints. They present this data via visualizations and reports, leveraging automation to reduce manual inputs.

Security information and event management (SIEM)

SIEM tools collect activity and event data about potential threats, allowing security teams to understand cybersecurity incidents. Advanced tools prioritize alerts, preventing bottlenecks and false alarms. Companies instantly know the severity of each incident and mitigation options.

Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR)

SOAR functions as a technology stack. This stack streamlines cyber threat management by automating data collection and incident responses. This cuts the workload for security officers, who act when needed—not for routine security tasks.

Vulnerability management (VM)

VM mitigates application and device exploits caused by outdated or insecure code. Security tools scan every application on the network. They identify flaws, prioritize remedial tasks, and alert teams to exploit risks.

When implemented across the threat landscape, vulnerability management shrinks the attack surface and significantly cuts the risk of backdoors and data theft attacks.

Next-generation intrusion prevention system (NGIPS)

NGIPS mitigates security threats by analyzing every user, device, and application active on the network. Coverage extends to cloud assets, on-premises devices, and hypervisors. Unlike standard intrusion prevention systems, NGIPS supports network segmentation and monitors software vulnerabilities.

Advanced malware protection (AMP)

AMP implements sophisticated protection against viruses and malware. AMP tools use threat intelligence to proactively scan for security threats—including common ransomware variants and Trojan agents.

Next-generation firewall (NGFW)

NGFW tools enforce security policies on all network traffic and execute deep analysis to identify advanced malware and application layer attacks. NGFW systems also deliver rapid endpoint alerts to identify threats, along with contextual data to inform threat responses.

Threat management best practices

Threat management is a vast area, and each approach requires specialist methods. However, some best practices apply to virtually all threat protection solutions:

• Centralized awareness. Unified threat dashboards collect KPIs and real-time threat data, highlighting priority actions and potential attacks. Without centralization, companies struggle to respond quickly enough.
• Be proactive. Scan for vulnerabilities and unprotected endpoints. Use threat intel to counter advanced threats before they affect your network, and test defenses regularly.
• Defend networks in-depth. Think beyond perimeter defense. Employ IDS, access controls, network segmentation, and NGFWs to create multiple defensive layers.
• Leverage advanced analytics. Threat management relies on accurate data. Use AI scanning tools to analyze network weaknesses and deploy threat intelligence from specialist providers.
• Respond quickly and systematically. Automated incident response playbooks help you counter threats without delays. Implement and test incident response plans, including processes to restore availability promptly.

Defend critical assets with advanced threat management

Threat management proactively counters cyber threats, protecting data and applications while enabling rapid incident responses. Core elements include threat identification, detection, security protection, responses, and system recovery.

Managing threats is challenging. Security teams must gather data, apply controls, counter diverse threats, and upskill to meet emerging attack types. However, companies have many security options. Approaches include centralized threat management, XDR, SIEM, and next-generation firewalls.

The correct security posture varies between organizations. Assess your threat landscape and resources, and choose threat protection solutions that mitigate critical security risks.