Bridging Theory and Practice: How Continuous Security Controls Optimization Complements Proactive Defense and Posture Management

A report was recently published by Gartner®: Reduce Threat Exposures with Security Controls Optimization. This new report discusses how, in their viewpoint, the growing security ecosystem – often an assemblage of overlapping capabilities and a siloed approach to management and operation – leads to high operating costs and wasted security budgets, and can result in poor security posture. This fragmented reality can allow attackers to bypass defenses and evade detection. 

It’s well known that security is never done, but with so many security tools to deal with, plus an ever growing attack surface, it’s difficult to keep your defenses in line with your desired standards, while also adapting security controls to remain resilient to the evolution of the business and its digital services. Maintaining regulatory compliance and a resilient security posture demands more than just investing in a broad array of tools and technologies. It calls for continuous validation, optimization, and intelligent coordination across the entire security stack. 

When comparing the findings in the Gartner Report with our own capabilities for Security Controls Monitoring, we at XM Cyber see a clear synergy in our recommended approaches to address these challenges. From establishing a baseline security posture and monitoring security controls continuously, to optimizing configurations in alignment with business objectives and threat exposure, now organizations can gain confidence in their current security state, and ensure they are extracting the maximum value from their existing security stack.

Gartner Report: Reduce Threat Exposures with Security Controls Optimization

According to the report, “Security control configuration challenges are not solved by buying more or higher-priced security tools. Instead, building and executing a continuous, evidence-based approach for optimizing controls can help meet compliance objectives, and, more importantly, make the organization far less susceptible to a breach.” Gartner goes on to identify misconfiguration as a leading cause of attack success, largely due to a lack of expertise, siloed operations, and inadequate coordination with business and asset owners. 

Further, the report states: “Even if an organization buys a market-leading product from a well-regarded security vendor, the product won’t deliver the same value and outcome for every organization that buys it, even if control coverage is the same. For your security controls to be effective, they must be selected, deployed, configured and optimized continuously to protect against specific threats identified by the business.” 

From Proactive Defense Optimization to Continuous Controls Monitoring

As we see it, the first step on the journey is about establishing a suitable Security Posture Baseline through  Proactive Defense Optimization, where organizations are encouraged to continuously verify the effectiveness of their security programs and controls. The core message is zero tolerance for complacency: defenses need to be monitored, evaluated, and fine-tuned regularly to respond effectively to real-world attacks without impacting business operations.

The second step builds on this baseline, and incorporates a continuous approach to security controls monitoring, which fosters holistic visibility into security controls across hybrid environments—from cloud to core infrastructure. Here, it’s not only about understanding your security posture but about driving consistent policies, and standards to maximize your  security investments. Continuous gap analysis and reporting unify what was once fragmented siloed data into actionable security posture insight, for increased situational awareness.

The third step is to accelerate audit readiness and compliance adherence. Meeting Industry standards and achieving regulatory compliance is no longer a checkbox exercise – it’s an ongoing effort that demands speed, flexibility, and coordination. With new laws like NIS2, DORA, and the SEC cyber rules now in effect, and others like the EU AI Act and CPPA close behind, the expectations are higher and the timelines shorter. Ensuring changes to security controls don’t get overlooked between audits is an essential component of a proactive security strategy.

The final step integrates Security Control Monitoring with Continuous Threat Exposurement Management to deliver a holistic approach to what Gartner calls Automated Security Controls Assessment (ASCA). According to Gartner, “ASCA improves the security posture by verifying the proper, consistent configuration of security controls, rather than simply verifying the existence of controls,” (Gartner Hype Cycle for Security Operations, 2023). 

ASCA identifies configuration drift, policy and control deficiencies, detection logic gaps, poor defaults, and other misconfigurations in security controls. It then uses identified weaknesses to recommend and prioritize remediation steps to improve security against organization-specific threats. 

Security teams can optimize their organization’s security posture by establishing processes and investing in technologies for continuous assessment of technical security controls, and pairing these processes and technologies with various exposure data – including attack surface context, vulnerabilities, attack simulations and threat intelligence relevant to the business. 

Unified Security Posture: The Single Source of Truth

XM Cyber grants organizations a unique approach to Security Controls Monitoring as a single source of truth for hybrid infrastructure security posture. By unifying intelligence across diverse tools enterprises can understand how security controls perform in concert, measure their effectiveness, and prioritize efforts based on risk and compliance contexts.

By addressing the complexity of managing increasingly fragmented security stacks with dispersed organizational responsibilities, it advocates for cross-functional collaboration and continuous posture monitoring as indispensable. This not only spots weaknesses but drives consistent security improvements aligned with business goals.

Conclusion: Driving Effective Security Posture Management and Risk Reduction

The XM Cyber Security Controls Monitoring Module, as an extension to the Continuous Exposure Management Platform, we believe complements the findings in the Gartner report and is an essential component to increase cybersecurity resilience and security posture. Organizations of all shapes and sizes can benefit from security controls optimization and we feel this new Gartner report offers a practical discussion to overcoming real-world challenges.

By embracing this full spectrum — from unification and continuous monitoring to ongoing controls optimization — security leaders can build a defensible, resilient posture that evolves ahead of threats and maximizes the value of their security investments.