In an era where the digital landscape is expanding at an exponential rate, the role of the security leader has become overly complex. The constantly increasing number of cyber threats faced today has resulted in a surge of cybersecurity products, services, and tools being adopted.

However, this influx of security tools has given rise to a phenomenon commonly referred to as ‘tool sprawl’. According to Panaseer, large enterprises currently grapple with an average of over 75 unique cybersecurity tools from more than 40 different vendors, indicating a complex and fragmented security infrastructure. As we dive into the cybersecurity product maze, it quickly becomes clear that there is an overload of jargon - enough to make anyone’s head spin...

Historically, there hasn’t been a good way to understand one’s security posture based on objective data, to then be able to optimise based on the specific cyber threats faced by a given organisation. Therefore, companies have often purchased these tools without truly knowing what they need. This resulting disjointed cybersecurity tool stack has become overwhelming for cybersecurity teams inside these organisations to handle.

It’s almost comical, really, except for the part where we have to figure out if any of these tools are actually making us safer. Beyond the simple metric of “have we been hacked or not?” how do we gauge the real-world effectiveness and value of our security spend? Layering in the added complexity of security staff turnover and the average CISO tenure being 18 months, the following questions keep coming up:

• What tools are in our arsenal?
• How is our budget being used?
• Are these tools working?
• And are we protected?

Moreover, the macro-environment has brought into focus the need for efficiency and effectiveness in security purchasing, as well as bridging the gap between the tools possessed and the capabilities required. It’s clear that there’s a real need for solutions that not only enhance our security but also clear the fog surrounding these security investments. It comes as no surprise then that consolidation of security products is a top priority for CISOs in 2024.

But what if there were a way to connect all of your security tools to a single centralised platform that:

• Understands what security tools you have across your estate and how your budget has been distributed across these tools.
• Creates a unique threat profile for your organisation - taking industry, geography, size, etc. into account.
• Constantly monitors threats, campaigns, and TTPs that are being used in the wild.
• Understands that a Financial Service firm in the UK is being targeted by different threat groups than a Law Firm in the US, and using different attack vectors.
• Looks at your security tools, and then maps onto a security framework (e.g. MITRE ATT&CK) to understand where there are gaps, where there are opportunities for improvement, and then gives prescriptive remediation plans to move the needle.

Meet ESProfiler...

ESProfiler’s mission is to help security teams turn the chaos of their security tools & attack surface into something elegantly engineered and tailor-made for the customers’ particular threat profile. ESProfiler’s proactive platform enables security teams to take a tailor made threat-informed approach to understand exactly what their current tools can detect and defend against. As a result, customers can maximise the effectiveness of their security stacks to‬ defend against emerging, relevant threats that are being carried out in the wild.

The platform transforms fragmented best-of-breed solutions into best-of-suite security for customers by providing end-to-end visibility of defence capabilities mapped against frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK and others. Through this, cybersecurity teams can uncover their gaps and potential overlapping capabilities that can allow for optimisation of their security stack and therefore result in greater protection and more efficient budget allocation.

With ESProfiler, companies can do more with what they have and rationalise their security budget based on hard data. In today’s economic environment, that’s a huge advantage - and one that positions security as both a business driver, as well as being a competitive advantage for the long-term.

Louis and the team have spent the last 2 years operating in stealth, working closely with large T1 banks and financial services companies to craft the ideal product to take to market. This is just the beginning for ESProfiler and we at Nauta are incredibly excited to be working alongside a team that has the potential to transform the way cybersecurity teams manage their security estate in a proactive, accountable, and unified way. Here’s to an exciting future together!