Since each of these target systems can be vulnerable, enterprises have more vulnerabilities than ever before. This increased exposure has been reflected in the press coverage of breaches over the last 24 months, with 2011 and 2012 seeing the most significant media coverage of high profile breaches in years.
In their 2012 annual Chief Information Security Officer Assessment, IBM noted that external threats are now viewed by the majority of CISO respondents as the primary security challenge they face.
The traditional reactive approach to risk is no longer effective in mitigating the vulnerabilities within an enterprise. A real-time, proactive approach that automates risk management is needed to empower today's enterprises to effectively identify and remediate the actual assets that are subject to risk within their networks.