A single unmonitored exposed IT asset is all it takes to compromise an entire organization. Hence IT asset monitoring is one of the key strategies that keeps proactive cybersecurity efforts up and running across businesses.
However, with the growing reliance on cloud platforms, third-party vendors, and remote operations, the number of IT assets to be monitored, both internal and external has widened. And the wider it gets, the greater the attack surface that could be exploited.
Across France, enterprises are grappling with an expanding attack surface as digital transformation accelerates. Recent data from Statista shows that 74% of organizations in France encountered ransomware attacks in 2024. The story was similar to the year before when it was about 64%.
But what vulnerabilities are attracting cybercriminals to French businesses? The answer and more could be found in Outpost24’s 2024 French EASM benchmark.
Understanding the Risks in France’s Digital Landscape
Most CISOs would agree that a complete inventory of their external attack surface is paramount, as internet-exposed assets face relentless automated attacks. Without this knowledge, effective defense becomes a fairy tale.
To understand the extent to which public-facing assets of France-based businesses are exposed to cyber-attacks, Outpost24, last year, analyzed over 19,000 assets across various sectors using its External Attack Surface Management (EASM) solution.
The results of that study show that while France’s push into digital transformation is creating new technological frontiers, it’s also birthing new vulnerabilities.
Let’s take the pharmaceutical sector for example. Findings reveal that it was the most vulnerable with 25.4% of vulnerabilities rated critical, very high, or high. The transport sector had the highest proportion of critical or very high Known Exploitable Vulnerabilities (KEVs) at 49.5%, compared to Finance’s 22%.
The analyses also highlighted 252 cookie violations and credentials stolen by malware in the healthcare sector. This is not a surprise as public healthcare systems are often tied to aging legacy infrastructure which bears their fair share of exploitable vulnerabilities.
Outpost24 further undertook to analyze the online infrastructure of the Paris 2024 Olympic games to understand what the attack surface risks looked like. The study found two exposed remote access ports, 31 domains (5.8%) with invalid SSL certificates, 86 domains (16%) lacking SSL, and 257 out of 294 websites with security header issues.
While the overall cybersecurity posture of the Olympics was deemed good, the deep attack surface analysis was crucial as it made it easier to uncover hidden risks and offered actionable insights.
The Cost of Neglecting IT Asset Management
The pace at which we are experiencing digital expansion does not give room for neglecting IT asset security. Any nonchalance towards having digital resources often leads to devastating consequences for organizations.
IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report pegs the global average cost of a breach at $4.88 million, up 10% from 2023. It also found that breaches involving unmonitored or poorly managed assets (e.g., shadow data or devices) accounted for 35% of incidents and were 16% more expensive than average.
But beyond monetary losses, companies that fail to manage their IT assets effectively are bound to face complex compliance issues. As reported by Proximity, nearly half of all asset managers surveyed in 2023 saw compliance as a leading concern, a burden compounded by the ever-evolving regulatory landscape.
To this end, organizations must prioritize this crucial aspect of cybersecurity to protect their digital assets and maintain their competitive edge.
How EASM Strengthens Digital Resilience
Managing an ever-expanding attack surface can feel overwhelming, but solutions like External Attack Surface Management (EASM)-Tools simplify the process.
Outpost24’s EASM solution uses passive detection, elaborate discovery methods and AI to continuously scan, track, and asses external IT assets and thus help organizations stay ahead of cyber threats.
With the recent addition of a Dark Web module feature, Outpost24 is taking attack surface management and security even further. The module monitors underground forums, chats and datadumps for mentions of company data, and by doing so, detects potential sales or attack plans before they escalate.
For French businesses, this level of monitoring is critical. In critical industries, EASM could help eliminate shadow IT, detect compromised credentials and their source, highlight non-criminal-cyber risks and flag neglected servers that could be exploited.
In addition to all of these, Outpost24’s risk-ranking system allows security teams to focus on the most pressing threats thereby cutting through the noise.
Conclusion
Cutting down external attack surfaces starts with knowing what IT assets to protect, where they are, and the level of risk they pose. French businesses can significantly lower their vulnerabilities if they incorporate quality external attack surface management solutions.
If you’re curious about how your organization’s attack surface score measures up, book a free attack surface analysis today with Outpost24 to spot your cybersecurity weak spots.
