Digital transformation has changed what organisations need to protect. Cloud services, remote working, connected devices and AI are creating increasingly complex IT environments, while new vulnerabilities continue to emerge.
For CISOs and Heads of Security, this raises a fundamental question: Do you have a complete and current view of what an attacker could target?
A Growing Challenge For Security Teams
Germany’s BSI states that the attack surface for cyberattacks grows alongside digitalisation and can be increased further by gaps in preventative measures such as effective patch management and network segmentation.
The volume of known vulnerabilities demonstrates the scale of the challenge. In Q2 2026, the BSI recorded 17,539 vulnerabilities, compared with 10,803 in Q1 2026, an increase of approximately 62%. The BSI notes that the significant rise could be linked to AI-driven vulnerability discovery.
More vulnerabilities don’t automatically mean more risk for every organisation. But they make it increasingly important to understand which assets are affected, where they’re exposed and which risks should be addressed first.
You Can't Protect What You Can't See
Your attack surface is no longer just the devices sitting within your corporate network.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) defines an attack surface as the potential access points across an organisation’s hardware, software, services and cloud assets. Its guidance recommends organisations aim for the same, or better, visibility of their online systems as potential attackers.
Tanium makes a similar point in its 2026 attack-surface guidance. It highlights the challenge of fragmented visibility as vulnerability volumes and asset sprawl increase, and advocates having an up-to-date view of both internal and external risk.
The goal isn’t simply to find more vulnerabilities. It’s to understand where genuine exposure exists and what needs attention first.
Why should CISOs be looking at this now?
Attack surface management isn’t just an IT operations issue. It directly affects cyber risk, resilience and compliance.
An organisation might have policies and controls in place, but security leaders still need confidence that those controls extend across the assets they’re responsible for.
That means being able to answer some relatively simple questions:
- What assets do we have?
- Where are they exposed?
- Are they secure and compliant?
- Which vulnerabilities pose the greatest risk?
- How quickly can we remediate them?
PointWire View
PointWire can help to bring together external attack surface visibility with internal endpoint information, helping organisations discover exposures, add context and prioritise remediation.
“Organisations are under constant pressure to move faster, adopt new technologies and give people the flexibility they need to work effectively. Security teams have to enable that progress without allowing risk to grow unchecked. For CISOs, the challenge is finding that balance, supporting innovation while maintaining the visibility and control needed to protect the business.”
Richard Thompson, CSO, PointWire
Understanding your exposure is the first step towards reducing it. PointWire can help you assess your current environment, identify gaps and explore how Tanium can provide greater visibility and control across your estate.
Get in touch with PointWire to start the conversation.