Introduction: The EASM Market is Broken
Buying an External Attack Surface Management (EASM) solution today can feel like navigating a minefield of marketing fluff, vague promises, and overpriced asset tracking tools disguised as cybersecurity products. Every vendor claims to offer the best EASM, but most solutions fall embarrassingly short.
So, how do you separate the real EASM solutions from the glorified dashboards? This guide will help you make an informed decision by exposing the common flaws in the market and defining what a true EASM should look like.
Table of Contents
What Most EASM Vendors Are Actually Selling You
Many so-called EASM solutions take shortcuts that drastically reduce their effectiveness. Here’s how they cut corners:
1. They Rely on Public Scanners Instead of Conducting Real Reconnaissance
Most vendors just pull data from Shodan, Censys, and BinaryEdge and call it “proprietary intelligence.”
They rarely conduct fresh internet-wide scanning to discover unknown assets.
The result? You’re paying for data you could get for free.
2. They Over-Promise on Cloud Security Without Actually Delivering
Many vendors now claim to offer Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) as part of their EASM solutions. But in reality:
They only use basic APIs to fetch misconfiguration alerts.
They don’t track shadow IT or orphaned cloud assets effectively.
They fail to map out attack paths across multi-cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure).
3. They Confuse Asset Inventory with Real Attack Surface Management
Dumping a list of public IPs, domains, and subdomains into a dashboard is not EASM.
A true EASM solution must actively map the attack surface like an adversary would.
If a solution only tells you what exists without showing you how an attacker would exploit it, then it’s just an asset management tool.
4. They Fail at Real-Time Discovery
A proper EASM solution should detect new assets and exposures in near real-time.
If an attacker finds your forgotten staging subdomain before your EASM does, it has already failed.
Many vendors still rely on batch scanning that takes hours or days to update.
5. They Ignore Critical Areas of Exposure
A proper EASM solution should cover more than just public IPs. It must include:
- Domains & parked domains (frequent targets for phishing and impersonation).
- Subdomains (staging environments and forgotten assets attackers love).
- Code repositories (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and exposed credentials).
- Cloud storage (misconfigured S3 buckets, Google Storage, and Azure Blobs).
- Shadow IT (unapproved cloud services, rogue SaaS apps, BYOD devices).
- IoT/OT/CPS (connected devices, industrial control systems, and exposed physical systems).
What a True EASM Solution Should Look Like
If you’re considering an EASM tool, here’s what you should demand:
It Must Think Like an Attacker
EASM should be driven by offensive security principles, not just compliance.
Red team tactics should be embedded in the approach.
It must go beyond passive scanning and simulate how an attacker would approach your attack surface.
It Should Provide Real-Time Discovery
The tool must identify new exposures as soon as they appear.
Continuous monitoring and adaptive scanning are critical.
If your EASM solution takes days to detect a new asset, it’s already failed.
It Must Map Attack Paths, Not Just List Assets
A great EASM solution should tell you how an attacker would move through your environment.
It should identify the easiest entry points and paths to privilege escalation.
It Should Automate Recon, Not Just Generate Reports
If your EASM tool requires heavy manual work, it’s not a real solution.
Automation should drive recon, prioritization, and risk assessment dynamically.
Reports should be actionable insights, not just CSV dumps.
How to Evaluate an EASM Vendor Before Buying
- When evaluating an EASM solution, ask the vendor these questions:
- Where does your data come from? (If it’s just Shodan, Censys, and BinaryEdge, walk away.)
- How quickly can it detect a brand-new cloud asset? (If it’s not near real-time, it’s a liability.)
- How does it prioritize risks? (If it just throws a list at you, it’s not doing real security.)
- Does it go beyond just public IPs? (If it doesn’t track cloud assets, SaaS, or shadow IT, it’s incomplete.)
- Does it simulate real-world attack paths? (If not, you’re missing the real threats.)
Final Thoughts: Buy Smart, Not Hype
The EASM market is flooded with overpriced, underperforming solutions that look good in demos but fail in the real world. Before you invest in an EASM tool, make sure it:
- Thinks like an attacker, not a compliance auditor.
- Provides real-time attack surface discovery.
- Covers more than just IPs—think cloud, shadow IT, and emerging threats.
- Maps out attack paths and prioritizes real-world risk.
- Automates recon without overwhelming you with useless data.
If your vendor can’t answer the right questions, you’re probably looking at another glorified asset tracker—not an actual security solution.
Stay Ahead or Stay Hacked: The CTEM Advantage
Cyber threats don’t wait, so why should you? reconn’s Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) keeps you ahead with:
EASM – Find what’s exposed before attackers do.
RBVM – Fix what actually matters, not just what’s loud.
ASPM – Secure apps at every stage, not just before release.
CSPM – Cloud misconfigs? Not on our watch.
PTaaS – Real-world attack simulations, on demand.
