Visibility Gaps that CISOs Struggle With
Even the most well-equipped cybersecurity teams face the hard truth: visibility is never absolute. Despite advanced tools like EDR, XDR, and SIEM, blind spots persist across enterprise environments. These gaps often become gateways for lateral movement, misconfigured controls, LOLBIN abuse, and hidden data exfiltration.
This article explores why common monitoring solutions fail to provide complete endpoint visibility and how a forensic Endpoint Security Posture Assessment (ESPA) can close those gaps for modern CISOs.
1. Lateral Movement: The Invisible Intruder
Attackers rarely attack head-on. Once inside, they quietly move across the network using legitimate credentials, exploring every weak point they can find. This is called “lateral movement” and when done so stealthily, can be one of the hardest threats to detect.
Why EDR Falls Short
EDR tools excel at spotting known attack patterns, but they can miss subtle movements that appear legitimate. When attackers use valid admin accounts, RDP sessions, or shared network paths, those actions blend into normal network traffic. The EDR sees activity, but not intent.
The ESPA Advantage
The ESPA takes a forensic approach to endpoint visibility. Instead of waiting for alerts, it analyses configuration, credential, network, and behavioural data to identify how lateral movement could occur. It reveals misused identities, privilege creep, and hidden access paths before attackers exploit them.
2. Deficient Controls: The False Sense of Security
Many organizations believe they are protected simply because they believe their EDR or antivirus agent is installed on every endpoint. In reality, tools fail silently. Agents can go inactive, policies drift from baselines, and integrations can break without warning. Time and time again, we assess environments where control coverage is not sufficient, devices improperly enrolled - You can’t monitor what you don’t have coverage of.
Why Monitoring Tools Struggle
Traditional dashboards show agent health but rarely confirm if those tools are configured correctly or enforcing policies effectively. Shadow IT endpoints, forgotten devices, and outdated security policies often slip through unnoticed.
The ESPA Advantage
ESPA validates both presence and performance. It assesses each control’s actual effectiveness, detects missing or misconfigured agents, and identifies gaps that create a false sense of protection. CISOs gain verified assurance that their security stack is functioning as intended.
3. LOLBINS: Living Off the Land, Living Under the Radar
“Living off the land binaries” (LOLBINS) such as PowerShell, PsExec, FileZilla, and WMIC are legitimate tools that attackers use to blend in with system administrators. They enable stealthy execution without dropping traditional malware.
Why Traditional Detection Misses It
EDRs are designed to detect suspicious binaries, not everyday tools. When attackers use LOLBINS, the activity looks routine. Many security teams even suppress alerts from administrative tools to reduce noise, unknowingly creating perfect cover for intruders. MSPs often deploy LOLBINs for administrative purposes, usually into unmanaged file storage locations for execution - however these are cleaned up, and plan right into the hands of a threat actor.
The ESPA Advantage
The ESPA analyses real endpoint usage patterns, not just active alerts. It identifies when legitimate tools are being used in unusual ways, flagging high-risk behaviours even if it appears normal on the surface. This proactive visibility prevents LOLBINS abuse before it causes damage.
4. Data Movement Risk: The Silent Leak
Most data breaches do not happen through massive downloads. They happen slowly, through normal business processes. Sensitive files leave via cloud syncs, personal emails, or poorly secured remote connections.
Why Visibility Tools Miss It
DLP and EDR solutions can flag large transfers, but they often lack the context to understand who moved the data or why. Weak identity hygiene and unmanaged devices further obscure the full picture of data movement.
The ESPA Advantage
By correlating identity posture, device compliance, and data handling behaviours, ESPA exposes risky data pathways that standard monitoring overlooks. It helps CISOs see how data flows across devices, accounts, and applications, revealing potential exfiltration routes before they escalate.
Bringing It All Together
EDR and SIEM platforms are essential, but they are not infallible. They rely on what they can see in real time, leaving room for misconfigurations, blind spots, and assumptions. Endpoint Security Posture Assessment complements these tools by providing a forensic, evidence-based review of what truly exists and how it behaves.
With ESPA, CISOs gain a deeper understanding of their cybersecurity posture. It validates the effectiveness of existing controls, highlights unseen vulnerabilities, and transforms uncertainty into confidence.
True visibility is not about adding more alerts. It is about understanding what those alerts are missing.
Ready to uncover what your current tools might be missing?
Start with an Endpoint Security Posture Assessment and reveal the complete picture of your endpoint environment. Get in touch.