{"id":4067,"date":"2025-07-23T06:55:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T06:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/?p=4067"},"modified":"2025-07-23T06:55:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T06:55:59","slug":"what-makes-an-asset-risk-assessment-effective-in-a-threat-driven-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/?p=4067","title":{"rendered":"What Makes an Asset Risk Assessment Effective in a Threat-Driven World?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Industry experts with over a decade of cybersecurity experience recognize that the old ways of doing risk assessment just don\u2019t work anymore. You know what I mean? Those quarterly checklists and vulnerability scans that made us feel secure? They\u2019re practically useless against today\u2019s threats.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Think about it. While you\u2019re running your scheduled scan, attackers are already inside your network, mapping everything out. They\u2019re not waiting for your risk assessment cycle, they\u2019re moving fast, and they\u2019re smart about it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The answer isn\u2019t just doing more of the same. We need to completely flip how we approach asset risk assessment. Instead of those periodic, checkbox-driven evaluations, we need continuous, threat-informed asset risk management<\/a> that actually anticipates what attackers are going to do next.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How Do You Actually Figure Out What Your Most Critical Assets Are?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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So here\u2019s where most organizations mess up. They try to catalog everything; servers, workstations, cloud instances, IoT devices. But they treat this like a one-time inventory project. They\u2019ll spend months building this perfect spreadsheet, and by the time they\u2019re done, half the information is already outdated.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A recent analysis of a financial services organization revealed critical gaps in traditional asset management approaches. The organization had developed a comprehensive asset inventory<\/a>, color-coded, cross-referenced, and meticulously maintained. But when we started digging deeper, we discovered they had dozens of shadow IT deployments that weren\u2019t on anyone\u2019s radar. Marketing had spun up their own analytics platform. Sales was using some cloud CRM that nobody in IT knew about.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The thing is, attackers don\u2019t care about your official inventory. They\u2019re going to find everything, including the stuff you don\u2019t know about.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Real asset management means you need automated discovery<\/a> that\u2019s running all the time. Not just the obvious stuff like servers and workstations, but everything. Shadow IT, IoT devices, cloud workloads, even your intellectual property and data repositories scattered across different systems.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each asset needs to be classified based on what it actually does for your business. How does it contribute to daily operations? What sensitive data does it process? What would happen if it got compromised tomorrow?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the kicker, in hybrid and multi-cloud environments, your attack surface<\/a> is changing constantly. New cloud services pop up, existing physical infrastructure gets modified, and your traditional asset management approaches just can\u2019t keep up.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The organization\u2019s assets include everything from hardware assets to software applications, digital assets, and even intangible assets like customer data and trade secrets.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tAsset TypeExamplesRisk Considerations\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tHardware AssetsServers, workstations, IoT devicesPhysical security, endpoint protection<\/a>Software ApplicationsBusiness applications, databasesPatch management, access controlsDigital AssetsData repositories, file systemsData sensitivity, backup statusIntangible AssetsIntellectual property, customer dataRegulatory compliance, encryption\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why Your Current Risk Assessment Process Is Probably Failing<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Look, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but most traditional risk management strategies are completely backwards. They look at assets in isolation, checking off vulnerabilities one by one without considering how attackers actually work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Modern adversaries don\u2019t just exploit individual vulnerabilities<\/a>. They chain things together. They use lateral movement. They escalate privileges. They understand that even your most protected critical assets can be reached through seemingly unimportant endpoints if those systems share network connectivity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The traditional risk treatment cycle, which includes identifying, analyzing, evaluating, and treating, is just too slow. I\u2019ve seen organizations complete their quarterly risk assessment<\/a> while their attack surface completely changed three times over. New threats emerge daily, threat actors adapt their techniques, and business requirements drive infrastructure changes that create unexpected exposures.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Operational risks multiply when you\u2019re dealing with failure modes that cascade through interconnected systems. A single compromised endpoint can become the gateway to your entire network if you\u2019re not thinking about assessing risks from an attacker\u2019s perspective.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And don\u2019t even get me started on cloud environments. You deploy something in AWS on Monday, and by Friday your attack surface has completely changed. Traditional risk assessment can\u2019t keep up with that pace.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Three Things That Actually Matter in Asset Risk Assessment<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Extensive industry analysis reveals that there are three critical factors that <\/span>determine<\/span> effective asset risk assessment:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Coverage Analysis: What’s Actually Protecting Your Stuff?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This is where you figure out what security controls are actually protecting each asset. Does that server have EPP\/EDR<\/a> agents properly deployed? Are you monitoring network traffic<\/a> to and from it? Are your cloud assets configured according to security benchmarks?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But here\u2019s what most people miss; you\u2019ve got to identify potential risks by finding the gaps. Those unmanaged devices, shadow IT deployments, and assets that don\u2019t have appropriate security measures. These gaps are often your highest risk<\/a> because they give attackers unmonitored entry points.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Implementation at a major healthcare organization, a children\u2019s hospital serving over 500,000 patients annually, demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach. They thought they had everything locked down. But when we deployed Fidelis Deception<\/a>\u00ae technology, it mapped their entire network infrastructure within hours and immediately identified malicious activities that had completely bypassed their existing security controls.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their IT Security Architect told me: \u201cWithin just hours of deployment, Fidelis Deception\u00ae had already identified and pinpointed suspicious activities that had apparently bypassed our existing security infrastructure. This enabled our IT security teams to promptly address and neutralize the threats\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Business Impact: Not All Assets Are Created Equal<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A domain controller supporting authentication for thousands of users is not the same as some random development workstation. Even if they have similar technical vulnerabilities, the business impact is completely different.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Asset criticality goes way beyond technical specs. You need to think about data sensitivity, PII, financial records, and intellectual property. Business function importance, email servers, databases, payment systems. Access privileges, systems with elevated permissions. Regulatory compliance requirements, including HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOX mandates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The finance team\u2019s workstations might look like regular endpoints<\/a>, but they probably have privileged access to critical data. Same with HR systems, engineering workstations, executive laptops.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Critical operations depend on these company\u2019s assets, and you can\u2019t manage risk effectively if you don\u2019t understand which specific assets are most important to your business continuity.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Real-Time Threat Intelligence: What’s Actually Happening Right Now?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Static vulnerability data is basically useless without context about the current threat landscape. You need to understand which vulnerabilities are actively being exploited, which attack techniques are trending, and what threats are specifically targeting your industry sector.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This means monitoring for indicators of compromise, analyzing network traffic patterns<\/a> for suspicious communications, and correlating endpoint telemetry with known attack behaviors. Machine learning can help process this data to generate threat scores that factor in both technical severity and actual likelihood of risk occurrence.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The risk process needs to be an ongoing process that considers existing threats and potential threats in real-time, not just what you discovered in last quarter\u2019s scan.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How Fidelis Elevate\u00ae Transforms Asset Risk Assessment<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Here\u2019s where things get interesting. Fidelis Elevate<\/a>\u00ae is an Active XDR platform that works with complementary Fidelis Security products to <\/span>provide<\/span> comprehensive cyber defense capabilities. The platform integrates Network Detection and Response (NDR) through Fidelis Network<\/a>\u00ae, Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) through Fidelis Endpoint<\/a>\u00ae, deception technology through Fidelis Deception\u00ae, and cloud security through Fidelis <\/a><\/span>CloudPassage<\/a><\/span> Halo<\/a>\u00ae.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Comprehensive Cyber Terrain Mapping with Fidelis Elevate\u00ae<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Fidelis Elevate\u00ae provides holistic asset discovery<\/a> across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments through its terrain-based proactive cyber defense capabilities. The platform uses passive network monitoring, integrates with directory services, and leverages advanced telemetry to profile each asset by role, operating system, connectivity, vendor, and more.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What sets Fidelis Elevate\u00ae apart is its ability to monitor all network traffic over all ports and protocols to identify and assign roles to endpoints based on observed communications. It detects the operating system and role of assets\u2014workstation, web server, file server, mail server, domain name server, IoT devices, and more. Plus, it provides real-time inventory updates across all connected clouds.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Multi-Dimensional Risk Calculation Framework<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Fidelis <\/span>Elevate\u00ae\u2018s<\/span> risk management framework combines three essential factors using a precise formula: Coverage + Importance + Severity of Current Events:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tRisk FactorDescriptionKey Elements\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tCoverageWhether assets have proper EPP\/EDR deployment, network monitoring capabilities, and compliance with security benchmarksEndpoint protection status, network data analysis capability, deception technology deploymentImportanceAsset role in business operations, data sensitivity, and regulatory requirementsAsset tags for PII<\/a>, customer data, source code, and other critical dataSeverity of Current EventsVulnerabilities from Fidelis Endpoint\u00ae or scanning tools, real-time cloud asset discovery, advanced threat scoringCyber alerts, analyst feedback, MITRE ATT&CK\u00ae framework mapping<\/a>\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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This automated scoring <\/span>reduce<\/span> risks through better prioritization while ensuring that risk mitigation<\/a> aligns with genuine business threats. The system factors in vulnerabilities from endpoint agents or scanning tools, discovery and inventory of cloud assets updated in real-time, and <\/span>advanced<\/span> threat scoring that considers cyber alerts and analyst feedback.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Stop Guessing Your Cyber Risk \u2013 Calculate It Like the Experts<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMulti-dimensional risk formula<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCoverage assessment methods<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAsset importance scoring<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload the Datasheet<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Proactive Defense Through Integrated Deception<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Beyond detection, Fidelis Elevate\u00ae works with Fidelis Deception\u00ae to create uncertainty for attackers by automatically creating and modifying a decoy network to modify the terrain. Constantly changing environments make it difficult to distinguish real assets from decoys, allowing defenders to detect and investigate active attacks early<\/a> in their lifecycle.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That children\u2019s hospital I mentioned earlier?<\/span><\/p>\n

After deploying Fidelis Deception\u00ae, their IT Security Architect said: \u201cFidelis Deception\u00ae takes our network security to the next level. Its main advantage is that it solves a security problem with a whole new approach and provides visibility with real business analytics. This was a key differentiator for us and has proven itself by delivering immediate ROI\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Attack Simulation and Response Capabilities<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Fidelis Elevate\u00ae enables both blue and red team simulations based on asset risk and communication mapping. Blue team exercises explore how attackers might gain access to critical assets based on current risk and network connectivity, conducting multi-hop analysis to watch lateral movement patterns. Red team simulations start with high-risk assets and analyze how attackers might move laterally through the enterprise.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This capability transforms risk assessment from static evaluation to dynamic modeling that helps organizations understand potential attack paths and strengthen defenses accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Implementation Reality Check<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Implementing advanced asset risk assessment presents significant challenges. Organizations commonly struggle with several critical issues that top management must understand and address.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tool integration is a nightmare. Your assessment platform needs to work seamlessly with your existing security infrastructure, including SIEM systems, vulnerability scanners<\/a>, endpoint protection platforms. Most of these tools weren\u2019t designed to work together, so you end up with data silos and blind spots.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Asset managers need proper training on risk assessment methodologies, threat intelligence analysis, and attack simulation<\/a> techniques. You can\u2019t just buy a tool and expect it to work magically.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing, automation isn\u2019t optional anymore. Manual risk management plans and risk monitoring process simply cannot keep pace with how fast things change. You need platforms that automatically identify assets, calculate risk levels, and integrate findings into security workflows without requiring constant manual intervention.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom-up approach to risk based asset management means you start with understanding your assets, then building your risk management strategies around what you actually have, not what you think you have.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Why This Actually Matters for Your Business<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Top management needs to understand that effective asset risk management isn\u2019t just some technical initiative; it\u2019s a business imperative. It protects critical operations, maintains customer trust, and ensures regulatory compliance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When security incidents happen, you need to know immediately which assets are affected, their business criticality, and potential impact on operations. Risk registers should track individual assets, their associated risks, and risk mitigation strategies in real-time.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The risk based approach to asset maintenance means you\u2019re not just fixing things when they break, you\u2019re preventing problems before they occur. Whether it\u2019s natural disasters, software applications vulnerabilities, or sophisticated cyber attacks, you need risk management plans that actually work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizations that embrace comprehensive, continuous asset risk assessment position themselves to detect and respond to threats before they achieve their objectives. This proactive approach represents a fundamental shift from reactive security operations to predictive defense that anticipates adversary behavior and strengthens defenses accordingly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The future of cybersecurity<\/a> lies not in perfect prevention but in intelligent risk management that enables organizations to make informed decisions about where to invest their security resources for maximum protection of their most valuable assets.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Risk mitigation strategies need to be dynamic, not static. The qualitative assessment of vulnerabilities must be balanced with quantitative analysis of potential impact on business operations. This isn\u2019t just about checking boxes; it\u2019s about building a sustainable risk management framework that evolves with your business and the threat landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Give Us 10 Minutes \u2013 We\u2019ll Show You the Future of Security<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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See why security teams trust Fidelis to:<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCut threat detection time by 9x<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSimplify security operations<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvide unmatched visibility and control<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBook a Demo Now!<\/span>
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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The post What Makes an Asset Risk Assessment Effective in a Threat-Driven World?<\/a> appeared first on Fidelis Security<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Industry experts with over a decade of cybersecurity experience recognize that the old ways of doing risk assessment just don\u2019t work anymore. You know what I mean? Those quarterly checklists and vulnerability scans that made us feel secure? They\u2019re practically useless against today\u2019s threats.\u00a0 Think about it. While you\u2019re running your scheduled scan, attackers are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4067"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}