Cortex Xpanse: Active Attack Surface Management by Palo Alto Networks
Available through TechPower - Your Trusted Palo Alto Networks Partner
---
Overview
Your security team cannot protect what it cannot see. As hybrid work, cloud adoption, and third-party integrations expand your digital footprint, unknown and unmanaged assets are quietly becoming your biggest vulnerability.
Cortex Xpanse is Palo Alto Networks' active attack surface management (ASM) solution - purpose-built to continuously discover, analyze, and respond to unknown risks across every connected system and exposed service your organization owns. Unlike legacy vulnerability scanners that run on a schedule, Xpanse operates around the clock, scanning the entire internet the same way an attacker would.
The result is a real-time, comprehensive view of your external attack surface - including the assets your IT team does not know exist.
> Attackers can scan the entire internet for exploitable vulnerabilities in under 45 minutes. The average enterprise takes more than three weeks to find and fix them. Xpanse closes that gap.
---
Why Attack Surface Management Matters
Modern enterprise infrastructure is no longer a defined perimeter. Cloud sprawl, remote access services, shadow IT, and mergers and acquisitions all introduce assets that fall outside traditional monitoring programs.
Consider the scale of the problem:
- 70% of organizations have experienced a cyberattack originating from an unknown or unmanaged asset
- 30% or more of enterprise assets are typically outside the scope of existing security monitoring
- Three exposure categories - IT and networking infrastructure, business operations applications, and remote access services - account for 73% of high-risk exposures across enterprise environments
Cortex Xpanse addresses these gaps by giving security teams the visibility and automation they need to act before attackers do.
---
Key Capabilities
Active Discovery
Xpanse continuously and automatically scans more than 500 billion ports daily and monitors all 4.3 billion IPv4 addresses multiple times per day. This internet-scale scanning mirrors attacker reconnaissance techniques, surfacing unknown assets, misconfigurations, and exposed services that traditional tools miss.
- Discovers unmanaged IT infrastructure in real time
- Identifies shadow cloud environments and rogue deployments
- Maps your full external attack surface without requiring agent installation
Active Learning
Xpanse uses supervised machine learning models to continuously map and prioritize your attack surface. Rather than overwhelming teams with raw data, it contextualizes findings and focuses attention on the highest-risk exposures first.
- Reduces mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR)
- Continuously updates asset attribution and risk scoring
- Operates without requiring additional analyst headcount
Active Response
Visibility without action does not reduce risk. Xpanse includes built-in automated playbooks that move beyond ticket generation to actually remediate exposures - automatically and at speed.
- Automates remediation workflows for common exposure types
- Supports immediate response to newly disclosed zero-day vulnerabilities
- Integrates with existing SOC tools and ITSM platforms
---
Use Cases
Cortex Xpanse is designed to address a wide range of security and operational challenges for enterprise teams:
- Eliminate Security Blind Spots - Automatically discover and remediate risks from unmonitored or forgotten infrastructure
- Prevent Ransomware - Close the entry points ransomware actors rely on before attacks can take hold
- Remove Shadow Cloud - Identify and eliminate unsanctioned cloud resources that bypass security controls
- Accelerate Zero-Day Response - Instantly assess and reduce your exposure when new CVEs are disclosed
- Strengthen M&A Due Diligence - Evaluate the security posture of acquisition targets before and after deals close
- Manage Internet Operations - Maintain a continuously updated inventory of all internet-facing systems and services
- Reduce Cyber Insurance Risk - Demonstrating reduced unknown exposure can lower insurance premiums and improve coverage terms
---
Proven at Enterprise Scale
Cortex Xpanse is deployed by some of the largest and most security-conscious organizations in the world, including all six branches of the United States military. It is recognized by Forrester as a Leader in Attack Surface Management - ranked highest in the Strategy category among all evaluated vendors - and is consistently validated by customers through Gartner Peer Insights.
Whether you are a CISO building a formal ASM program, a vulnerability management team looking to close monitoring gaps, or a SOC director seeking faster detection and response, Xpanse delivers measurable outcomes at scale.
---
How TechPower Helps
Purchasing Cortex Xpanse through TechPower means more than just licensing - it means having a dedicated enterprise IT partner guiding your deployment from initial scoping through long-term optimization.
As an authorized Palo Alto Networks reseller, TechPower offers:
- Pre-sales consultation - Our team helps you assess your current attack surface coverage, identify gaps, and build the right business case for Xpanse
- Licensing and procurement - We simplify vendor negotiations, volume pricing, and contract terms to get you the best value
- Implementation support - TechPower works alongside your security team to accelerate time-to-value from day one
- Ongoing advisory - As your environment evolves, we help you tune, expand, and integrate Xpanse within your broader Palo Alto Networks ecosystem
- Single point of contact - One trusted partner for Palo Alto Networks products, renewals, training, and escalation support
Ready to see what attackers see? Contact TechPower today to schedule a Cortex Xpanse demo or request an attack surface assessment for your organization.