In response to the growing threat of ransomware attacks exploiting unknown vulnerabilities, cybersecurity leader Sophos has introduced a major enhancement to its threat detection arsenal by adding Internal Attack Surface Management (IASM) to its Sophos Managed Risk service.
The move comes as 40 per cent of ransomware victims fell prey to unknown vulnerabilities in the past year.
The new facility, powered by technology from Tenable, is designed to close critical blind spots within organisations’ networks by identifying vulnerabilities that traditional defences may overlook, says a press statement.
Sophos’ State of Ransomware 2025 report underscores the urgency of this move, revealing that a significant number of successful ransomware attacks were made possible by exposures that companies didn’t even know existed.
Sophos Managed Risk, which previously focused on external attack surfaces, now provides comprehensive visibility both inside and outside an organisation’s network.
The inclusion of IASM allows security teams to perform unauthenticated internal scans-evaluating systems from an attacker’s perspective without the need for login credentials or privileged access.
This method reveals hidden high-risk issues, such as open ports, misconfigured services, and exposed internal assets that could be exploited by cybercriminals.
Incorporating advanced AI, the system can intelligently prioritise which vulnerabilities pose the greatest threat and require immediate attention.
Sophos relies on Tenable Nessus scanners to perform in-depth internal assessments and determine the severity of potential weaknesses, enabling faster and more informed remediation decisions.
Unlike many cybersecurity vendors that separate internal and external risk management into distinct products, Sophos offers a fully integrated and managed solution. It combines both attack surface views within a single service, backed by the company’s globally recognised Managed Detection and Response (MDR) expertise.
The expanded capabilities are available immediately to all new and existing Sophos Managed Risk customers at no additional cost. Users can activate the internal scanning feature by deploying Nessus scanners and scheduling scans directly through the Sophos Central console.
By unifying internal and external risk detection, Sophos aims to help organisations stay ahead of attackers and prevent the kind of costly breaches that continue to rise amid an increasingly complex cyber threat landscape.
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