Benchmarking Attack Surface Security in the Benelux Region – Outpost24

Attack surfaces are expanding faster than most organizations can track.

Cloud adoption, digital transformation, third-party integrations, and remote access have significantly increased the number of internet-facing assets organizations expose to potential attackers. While vulnerabilities are inevitable, understanding how your organization compares to peers within your industry and region is critical for prioritizing risk reduction.

This whitepaper from Outpost24 presents a comprehensive benchmark of attack surface security across the Benelux region. Using External Attack Surface Management data, the report analyzes nearly 30,000 internet-facing assets across five major industries including Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, Pharma, and Transport.

The research provides a comparative view of cybersecurity risk by examining critical vulnerabilities, leaked credentials, web server hygiene, and encryption issues across industries.

You will learn how:

• More than 18 percent of observed risks across all industries were rated critical, very high, or high
• Outpost24 found Healthcare had the highest proportion of serious risks at 27.2 percent
• Financial Services showed the lowest proportion of known exploited vulnerabilities
• Stolen and leaked credentials remain a primary initial access vector across all industries
• Dark web and malware-stolen credentials vary significantly by sector
• Poor web server hygiene signals weak cyber posture and increases attack likelihood
• SSL and TLS misconfigurations remain common across all industries
• Benchmarking helps organizations prioritize remediation based on real-world exposure

The whitepaper highlights key findings from each benchmark category. Healthcare organizations showed the highest concentration of known exploited vulnerabilities, while Financial Services had the highest volume of credentials available for sale on the dark web. Across all industries, more than 20 percent of analyzed web servers returned 4xx or 5xx error codes, indicating widespread cyber hygiene challenges.

The report also explains how Outpost24 conducted the benchmarking analysis using its External Attack Surface Management platform. Assets were discovered through passive reconnaissance techniques, analyzed for risk, and scored based on severity. The analysis provides a snapshot of regional exposure and establishes a baseline organizations can use to measure improvement over time.

In addition, the whitepaper outlines how continuous EASM enables organizations to identify unknown assets, monitor changes in exposure, and prioritize remediation before attackers exploit weaknesses. By moving from periodic assessments to continuous visibility, security teams gain earlier warning and stronger control over their external attack surface.

This whitepaper is designed for CISOs, security leaders, risk managers, and IT decision-makers seeking data-driven insight into regional cyber exposure and practical guidance on improving external attack surface security.

Download the whitepaper from Outpost24 to benchmark your organization’s attack surface against peers in the Benelux region and learn how continuous exposure management can reduce cyber risk.