* [Blog](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog)
* [Palo Alto Networks](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/corporate/)
* [Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/category/cybersecurity-2/)
* Closing the Gap by Enhanc...

# Closing the Gap by Enhancing Visibility and Mitigating Risks

[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paloaltonetworks.com.au%2Fblog%2F2026%2F04%2Fenhancing-visibility-and-mitigating-risks%2F)  
[](https://twitter.com/share?text=Closing+the+Gap+by+Enhancing+Visibility+and+Mitigating+Risks&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paloaltonetworks.com.au%2Fblog%2F2026%2F04%2Fenhancing-visibility-and-mitigating-risks%2F)  
[](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paloaltonetworks.com.au%2Fblog%2F2026%2F04%2Fenhancing-visibility-and-mitigating-risks%2F&title=Closing+the+Gap+by+Enhancing+Visibility+and+Mitigating+Risks&summary=&source=)  
[](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com//www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2026/04/enhancing-visibility-and-mitigating-risks/&ts=markdown)  
\[\](mailto:?subject=Closing the Gap by Enhancing Visibility and Mitigating Risks)  
Link copied  
By [Viv Danks](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/viv-danks/?ts=markdown "Posts by Viv Danks")  
Apr 01, 2026  
5 minutes  
[Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cybersecurity-2/?ts=markdown)  
[Government](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/government/?ts=markdown)  
[Product Features](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/category/product-features/?ts=markdown)  
[Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown)  
[Public Sector](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/public-sector/?ts=markdown)  
[Cortex Xpanse](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/cortex-xpanse/?ts=markdown)  
[EASM](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/easm/?ts=markdown)

In the race to digitise public services, the UK's digital estate has grown into a vast, borderless ecosystem that manual audits can no longer track. For UK Government departments, local authorities and NHS trusts, it is a sprawling, shifting landscape of cloud workloads, legacy infrastructure, shadow IT and third-party supplier connections.

This complexity creates blind spots that modern threats exploit. Recognising this vulnerability, the UK Government is moving toward a secure-by-design digital infrastructure, with the [2026 Government Cyber Action Plan](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-cyber-action-plan/government-cyber-action-plan) (GCAP) setting a high bar for resilience. A central theme of the GCAP is the urgent need for the government to have better visibility of cyber security and resilience risk. Fundamentally, organisations cannot secure what they cannot see. As the GCAP explicitly states, the Government will use "data sources from across the government to truly understand government-wide and departmental cyber risks."

#### The Challenge: Visibility in a "Landscape"

Many public sector organisations rely on a complex web of spreadsheets, data calls, legacy tools and manually curated lists to create an inventory of their internet-connected assets. But attackers do not look at an organisation's internal lists; they scan the internet for what they have forgotten to secure. Whether it is an unpatched server from a legacy project or a misconfigured database in a department, these "unknown unknowns" are the primary entry points for attackers.

#### The Strategic Mission: Empowering the Public Sector and Critical Industries

[Palo Alto Networks Cortex Xpanse®](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xpanse) is an active external attack surface management (EASM) solution that provides an *outside-in* view of organisations' entire digital footprint. It helps leaders meet national resilience goals:

* *Comprehensive, Continuous Visibility*: Xpanse scans the global internet space continuously and identifies every asset associated with an organisation, without requiring software agents to be installed on your systems.
* \*Accelerate Response:\*Leveraging automation, the solution streamlines response processes and enhances collaboration across dispersed teams from the sharing of findings to tracking actions and remediation.
* *Supply Chain Integrity:* Inline with the new [Cyber Security and Resilience Bill](https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/4035) (bringing managed service providers and critical third parties into scope), Xpanse allows organisations to assess the internet-facing security posture of third-party partners and suppliers, ensuring a weak link elsewhere doesn't compromise the broader mission.
* *Alignment with GovAssure:* Xpanse provides a consolidated risk profile and inventory for all internet-facing and cloud assets required for GovAssure assessments, turning a manual, months-long audit process into a continuous, data-driven cycle.
* \*Investment prioritisation:\*Xpanse provides that much needed visibility to help executive committees and boards prioritise investment decisions on legacy IT and technical debt.

## Aligning to National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC) Guidance

**![How external attack surface management products work.](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/word-image-355192-1.png)**

Palo Alto Networks Cortex Xpanse aligns with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) external attack surface management (EASM) buyer's guide by providing automated discovery, continuous monitoring and risk prioritisation of internet-facing assets. It replaces manual, point-in-time audits with a proactive, agentless solution. By automating the discovery of all internet-accessible assets (including shadow IT and unmanaged cloud operations) the platform fulfills the NCSC's core requirement for continuous global monitoring and rapid attribution. This data-driven approach allows for the automated prioritisation of critical exposures, such as RDP, and integrates seamlessly with multiple third-party automation and visualisation tools, including Cortex XSOAR® and XSIAM, to accelerate remediation with national incident response standards.

In fact, with Palo Alto Networks deployment of Cortex Xpanse, we were able to achieve a [95% reduction in external vulnerability management](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/customers/palo-alto-networks-slashes-false-positives-with-cortex-attack-surface-management) spending across more than 700,000 cloud instances, while improving coverage and outcomes.

##### Palo Alto Networks Cortex Xpanse Capabilities

* **Discover Assets:** Leveraging organisations' known asset inventory and other data points, Xpanse performs continual, automated discovery of all internet-accessible assets, effectively eliminating blind spots created by shadow IT and unmanaged cloud operations.
* \*\*Obtain Information:\*\*Always-on, continuous monitoring of an organisation's entire attack surface through daily scans of the global IP address space, ensuring that newly exposed services are identified quickly and accurately.
* \*\*Perform Analysis:\*\*Xpanse automates and prioritises alerts on all identified risks by severity, enabling organisations to optimise resolution and risk management, allowing teams to properly allocate resources and focus on the most critical risks to the organisation.
* \*\*Display Information and Provide Advice:\*\*Leveraging a unified view of the internet facing and cloud-based estate, Xpanse provides specific resolver guidance for every identified issue, supporting and monitoring automated resolution through multiple native integrations.
* \*\*Monitor Risk:\*\*Always on, discreet continual monitoring provides an independent real time status of the digital estate. Leveraging the threat intelligence capabilities of Palo Alto Networks, Xpanse is uniquely positioned to provide rapid coverage for newly discovered vulnerabilities, exploits or misconfigurations.

Securing the public sector requires a move from manual, point in time assessments to data-driven intelligence. Cortex Xpanse provides the foundations to remove blind spots, secure the supply chain and prevent unknown vulnerabilities in the face of sophisticated threats.

For further information and case studies, visit the links below, or [schedule a demo](https://www.paloaltonetworks.co.uk/cortex/cortex-xpanse).

* [Palo Alto Networks:](https://www.paloaltonetworks.co.uk/customers/palo-alto-networks-slashes-false-positives-with-cortex-attack-surface-management) Slash false positives, remediation time budget with Cortex attack surface management.
* [U.S. Pentagon](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/company/press/2022/palo-alto-networks-cortex-xpanse-to-supercharge-cyber-defenses-for-department-of-defense): Palo Alto Networks Cortex Xpanse supercharge the Cyber Defences for the Department of Defense.
* [Accenture](https://www.paloaltonetworks.co.uk/customers/accenture-secures-rapid-growth-with-cortex-xpanse): Secure rapid growth with Cortex Xpanse.

*** ** * ** ***

## Related Blogs

### [Government](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/government/?ts=markdown), [News \& Events](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/sase/category/news-events/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown), [Public Sector](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/public-sector/?ts=markdown)

[#### Prisma Access Browser Achieves FedRAMP Moderate Authorization](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/sase/prisma-access-browser-achieves-fedramp-moderate-authorization/)

### [AI Governance](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/ai-governance/?ts=markdown), [Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cybersecurity-2/?ts=markdown), [Government](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/government/?ts=markdown), [Public Sector](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/public-sector/?ts=markdown)

[#### Improving National Security Through Secure AI](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2025/05/improving-national-security-through-secure-ai/)

### [Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/cybersecurity-2/?ts=markdown), [Government](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/government/?ts=markdown), [Public Sector](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/public-sector/?ts=markdown)

[#### Making Every Dollar Count for Federal Cybersecurity](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2025/03/making-every-dollar-count-federal-cybersecurity/)

### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown), [Public Sector](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/public-sector/?ts=markdown)

[#### Internet Operations Management for the Department of Defense](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2022/12/internet-operations-management/)

### [Announcement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/announcement/?ts=markdown), [Government](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/government/?ts=markdown), [Partner Integrations](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/sase/category/partner-integrations/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown), [Public Sector](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/public-sector/?ts=markdown)

[#### Google Cloud, Partnered With Palo Alto Networks, Receives US Government Success Memo](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2021/07/us-diu-cloud-delivered-security/)

### [Government](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/government/?ts=markdown), [Products and Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/products-and-services/?ts=markdown), [Public Sector](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/public-sector/?ts=markdown)

[#### Two Weapons to Help U.S. Govt Combat Cyberthreats](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/2019/07/cloud-wildfire-fedramp/)

### Subscribe to the Blog!

Sign up to receive must-read articles, Playbooks of the Week, new feature announcements, and more.
![spinner](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.au/blog/wp-content/themes/panwblog2023/dist/images/ajax-loader.gif) Sign up  
Please enter a valid email.  
By submitting this form, you agree to our [Terms of Use](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/terms-of-use?ts=markdown) and acknowledge our [Privacy Statement](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/privacy?ts=markdown). Please look for a confirmation email from us. If you don't receive it in the next 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.  
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply.  
{#footer} {#footer}

## Products and Services

* [AI-Powered Network Security Platform](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security?ts=markdown)

* [Secure AI by Design](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/precision-ai-security/secure-ai-by-design?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma AIRS](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/prisma-ai-runtime-security?ts=markdown)

* [AI Access Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/ai-access-security?ts=markdown)

* [Cloud Delivered Security Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/security-subscriptions?ts=markdown)

* [Advanced Threat Prevention](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/advanced-threat-prevention?ts=markdown)

* [Advanced URL Filtering](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/advanced-url-filtering?ts=markdown)

* [Advanced WildFire](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/advanced-wildfire?ts=markdown)

* [Advanced DNS Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/advanced-dns-security?ts=markdown)

* [Enterprise Data Loss Prevention](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/enterprise-data-loss-prevention?ts=markdown)

* [Enterprise IoT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/enterprise-device-security?ts=markdown)

* [Medical IoT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/medical-device-security?ts=markdown)

* [Industrial OT Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/medical-device-security?ts=markdown)

* [SaaS Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/saas-security?ts=markdown)

* [Next-Generation Firewalls](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/next-generation-firewall?ts=markdown)

* [Hardware Firewalls](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/hardware-firewall-innovations?ts=markdown)

* [Software Firewalls](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/software-firewalls?ts=markdown)

* [Strata Cloud Manager](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/strata-cloud-manager?ts=markdown)

* [SD-WAN for NGFW](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/sd-wan-subscription?ts=markdown)

* [PAN-OS](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/pan-os?ts=markdown)

* [Panorama](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/network-security/panorama?ts=markdown)

* [Secure Access Service Edge](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma SASE](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase?ts=markdown)

* [Application Acceleration](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/app-acceleration?ts=markdown)

* [Autonomous Digital Experience Management](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/adem?ts=markdown)

* [Enterprise DLP](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/enterprise-data-loss-prevention?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma Access](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/access?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma Browser](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/prisma-browser?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma SD-WAN](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/sd-wan?ts=markdown)

* [Remote Browser Isolation](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/remote-browser-isolation?ts=markdown)

* [SaaS Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sase/saas-security?ts=markdown)

* [AI-Driven Security Operations Platform](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex?ts=markdown)

* [Cloud Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud?ts=markdown)

* [Cortex Cloud](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud?ts=markdown)

* [Application Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud/application-security?ts=markdown)

* [Cloud Posture Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud/cloud-posture-security?ts=markdown)

* [Cloud Runtime Security](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cloud/runtime-security?ts=markdown)

* [Prisma Cloud](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/cloud?ts=markdown)

* [AI-Driven SOC](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex?ts=markdown)

* [Cortex XSIAM](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xsiam?ts=markdown)

* [Cortex XDR](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xdr?ts=markdown)

* [Cortex XSOAR](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xsoar?ts=markdown)

* [Cortex Xpanse](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xpanse?ts=markdown)

* [Unit 42 Managed Detection \& Response](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/managed-detection-and-response?ts=markdown)

* [Managed XSIAM](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/managed-xsiam?ts=markdown)

* [Threat Intel and Incident Response Services](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42?ts=markdown)

* [Proactive Assessments](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42/assess?ts=markdown)

* [Incident Response](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42/respond?ts=markdown)

* [Transform Your Security Strategy](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42/transform?ts=markdown)

* [Discover Threat Intelligence](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42/threat-intelligence-partners?ts=markdown)

## Company

* [About Us](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/about-us?ts=markdown)
* [Careers](https://jobs.paloaltonetworks.com/en/)
* [Contact Us](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/company/contact-sales?ts=markdown)
* [Corporate Responsibility](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/about-us/corporate-responsibility?ts=markdown)
* [Customers](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/customers?ts=markdown)
* [Investor Relations](https://investors.paloaltonetworks.com/)
* [Location](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/about-us/locations?ts=markdown)
* [Newsroom](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/company/newsroom?ts=markdown)

## Popular Links

* [Blog](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/?ts=markdown)
* [Communities](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/communities?ts=markdown)
* [Content Library](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/resources?ts=markdown)
* [Cyberpedia](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia?ts=markdown)
* [Event Center](https://events.paloaltonetworks.com/)
* [Manage Email Preferences](https://start.paloaltonetworks.com/preference-center)
* [Products A-Z](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/products/products-a-z?ts=markdown)
* [Product Certifications](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/trust-center/compliance?ts=markdown)
* [Report a Vulnerability](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/security-disclosure?ts=markdown)
* [Sitemap](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/sitemap?ts=markdown)
* [Tech Docs](https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/)
* [Unit 42](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/)
* [Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information](https://panwedd.exterro.net/portal/dsar.htm?target=panwedd)
  ![PAN logo](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/pan-logo-dark.svg)
* [Privacy](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/privacy?ts=markdown)
* [Trust Center](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/trust-center?ts=markdown)
* [Terms of Use](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal-notices/terms-of-use?ts=markdown)
* [Documents](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/legal?ts=markdown)

Copyright © 2026 Palo Alto Networks. All Rights Reserved

* [![Youtube](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/social/youtube-black.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/user/paloaltonetworks)
* [![Podcast](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/content/dam/pan/en_US/images/icons/podcast.svg)](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/podcasts/threat-vector?ts=markdown)
* [![Facebook](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/social/facebook-black.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/PaloAltoNetworks/)
* [![LinkedIn](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/social/linkedin-black.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/palo-alto-networks)
* [![Twitter](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/etc/clientlibs/clean/imgs/social/twitter-x-black.svg)](https://twitter.com/PaloAltoNtwks)
* EN  
  Select your language