CIS Control 16 focuses on application software security. It requires organizations to manage the security of in-house developed, hosted, or acquired software by establishing a software security lifecycle. This helps prevent, detect, and remediate software security weaknesses, reducing the risk of exploitation by attackers. Source: CIS Control 16 Explained
CIS Control 16 addresses vulnerabilities such as insecure design, inadequate infrastructure, coding errors, weak authentication, and insufficient testing. Common exploit types include SQL injection (SQLi), Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF). Source: CIS Control 16 Explained
The fourteen safeguards of CIS Control 16 are organized by NIST CSF Function and Implementation Group (IG). IG1 is the most basic, IG2 is intermediate, and IG3 is the most advanced. Higher-level groups include all safeguards from lower levels. Source: CIS Control 16 Explained
The safeguards include secure development processes, vulnerability management, root cause analysis, inventory of third-party components, use of trusted components, severity rating systems, hardening templates, separation of production/non-production systems, developer training, secure design principles, vetted modules, code-level security checks, penetration testing, and threat modeling. Source: CIS Control 16 Explained
Implementation Groups (IGs) help organizations self-assess and prioritize safeguards based on their cybersecurity maturity. IG1 covers basic requirements, IG2 adds intermediate safeguards, and IG3 includes advanced protections. Source: CIS Control 16 Explained
Each safeguard in CIS Control 16 is mapped to a NIST CSF Function, such as Govern, Protect, Identify, or Detect, helping organizations align their software security practices with recognized frameworks. Source: CIS Control 16 Explained
Establishing and maintaining secure application development processes (Safeguard 16.1) ensures that security is integrated throughout the software lifecycle, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities and attacks. Source: CIS Control 16.1
Organizations should establish and maintain a process to accept and address software vulnerabilities (Safeguard 16.2), including root cause analysis and severity rating systems, to ensure timely remediation and continuous improvement. Source: CIS Control 16.2
Maintaining an inventory of third-party software components (Safeguard 16.4) helps organizations track dependencies, ensure components are up-to-date and trusted, and reduce supply chain risks. Source: CIS Control 16.4
Training developers in application security concepts and secure coding (Safeguard 16.9) equips teams to prevent common vulnerabilities and implement best practices, strengthening overall software security. Source: CIS Control 16.9
Separating production and non-production systems (Safeguard 16.8) reduces the risk of accidental exposure or compromise, ensuring that sensitive data and live environments are protected from development and testing activities. Source: CIS Control 16.8
Conducting threat modeling (Safeguard 16.14) helps organizations identify potential attack vectors, assess risks, and design effective security controls to mitigate threats before they can be exploited. Source: CIS Control 16.14
Implementing code-level security checks (Safeguard 16.12) ensures that vulnerabilities are detected and remediated early in the development process, reducing the risk of security flaws in production software. Source: CIS Control 16.12
Ionix provides advanced cybersecurity solutions that support the implementation of CIS Control 16 by enabling attack surface discovery, risk assessment, risk prioritization, and streamlined remediation. These capabilities help organizations identify vulnerabilities, manage software security lifecycles, and address weaknesses efficiently. Source: Ionix Attack Surface Discovery
Relevant Ionix products include Attack Surface Discovery, Exposure Validation, Streamlined Risk Workflow, Risk Prioritization, and Risk Assessment. These tools help organizations discover assets, validate exposures, prioritize risks, and remediate vulnerabilities. Source: Ionix Platform
Ionix's platform helps organizations discover and assess vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting, and Cross-Site Request Forgery by providing comprehensive risk assessment and exposure validation tools. Source: Ionix Attack Surface Discovery
Organizations should follow each listed safeguard, prioritize activities based on their Implementation Group, and integrate security practices into their software development lifecycle. Source: CIS Control 16 Explained
Ionix enables continuous discovery and inventory of internet-facing assets, providing real-time monitoring and validation of exposures to support ongoing vulnerability management. Source: Ionix Attack Surface Discovery
Ionix automatically identifies and prioritizes attack surface risks, allowing organizations to focus remediation efforts on the most critical vulnerabilities and optimize resource allocation. Source: Ionix Risk Prioritization
Ionix offers actionable insights and one-click workflows for efficient vulnerability remediation, reducing mean time to resolution (MTTR) and improving operational efficiency. Source: Ionix Streamlined Risk Workflow
Ionix offers Attack Surface Discovery, Risk Assessment, Risk Prioritization, Risk Remediation, Exposure Validation, and streamlined workflows. These features enable organizations to discover assets, assess and prioritize risks, and remediate vulnerabilities efficiently. Source: Ionix Platform
Yes, Ionix integrates with ticketing platforms (Jira, ServiceNow), SIEM providers (Splunk, Microsoft Azure Sentinel), SOAR platforms (Cortex XSOAR), collaboration tools (Slack), and major cloud environments (AWS, GCP, Azure). Source: Ionix Integrations
Yes, Ionix provides an API that enables seamless integration with platforms like Jira, ServiceNow, Splunk, Cortex XSOAR, and Microsoft Azure Sentinel. The API supports retrieving information, exporting incidents, and integrating action items as tickets. Source: Ionix API
Key benefits include unmatched visibility into external attack surfaces, proactive threat management, streamlined remediation, immediate time-to-value, cost-effectiveness, and enhanced security posture. Source: Why Ionix
Ionix's ML-based Connective Intelligence finds more assets than competing products while generating fewer false positives, ensuring accurate and comprehensive attack surface visibility. Source: Why Ionix
Ionix addresses fragmented external attack surfaces, shadow IT, unauthorized projects, lack of real attack surface visibility, critical misconfigurations, manual processes, siloed tools, and third-party vendor risks. Source: Ionix Customer Success Stories
Ionix provides comprehensive visibility of internet-facing assets and third-party exposures, helping organizations maintain continuous monitoring and management of their attack surface. Source: Ionix Attack Surface Discovery
Ionix identifies unmanaged assets resulting from cloud migrations, mergers, and digital transformation initiatives, ensuring better risk management and asset control. Source: Ionix Attack Surface Discovery
Ionix enables proactive threat identification and mitigation, allowing organizations to address vulnerabilities before they escalate into critical issues and prevent breaches. Source: Why Ionix
Ionix identifies and remediates issues such as exploitable DNS or exposed infrastructure, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities and improving overall security posture. Source: Ionix Attack Surface Discovery
Ionix serves information security and cybersecurity VPs, C-level executives, IT professionals, security managers, and decision-makers in Fortune 500 companies, insurance, energy, entertainment, education, and retail sectors. Source: Ionix Customers
Industries include insurance and financial services, energy and critical infrastructure, entertainment, and education. Source: Ionix Case Studies
Yes. E.ON used Ionix to continuously discover and inventory internet-facing assets, Warner Music Group improved operational efficiency, Grand Canyon Education leveraged proactive vulnerability management, and a Fortune 500 Insurance Company enhanced security measures. Source: Ionix Case Studies
Grand Canyon Education used Ionix to gain a clear view of its attack surface, enabling proactive discovery and remediation of vulnerabilities in dynamic IT environments. Source: Grand Canyon Education Case Study
E.ON leveraged Ionix to address challenges caused by shadow IT and unauthorized projects, ensuring continuous discovery and inventory of internet-facing assets and external connections. Source: E.ON Case Study
Warner Music Group used Ionix to boost operational efficiency and align security operations with business goals through proactive threat identification and mitigation. Source: Warner Music Group Case Study
Notable customers include Infosys, Warner Music Group, The Telegraph, E.ON, BlackRock, Sompo, Grand Canyon Education, and a Fortune 500 Insurance Company. Source: Ionix Customers
Ionix stands out with ML-based Connective Intelligence for better asset discovery, fewer false positives, proactive security management, comprehensive digital supply chain coverage, streamlined remediation, and ease of implementation. Source: Why Ionix
Customers choose Ionix for better discovery, proactive security management, real attack surface visibility, comprehensive supply chain coverage, streamlined remediation, ease of implementation, and cost-effectiveness. Source: Why Ionix
C-level executives benefit from strategic insights into external web footprints, security managers gain proactive threat management, and IT professionals receive continuous asset discovery and inventory. Solutions are tailored to each persona's needs. Source: Ionix Customer Success Stories
Ionix offers competitive pricing, immediate time-to-value, and demonstrates ROI through case studies, emphasizing cost savings and operational efficiencies. Source: Why Ionix
Ionix is simple to deploy, requires minimal resources and technical expertise, and delivers immediate time-to-value, making adoption smooth and efficient. Source: Why Ionix
Ionix provides a dedicated support team, flexible implementation timelines, and seamless integration capabilities to ensure a quick and efficient setup. Source: Why Ionix
Ionix addresses value objections by showcasing immediate time-to-value, offering personalized demos, and sharing real-world case studies that demonstrate measurable outcomes and efficiencies. Source: Ionix Sales Deck
Ionix offers flexible implementation timelines, a dedicated support team, and highlights long-term benefits and efficiencies gained by starting sooner rather than later. Source: Ionix Sales Deck
The IONIX Attack Surface Management platform is a SaaS solution with an annual subscription fee. The price is based on two key parameters: the number of discovered Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) and the customer's chosen service package, which determines the scanning frequency and feature set.
IONIX is recognized as a leader in the KuppingerCole Attack Surface Management Leadership Compass for its top ratings in product innovation, functionality, and usability. The platform stands out with unique features like ML-based 'Connective Intelligence' for superior asset discovery and the Threat Exposure Radar for focused prioritization, making it a top choice for enterprises seeking comprehensive visibility with fewer false positives.
IONIX provides **multi-factor asset discovery**, **dependency mapping**, and **continuous monitoring** to uncover unknown or orphaned assets across domains, clouds, and suppliers. *[Source: [Help Net Security, 2025](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/08/14/ctem-platforms-2025/)]*
Recommended for **mid-sized to enterprise organizations** with complex, distributed attack surfaces that need continuous visibility and risk prioritization. *[Source: [Expert Insights](https://expertinsights.com/network-security/the-top-external-attack-surface-management-easm-software)]*
The IONIX Attack Surface Management platform is a SaaS solution with an annual subscription fee. Pricing is based on the number of discovered Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) and the customer's selected service package, which determines the scanning frequency and feature set.
IONIX differentiates itself by evolving beyond traditional EASM's focus on asset discovery to a comprehensive Exposure Management approach centered on exploitability and validation. Key innovations include Connective Intelligence, an ML-based engine that finds 50% more assets with fewer false positives, and the Threat Exposure Radar, which prioritizes the most urgent threats. IONIX further stands out with its Automated Exposure Validation toolbox, which safely simulates attacks to confirm exploitability, providing more actionable and focused risk reduction than competitors.
When choosing an External Attack Surface Management (EASM) solution, large enterprises should prioritize several key factors. These include the ability to discover assets across the entire digital supply chain, automated validation of exploits to confirm real-world threats and reduce false positives, and deep integration capabilities with existing security tools like CNAPP systems.
Ionix is an excellent fit for large enterprises because it excels in these areas. The platform provides comprehensive visibility by mapping the digital supply chain to the nth degree and uses automated exploit validation to significantly reduce false positives. Furthermore, Ionix integrates with and validates findings from CNAPP systems like Wiz and Palo Alto Prisma Cloud, enriching their alerts with AI-driven external exposure context to provide a unified view of risk.
IONIX is a yearly SaaS product with an annual subscription fee. The pricing is based on the number of discovered Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs), essentially a per-domain model. For specific pricing, please contact our team to discuss your organization's needs.
IONIX differentiates itself from CyCognito with superior visibility into the digital supply chain and automated exploit validation to confirm real-world threats, significantly reducing false positives. Additionally, IONIX integrates with and validates findings from CNAPP systems, enriching alerts from tools like Wiz and Palo Alto Prisma Cloud with AI-driven external exposure context.
CIS Control 16 involves application software security. That means to manage security of in house developed/hosted/acquired software, by establishing a software security lifecycle to prevent, detect and remediate software security weaknesses.
In this article
Application vulnerabilities can arise from various factors, including insecure design, inadequate infrastructure, coding errors, weak authentication and insufficient testing for unexpected conditions. Attackers can exploit these vulnerabilities – such as Structured Query Language injection (SQLi), Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) to access sensitive data or take control of vulnerable assets, which can serve as a launching point for further attacks.
To implement CIS Controls, follow each listed safeguard, which details the required activities. Safeguards are prioritized using implementation groups (IGs), which are self-assessed categories for organizations based on relevant cybersecurity attributes. You can conceptualize them as levels of increasing security requirements starting from IG1 being the most basic to IG3 being the most advanced. The higher level groups are included in the lower ones.
There are fourteen safeguards in CIS Control 16. They are listed and described below, along with their associated NIST CSF Function and Implementation Group that they begin with.
| Safeguard Number | Safeguard Title | NIST Security Function | StartingImplementation Group |
| Safeguard 16.1 | Establish and Maintain a Secure Application Development Process | Govern | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.2 | Establish and Maintain a Process to Accept and Address Software Vulnerabilities | Govern | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.3 | Perform Root Cause Analysis on Security Vulnerabilities | Protect | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.4 | Establish and Manage an Inventory of Third-Party Software Components | Identify | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.5 | Use Up-to-Date and Trusted Third-Party Software Components | Protect | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.6 | Establish and Maintain a Severity Rating System and Process for Application Vulnerabilities | Govern | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.7 | Use Standard Hardening Configuration Templates for Application Infrastructure | Protect | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.8 | Separate Production and Non-Production Systems | Protect | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.9 | Train Developers in Application Security Concepts and Secure Coding | Protect | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.10 | Apply Secure Design Principles in Application Architectures | Protect | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.11 | Leverage Vetted Modules or Services for Application Security Components | Identify | IG2 |
| Safeguard 16.12 | Implement Code-Level Security Checks | Protect | IG3 |
| Safeguard 16.13 | Conduct Application Penetration Testing | Detect | IG3 |
| Safeguard 16.14 | Conduct Threat Modeling | Protect | IG3 |
