In today’s hyper-connected world, cybersecurity has become more challenging than ever. Organizations face sophisticated threats, from ransomware and DDoS attacks to data breaches and social engineering campaigns. The ENISA Threat Landscape 2024 report highlights an alarming escalation in cyberattacks driven by geopolitical tensions, hacktivist activities, and cybercriminal innovation. As attackers become more aggressive and better resourced, organizations must develop multi-layered defense strategies to protect their digital infrastructure, data, and reputation.

ThreatNG is the ultimate solution for external attack surface management (EASM), digital risk protection (DRP), and security ratings. With an integrated suite of solutions designed for vulnerability discovery, continuous monitoring, and intelligence gathering (from the dark web to compromised credentials and ransomware activity), ThreatNG provides the necessary external visibility and proactive defenses organizations need to safeguard against the evolving threats highlighted in the ENISA Threat Landscape 2024 report.

The Role of ThreatNG in Strengthening External Cybersecurity Posture

While organizations may have robust internal security controls, ThreatNG acts as a critical external layer of defense, providing visibility into vulnerabilities and risks often overlooked. ThreatNG complements existing security solutions—like SIEM, endpoint detection, and firewalls—by discovering and addressing external vulnerabilities before they become entry points for attackers.

Here’s how ThreatNG can transform your cybersecurity strategy based on critical insights from the ENISA Threat Landscape 2024:

Preventing Ransomware and Data Breaches Through External Exposure Monitoring

The ENISA report identifies ransomware as one of the top threats to organizations worldwide, driven by financial gain and geopolitical conflict. Attackers target weak points such as exposed credentials, misconfigured cloud services, and unsecured data, often leading to devastating breaches.

How ThreatNG Helps: ThreatNG proactively identifies vulnerabilities that may expose an organization to ransomware. Its Cloud Exposure module scans for open cloud buckets, misconfigured databases, and vulnerable cloud resources. Additionally, ThreatNG continuously monitors the dark web for compromised credentials and breach-related information, alerting the organization when sensitive data is at risk.

Real-World Example: A significant organization accidentally leaves a cloud storage bucket publicly accessible, exposing sensitive customer data. ThreatNG detects this misconfiguration, triggering an alert that allows the organization to secure the data before attackers exploit the vulnerability. The system also monitors the dark web for signs of these credentials being sold, enabling swift response to potential threats.

Defending Against Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks

Social engineering continues to be a leading attack vector, with phishing, business email compromise (BEC), and spear-phishing attacks rising, as highlighted in the ENISA Threat Landscape 2024 report. Attackers frequently exploit weaknesses in human behavior to deceive employees into revealing sensitive information. ThreatNG’s BEC and Phishing Susceptibility assessment capabilities help organizations proactively mitigate these risks by identifying potential vulnerabilities in email communications and employee behaviors that could be exploited for phishing or BEC attacks.

How ThreatNG Helps: ThreatNG’s BEC and Phishing Susceptibility module assesses an organization’s exposure to these attacks by analyzing patterns, uncovering vulnerable emails, and identifying data that can be used for phishing schemes. By continuously monitoring for susceptibilities, ThreatNG enables organizations to act before these attacks can succeed.

Real-World Example: Suppose a company experiences an increase in phishing emails targeting its finance department, attempting to trick employees into transferring funds. ThreatNG’s BEC and Phishing Susceptibility assessment identifies the areas of the organization most likely to be targeted based on their exposure level and susceptibility to impersonation of the company’s CFO. ThreatNG flags these susceptibilities, allowing the security team to prevent a potentially devastating financial fraud.

Enhancing Vulnerability Management with Domain Intelligence

As cyber threats evolve, attackers increasingly target vulnerabilities in web applications, APIs, and network infrastructure. The ENISA report underscores the importance of monitoring DNS records, SSL certificates, and application security.

How ThreatNG Helps: ThreatNG’s Domain Intelligence module offers comprehensive insights into an organization’s web assets, tracking the status of DNS records, SSL certificate expirations, exposed IP addresses, and web applications. It enables security teams to identify and patch weaknesses before attackers exploit them.

Real-World Example: A large enterprise manages multiple domains but struggles to keep track of expired SSL certificates, potentially leaving them vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks or domain hijacking. ThreatNG’s continuous monitoring alerts the security team to any expired certificates or misconfigured subdomains, allowing them to remediate the issue before an attacker can take advantage.

Securing the Supply Chain and Managing Third-Party Risks

Supply chain attacks—where attackers infiltrate through third-party vendors or contractors—are a growing threat, as highlighted in the ENISA 2024 report. These attacks exploit vulnerabilities within an organization’s extended ecosystem, introducing new risks and increasing exposure to cyberattacks.

How ThreatNG Helps: ThreatNG’s Supply Chain Exposure assessment provides just-in-time assessments of third-party partners and vendors, assessing their cybersecurity posture and flagging any weaknesses that might expose the organization to a supply chain attack. It also scans for exposed development environments and compromised code repositories, typical targets for such attacks.

Real-World Example: A software provider relies on open-source tools in its production environment. ThreatNG identifies a compromised third-party code repository and alerts the provider, allowing them to secure their environment before malicious code is introduced into their systems.

Proactive Detection of DDoS Attack Vulnerabilities

The ENISA report flags DDoS attacks as a persistent and critical threat to system availability, especially for sectors like finance and government. Attackers often target vulnerable web services, VPNs, or application firewalls to overwhelm systems and cause downtime.

How ThreatNG Helps: ThreatNG’s Domain Intelligence with IP Intelligence modules monitor for exposed IP addresses, misconfigured web application firewalls (WAFs), and insecure VPNs that could be vulnerable to DDoS attacks. These insights allow organizations to address weak points in their infrastructure proactively.

Real-World Example: A financial institution facing a high risk of DDoS attacks leverages ThreatNG to monitor their exposed IP ranges and VPN configurations continuously. When ThreatNG detects an exposed IP address, the security team is alerted, enabling them to block the vulnerability before attackers can exploit it.

Brand Protection and Defense Against Information Manipulation

Brand protection is critical to any cybersecurity strategy in today's digital world. The ENISA report highlights the rise of disinformation campaigns, which can harm an organization’s reputation and public trust.

How ThreatNG Helps: ThreatNG’s Brand Damage Susceptibility feature monitors the dark web, social media platforms, and online sharing sites (like Pastebin and Slideshare) for mentions of the organization. This intelligence allows organizations to respond swiftly to harmful content or fraudulent activity, preventing long-term brand damage.

Real-World Example: A retail company finds its brand mentioned on the dark web, where attackers plan to use its name in a fraudulent scheme. ThreatNG detects the mention, alerts the company, and provides actionable steps to mitigate the damage. The company can proactively issue a public statement and take internal steps to reinforce its security.

Integration with Existing Security Solutions

One of the biggest strengths of ThreatNG is its ability to complement and enhance existing security solutions. By integrating with SIEM systems, EDR solutions, and threat intelligence platforms, ThreatNG provides a continuous stream of external intelligence that enriches an organization’s overall cybersecurity posture.

How ThreatNG Helps: ThreatNG's real-time insights—such as dark web mentions, compromised credentials, and external vulnerabilities—can be seamlessly fed into existing security solutions, offering more comprehensive threat coverage and improving incident response times.

Final Thoughts

The ENISA Threat Landscape 2024 report paints a stark picture of the evolving cybersecurity landscape. As cybercriminals become more sophisticated and external threats rise, organizations need powerful tools that provide a holistic view of their attack surface. ThreatNG delivers this capability, helping businesses identify and remediate external vulnerabilities before they are exploited.

Whether mitigating ransomware risks, preventing data breaches, defending against DDoS attacks, or protecting brand reputation, ThreatNG equips organizations with the insights and tools they need to stay one step ahead of adversaries. As businesses look to strengthen their security defenses, ThreatNG is the solution that can transform a reactive cybersecurity strategy into a proactive one.

Discover how ThreatNG can help you secure your organization’s digital perimeter by requesting a demo today.