Abandoned Digital Assets
In cybersecurity, abandoned digital assets refer to digital resources and infrastructure that are no longer actively maintained, managed, or monitored by their owners. Due to their neglected state, these assets, including hardware, software, data, and online accounts, pose significant security risks.
Here's a breakdown of key characteristics and risks associated with abandoned digital assets:
Characteristics:
Lack of Maintenance: Abandoned assets typically do not receive regular security updates, patches, or upgrades, leaving them vulnerable to known exploits.
Unmonitored Access: Access controls and monitoring may be lax or non-existent, allowing unauthorized individuals to access sensitive data or exploit vulnerabilities.
Outdated Technology: Abandoned assets often rely on outdated technologies and protocols, which may have known security flaws or be incompatible with modern security standards.
Unknown Inventory: Organizations may not have a complete inventory of their digital assets, making it challenging to identify and secure abandoned ones.
Risks:
Data Breaches: Sensitive data stored on abandoned assets can be easily accessed and stolen by attackers.
Malware Infections: Malware can infect abandoned assets and spread to other systems on the network.
Denial-of-Service Attacks: Abandoned assets can launch denial-of-service attacks against other systems or organizations.
Reputational Damage: The discovery of abandoned assets can damage an organization's reputation and erode customer trust.
Compliance Violations: Abandoned assets may not comply with regulatory requirements, leading to fines and penalties.
Examples of Abandoned Digital Assets:
Decommissioned servers that still contain sensitive data
Unused websites and web applications
Outdated software and operating systems
Forgotten cloud storage accounts
Inactive social media accounts
Mitigating the Risks:
Maintain a comprehensive inventory of all digital assets
Implement a lifecycle management process for digital assets
Regularly assess and update security controls for all assets
Decommission unused or outdated assets securely
Monitor for suspicious activity on all assets
Organizations can strengthen their cybersecurity posture and protect their valuable data by understanding the risks associated with abandoned digital assets and taking proactive steps to mitigate them.
ThreatNG is well-equipped to help organizations identify and manage abandoned digital assets, reducing the associated security risks. Here's how ThreatNG's capabilities can be leveraged:
External Discovery and Assessment:
ThreatNG's external discovery capabilities can identify abandoned digital assets that traditional security tools might overlook. For example, ThreatNG can:
Discover Forgotten Subdomains: ThreatNG's Domain Intelligence module can scan for no longer actively used or linked subdomains from the main website. These subdomains may be vulnerable to takeover attacks or contain outdated software with known vulnerabilities.
Uncover Outdated Technologies: ThreatNG's Technology Stack module can identify web servers, applications, and other technologies deployed on external systems. By analyzing the versions of these technologies, ThreatNG can highlight outdated and potentially vulnerable ones.
Detect Exposed Credentials: ThreatNG's Sensitive Code Exposure module can scan public code repositories for exposed credentials, API keys, and other sensitive information that may be associated with abandoned accounts or services.
Identify Inactive Cloud Resources: ThreatNG's Cloud and SaaS Exposure module can identify cloud storage accounts, virtual machines, and other cloud resources that are no longer actively used. These resources may contain sensitive data or be vulnerable to attack due to misconfigurations.
Reporting and Continuous Monitoring:
ThreatNG's reporting and continuous monitoring capabilities help organizations stay informed about the status of their digital assets and identify potential risks associated with abandoned assets.
Inventory Reports: ThreatNG can generate detailed inventory reports of all discovered digital assets, including their location, technology stack, and associated risks. This helps organizations identify assets that may have been forgotten or abandoned.
Risk Assessment Reports: ThreatNG can assess the risk level of each discovered asset, considering factors such as outdated software, exposed credentials, and potential vulnerabilities. This helps organizations prioritize remediation efforts for abandoned assets with the most significant risk.
Continuous Monitoring: ThreatNG monitors the external attack surface for changes and new risks. This helps organizations identify abandoned assets that may have been overlooked during initial discovery or may have become vulnerable due to changes in the threat landscape.
ThreatNG's investigation modules provide deeper insights into the security posture of discovered assets, helping organizations determine whether they are abandoned and assess the associated risks.
Domain Intelligence: This module can provide detailed information about the ownership, registration, and history of discovered domains and subdomains. This can help determine whether a domain is genuinely abandoned or simply inactive.
IP Intelligence: This module can analyze the IP addresses associated with discovered assets, identifying shared IPs, ASNs, and country locations. This can help determine whether an asset is still actively used or has been abandoned.
Certificate Intelligence: This module can assess the status and validity of TLS certificates associated with discovered assets. Expired or invalid certificates may indicate that an asset is no longer being maintained.
Archived Web Pages: This module can analyze archived versions of web pages associated with discovered assets. This can help identify outdated content, broken links, and other signs of neglect that may indicate abandonment.
ThreatNG's intelligence repositories provide valuable context and insights into the risks associated with abandoned digital assets.
Dark Web Presence: This repository can identify mentions of discovered assets on the dark web, indicating that they may be targeted by attackers or used for malicious purposes.
Compromised Credentials: This repository can identify compromised credentials associated with discovered assets, indicating they may be vulnerable to unauthorized access.
Known Vulnerabilities: This repository can identify known vulnerabilities in the technologies used by discovered assets, helping organizations assess the risk of exploitation.
Working with Complementary Solutions:
ThreatNG can integrate with other security tools to enhance its capabilities and provide a more comprehensive solution for managing abandoned digital assets.
Vulnerability Scanners: ThreatNG can integrate with vulnerability scanners to perform more in-depth assessments of discovered assets and identify specific vulnerabilities that may be present on abandoned systems.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: ThreatNG can integrate with SIEM systems to correlate its findings with other security events, providing a more holistic view of the security posture of abandoned assets.
Threat Intelligence Platforms: ThreatNG can integrate with threat intelligence platforms to enrich its data with external threat information, helping organizations assess the risk of attackers targeting abandoned assets.
Examples of ThreatNG Helping:
ThreatNG can discover a forgotten subdomain that is still hosting an outdated version of a web application. This application may contain known vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit. By identifying this abandoned asset, ThreatNG allows the organization to take action to remediate the vulnerabilities or decommission the subdomain.
ThreatNG can identify an inactive cloud storage account that contains sensitive customer data. Due to weak passwords or misconfigurations, this account may be vulnerable to unauthorized access. ThreatNG allows the organization to secure the data or delete the account by placing this abandoned asset.
ThreatNG can detect exposed credentials for an abandoned social media account. Attackers could use this account to spread misinformation or launch social engineering attacks. By identifying this abandoned asset, ThreatNG allows the organization to reclaim control of the account or delete it.
Examples of ThreatNG Working with Complementary Solutions:
ThreatNG can integrate with a vulnerability scanner to perform a more in-depth assessment of an abandoned web server. The vulnerability scanner can identify specific vulnerabilities in the server's software, while ThreatNG can provide context on the server's history, ownership, and potential risks.
ThreatNG can integrate with a SIEM system to correlate its findings with other security events. For example, suppose ThreatNG detects suspicious activity on an abandoned asset. In that case, the SIEM system can be used to search for related events on other systems, helping to identify the source of the activity and the extent of the compromise.
ThreatNG can integrate with a threat intelligence platform to enrich its data with external information. For example, if ThreatNG discovers an abandoned asset associated with a known botnet, the threat intelligence platform can provide information on the botnet's capabilities and potential targets.
By leveraging ThreatNG's capabilities and integrating them with other security tools, organizations can effectively identify, assess, and manage abandoned digital assets, reducing their security risk and protecting their valuable data.