In cybersecurity, "Access Credentials" are information used to verify a user or device's identity and grant them authorized access to systems, applications, or data. They act like digital keys, allowing users to unlock specific resources while keeping unauthorized individuals out.

Think of it like this: your username and password for your email account are access credentials. They prove you are who you say you are and allow you to access your inbox. Similarly, API keys act as credentials for applications to communicate with each other, and cloud credentials grant access to cloud resources.

What are Access Credentials?

Access credentials can take many forms, including:

• Usernames and Passwords: These are the most common credentials to log in to websites, applications, and devices.

• API Keys: Unique identifiers used by applications to authenticate and access services provided by other applications.

• Access Tokens: Temporary credentials that grant access to specific resources for a limited time.

• Security Tokens: Physical or virtual devices that generate one-time passwords or codes for authentication.

• Biometric Data: Fingerprints, facial recognition, or other unique biological traits used for verification.

• Digital Certificates: Electronic documents that verify a user's or device's identity.

• Cloud Credentials: Access keys, secret keys, and other credentials used to access cloud services.

Why are Access Credentials Important?

Protecting access credentials is crucial for maintaining cybersecurity because:

• Unauthorized Access: Compromised credentials can give attackers access to sensitive systems and data, leading to data breaches, financial loss, and reputational damage.

• Lateral Movement: Once attackers gain access with stolen credentials, they can move laterally within a network, compromising more systems and escalating privileges.

• Data Exfiltration: Attackers can use stolen credentials to access and steal sensitive data, such as customer information, financial records, and intellectual property.

• Service Disruption: Attackers can disrupt business operations by using credentials to delete data, modify configurations, or launch denial-of-service attacks.

• Compliance Violations: Many regulations and standards require organizations to protect access credentials to ensure data security and privacy.

Why Organizations Should be Aware of Access Credential Presence and Exposure:

• Identify and Inventory: To protect their access credentials effectively, organizations need to know what credentials they have and where they are stored.

• Assess Risk: Understanding the types of credentials and their sensitivity allows organizations to prioritize security efforts and mitigate the most significant risks.

• Implement Security Controls: Organizations should implement strong password policies, multi-factor authentication, access controls, and other security measures to protect credentials.

• Monitor and Detect: Continuous monitoring and threat detection systems can help identify suspicious activity and prevent unauthorized access.

• Respond to Incidents: Organizations must have incident response plans to address credential compromise incidents quickly and effectively.

Examples of Access Credentials and Their Risks:

• API Keys (Stripe, Google Cloud, etc.): Exposed API keys can allow attackers to access sensitive data, make unauthorized transactions, or disrupt services.

• Access Tokens (Facebook): Compromised access tokens can give attackers control of social media accounts, allowing them to spread misinformation or launch phishing attacks.

• Cloud Credentials (AWS): Exposed cloud credentials can give attackers access to cloud resources, potentially leading to data breaches, service disruptions, and financial losses.

• Generic Credentials (username/password in URI): Embedding URL credentials can expose them to interception and compromise.

• SSH Password: Weak or exposed SSH passwords can allow attackers to access servers remotely and execute malicious commands.

By understanding the importance of access credentials and implementing strong security measures, organizations can significantly reduce their risk of cyberattacks and protect their valuable assets.

ThreatNG, with its comprehensive suite of features, is well-equipped to help organizations manage the risks associated with exposed access credentials. Here's how it does it, along with examples of how its modules and capabilities can be applied:

How ThreatNG Helps Manage Access Credential Risks

• Discovery:

• Sensitive Code Exposure: This module scans public code repositories and mobile apps to identify exposed credentials like API keys, access tokens, usernames, and passwords.

• Domain Intelligence: By analyzing websites and their components, ThreatNG can discover exposed APIs and development environments that might inadvertently reveal access credentials.

• Online Sharing Exposure: This module checks code-sharing platforms for any organizational code containing access credentials.

• Archived Web Pages: ThreatNG analyzes archived versions of websites to identify instances where credentials might have been exposed in the past.

• Dark Web Presence: ThreatNG scours the dark web for any mentions of the organization's credentials or evidence of credential compromise.

• Assessment:

• Data Leak Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses the organization's overall susceptibility to data leaks, including those stemming from exposed access credentials.

• Cyber Risk Exposure: This provides a comprehensive view of the organization's cybersecurity posture, including risks related to credential management.

• Security Ratings: ThreatNG generates security ratings that factor in credential exposure risks, providing a quantifiable measure of the organization's security posture.

• Continuous Monitoring: ThreatNG continuously monitors for new credential exposures and alerts the organization to any emerging threats.

• Reporting:

• Executive, Technical, and Prioritized Reports: These reports provide insights into credential exposure risks in a format relevant to stakeholders.

• Inventory Reports: These help track and manage all identified code repositories, online sharing platforms, and other sources of potential credential exposure.

• Collaboration and Management:

• Role-based access controls: Ensure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive credential exposure data.

• Correlation Evidence Questionnaires: These questionnaires can be used to gather information from developers and security teams to investigate and remediate credential exposure incidents.

• Policy Management: Customizable risk configuration and scoring allow the organization to define its risk tolerance for credential exposure and prioritize remediation efforts.

Working with Complementary Solutions

ThreatNG can integrate with other security tools to provide a more comprehensive approach to managing access credential risks:

• Secrets Management Solutions: These tools provide secure storage and management of secrets, such as API keys and passwords. ThreatNG can integrate with secrets management solutions to ensure that sensitive credentials are not hardcoded in the code and are accessed securely.

• Password Managers: These tools help users generate and manage strong passwords. ThreatNG can complement password managers by identifying exposed credentials and prompting users to update compromised passwords.

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Solutions: MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of authentication. ThreatNG can integrate with MFA solutions to enforce stronger authentication for critical systems and data.

Examples

• Scenario: ThreatNG discovers an exposed GitHub repository containing API keys for a payment gateway.

• Action: ThreatNG alerts the security team, providing details about the exposed repository and the specific API keys. The team can then revoke the compromised keys, secure the repository, and investigate the root cause of the exposure.

• Scenario: ThreatNG identifies a user account with a weak password exposed on the dark web.

• Action: ThreatNG generates a report highlighting the compromised account and the associated risk. The security team can then force a password reset for the affected account and educate the user about password security best practices.

By combining its comprehensive discovery and assessment capabilities with continuous monitoring, reporting, and collaboration features, ThreatNG provides a robust solution for managing access credential risks and protecting organizations from unauthorized access and data breaches.