Application Attack Surface Management
In cybersecurity, Application Attack Surface Management (AASM) is the process of continuously discovering, assessing, and mitigating vulnerabilities in web applications and APIs. It's a crucial part of modern security as applications are increasingly complex and often the target of attacks.
Here's a breakdown of AASM:
Discovery: AASM tools automatically identify and map all web applications, APIs, and related components (like subdomains, cloud services, etc.) within an organization's environment. This includes known and unknown assets, providing visibility into the entire application attack surface.
Assessment: Once discovered, AASM solutions analyze these applications for vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and misconfigurations. This can involve static and dynamic testing, dependency analysis, and checks against security best practices and compliance standards.
Mitigation: AASM helps prioritize and manage the remediation of identified vulnerabilities. It provides actionable insights and guidance to developers and security teams, enabling them to fix issues quickly and efficiently.
Key Benefits of AASM:
Reduced Risk: By proactively identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities, AASM helps reduce the risk of successful attacks against applications.
Improved Security Posture: AASM provides a comprehensive view of the application attack surface, enabling organizations to strengthen their overall security posture.
Increased Efficiency: AASM automates many security tasks, freeing up security teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.
Better Collaboration: AASM facilitates collaboration between security and development teams, ensuring that security is integrated into the development process.
Why AASM is Important
Applications are a prime target for attackers due to the sensitive data they often handle. AASM helps organizations avoid these threats by providing continuous visibility and control over their application attack surface.
Key Components of AASM
Inventory and Visibility: Maintaining an accurate inventory of all applications and related components.
Vulnerability Assessment: Regularly scanning applications for known vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
Threat Intelligence: Integrating threat intelligence to identify emerging threats and vulnerabilities.
Remediation and Mitigation: Prioritizing and managing the remediation of identified vulnerabilities.
Continuous Monitoring: Monitor the application attack surface for changes and new vulnerabilities.
By implementing AASM, organizations can proactively manage their application security risk and protect their critical assets from attack.
ThreatNG can be crucial in Application Attack Surface Management (AASM) by providing comprehensive discovery, assessment, and monitoring capabilities for web applications and APIs. Let's explore how ThreatNG aligns with the key components of AASM:
1. Inventory and Visibility:
ThreatNG's external discovery module excels at identifying and mapping all internet-facing assets, including web applications, APIs, subdomains, and cloud services. This provides a complete inventory of the application attack surface, even uncovering unknown or forgotten assets. For instance, ThreatNG can identify a legacy web application running on an outdated server that might have been overlooked.
2. Vulnerability Assessment:
ThreatNG's external assessment module conducts in-depth analysis of discovered applications, identifying vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and misconfigurations. For example, it can assess:
Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: Analyze web application components for potential hijacking vulnerabilities.
Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility: Identify subdomains vulnerable to takeover attacks.
Data Leak Susceptibility: Assess the risk of data leaks through exposed cloud services or compromised credentials.
Cyber Risk Exposure: Evaluate overall cyber risk based on factors like exposed ports, known vulnerabilities, and compromised credentials.
Mobile App Exposure: Analyze mobile apps for exposed credentials or sensitive information.
ThreatNG's investigation modules further enhance vulnerability assessment by providing detailed analysis of specific threats, such as:
Sensitive Code Exposure: Identify exposed credentials or sensitive information in code repositories.
Search Engine Exploitation: Assess the risk of sensitive information exposure through search engines.
Dark Web Presence: Identify compromised credentials or leaked data on the dark web.
ThreatNG's intelligence repositories provide a wealth of threat intelligence, including information on known vulnerabilities, compromised credentials, ransomware events, and dark web activity. This intelligence is integrated into the assessment process, helping to identify emerging threats and vulnerabilities. For example, ThreatNG can identify if a web application is using a vulnerable version of a library, based on the information in its intelligence repositories.
4. Remediation and Mitigation:
ThreatNG's reporting module generates detailed reports on identified vulnerabilities, prioritized by severity and risk. This helps security and development teams focus on the most critical issues and remediate them quickly. ThreatNG also provides actionable insights and guidance on remediation strategies, facilitating efficient mitigation efforts.
5. Continuous Monitoring:
ThreatNG's continuous monitoring capabilities ensure that the application attack surface is continuously monitored for changes and new vulnerabilities. This helps organizations avoid emerging threats and maintain a strong security posture. For example, if a new subdomain is added or a web application is updated, ThreatNG will automatically discover and assess it for vulnerabilities.
Working with Complementary Solutions:
ThreatNG can integrate with other security solutions, such as vulnerability scanners (e.g., Qualys, Tenable) and web application firewalls (e.g., Imperva, Cloudflare), to provide a more comprehensive AASM solution. For example, ThreatNG can provide vulnerability intelligence to a WAF, enabling it to block attacks targeting known vulnerabilities.
Examples of ThreatNG Helping with AASM:
Discovering a forgotten web application running on an outdated server and vulnerable to attacks.
Identifying a subdomain vulnerable to takeover and guiding the security team on remediation steps.
Detecting exposed API keys in a public code repository and alerting the development team.
Providing continuous monitoring of web applications for new vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.
Examples of ThreatNG Working with Complementary Solutions:
Integrating with a vulnerability scanner to provide external vulnerability assessment data enhances vulnerability prioritization accuracy.
Working with a WAF to block attacks targeting known vulnerabilities identified by ThreatNG.
Integrating a SOAR platform to automate incident response tasks based on ThreatNG alerts.
By leveraging ThreatNG's capabilities, organizations can implement a robust AASM program, proactively manage their application security risk, and protect their critical assets from attack.
