In cybersecurity, Asset Intelligence refers to having a deep and comprehensive understanding of all the assets within your IT environment, including their security posture, vulnerabilities, and potential risks. It's more than just knowing what devices and software you have; it's about understanding their context within your organization and how they relate to your overall security posture.

Think of it as building a detailed profile for each of your assets, including:

• Identification: What is the asset (e.g., laptop, server, cloud instance, IoT device)? What is its unique identifier (e.g., IP address, MAC address, hostname)?

• Context: Where is the asset located (e.g., on-premises, cloud, remote office)? Who owns it, and who uses it? What is its purpose and criticality to the business?

• Security Posture: What software is installed on the asset? What are its configurations? Are there any known vulnerabilities? Is it compliant with security policies?

• Connections: How does the asset connect to other assets and the internet? What data flows through it?

• Risk: What is the potential risk associated with this asset? How likely is it to be attacked? What would be the impact of a compromise?

Why is Asset Intelligence important in cybersecurity?

• Visibility: Provides an accurate picture of your attack surface, including all potential entry points for attackers.

• Risk Management: Allows you to prioritize security efforts based on the risk associated with each asset.

• Vulnerability Management: This helps you identify and remediate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

• Incident Response: Enables faster and more effective incident response by providing context and understanding of the affected assets.

• Compliance: Helps you meet regulatory requirements by maintaining an accurate inventory of your IT assets and their security posture.

How to gather Asset Intelligence:

• Automated discovery tools: Scan your network and cloud environments to identify assets and their attributes.

• Vulnerability scanners: Identify vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in your assets.

• CMDB/ITAM solutions: Maintain an inventory of your assets and their configurations.

• Threat intelligence feeds: Provide context about threats and vulnerabilities affecting your assets.

• Manual inventory and assessment: Inspection and evaluation may be necessary for critical assets.

By combining data from these sources, you can comprehensively understand your assets and their security posture, enabling you to make informed decisions about your cybersecurity strategy.

ThreatNG can be a valuable solution for building Asset Intelligence, particularly for your external-facing assets and your vendors' assets. While it doesn't replace a full-fledged IT Asset Management (ITAM) system, it provides crucial information that complements internal asset discovery and vulnerability scanning. Here's how ThreatNG contributes to Asset Intelligence:

1. Identification and Context:

• Domain Intelligence: This module goes beyond basic domain discovery to map your online presence, including subdomains, IP addresses, certificates, exposed APIs, and even forgotten development environments. This provides a detailed inventory of your internet-facing assets, including those you may not know.

• Technology Stack Identification: ThreatNG identifies the technologies used by your organization and vendors, providing valuable context about the software and services running on your assets. This information is crucial for understanding potential vulnerabilities and prioritizing security efforts.

• Cloud and SaaS Exposure: This module automatically detects your organization's use of cloud services and SaaS applications, providing crucial visibility into your cloud assets and configurations.

2. Security Posture:

• Known Vulnerabilities: ThreatNG identifies known vulnerabilities in your systems and applications, providing insights into your assets' security posture and potential weaknesses.

• Predictive Risk Scoring: By combining threat intelligence with vulnerability data, ThreatNG predicts your susceptibility to breaches, ransomware attacks, and other threats. This allows you to prioritize remediation efforts based on the risk associated with each asset.

• Sensitive Code Exposure: This module scans public code repositories for exposed credentials, API keys, and other sensitive information that could compromise your assets. This helps you identify and address potential security risks within your codebase.

3. Connections and Data Flows:

• Domain Intelligence: ThreatNG maps the connections between your assets, including subdomains, IP addresses, and certificates. This helps you understand how your assets are interconnected and how data flows between them.

• Exposed API Discovery: ThreatNG identifies exposed APIs, providing insights into how your assets communicate with each other and external services. This information is crucial for understanding potential data leakage points and securing your APIs.

4. Risk Assessment:

• Predictive Risk Scoring: As mentioned earlier, ThreatNG predicts your susceptibility to various threats, allowing you to assess the risk associated with each asset.

• Dark Web Monitoring: ThreatNG scans the dark web for mentions of your organization, leaked credentials, and planned attacks, providing early warnings of potential threats to your assets.

• Sentiment and Financials Monitoring: This module tracks news articles, SEC filings, and online sentiment to identify potential risks related to your organization's financial stability, legal issues, and ESG violations, which could indirectly impact your assets.

Complementary Solutions:

ThreatNG can integrate with existing security tools to enhance your Asset Intelligence:

• Vulnerability Scanners: Integrate with internal vulnerability scanners to gain a more comprehensive view of your assets and their vulnerabilities.

• CMDB/ITAM Solutions: Feed ThreatNG's findings into your CMDB or ITAM system to enrich your asset inventory with external threat intelligence and risk assessments.

• Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP): Combine ThreatNG's data with other threat intelligence sources to gain a more holistic view of the threat landscape and its potential impact on your assets.

Examples:

• Identifying a Vulnerable Web Server: ThreatNG discovers a web server running an outdated version of a content management system (CMS) with known vulnerabilities. This allows you to prioritize patching the server and mitigating the risk.

• Assessing the Risk of a Cloud Instance: ThreatNG's predictive risk scoring indicates that a cloud instance is highly susceptible to ransomware attacks. You can then strengthen the instance's security by implementing multi-factor authentication and regular backups.

• Understanding the Impact of a Data Breach: ThreatNG's dark web monitoring identifies leaked credentials associated with a specific server. You can then quickly assess the potential impact of the breach and take steps to contain it.

By providing external context, threat intelligence, and risk assessments, ThreatNG complements your internal asset discovery and vulnerability management efforts, enabling you to understand your assets and their security posture better.