Attack Path
An attack path in cybersecurity is a step-by-step sequence of actions. It exploits an attacker's techniques to compromise a target system or network and achieve their malicious objectives. It outlines the specific vulnerabilities, methods, and tools the attacker uses to gain unauthorized access, escalate privileges, move laterally within the network, and ultimately achieve their goals, such as data exfiltration, disruption of services, or financial gain.
Here's a breakdown of key elements in an attack path:
Entry Point: The initial access point that an attacker exploits to gain a foothold in the target environment. This could be a vulnerable web application, a phishing email, a compromised credential, or an unsecured network port.
Vulnerabilities: Attackers can exploit weaknesses in systems, applications, or configurations to gain unauthorized access or escalate privileges. These could include software bugs, misconfigurations, weak passwords, or social engineering tactics.
Exploits: Specific techniques or tools attackers use to leverage vulnerabilities and gain further access. These could include malware, scripts, exploits kits, or social engineering tactics.
Lateral Movement: Moving from one compromised system to another within the network to gain access to more valuable assets or escalate privileges. This could involve exploiting trust relationships, weak access controls, or unpatched vulnerabilities.
Target: The attacker's ultimate goal, such as a specific server, database, or sensitive data.
Understanding attack paths is crucial for organizations to proactively defend against cyberattacks. By identifying and analyzing potential attack paths, organizations can prioritize security controls, mitigate vulnerabilities, and disrupt attackers' ability to achieve their objectives.
ThreatNG can be a valuable tool for analyzing attack paths, helping organizations understand how attackers might attempt to compromise their systems and data. Here's how ThreatNG's features can help with attack path analysis:
Identifying Entry Points and Vulnerabilities
ThreatNG's external discovery capabilities are crucial for identifying potential entry points for attackers, such as exposed web applications, subdomains, and IP addresses. Its external assessment capabilities help identify vulnerabilities in these internet-facing assets, such as:
Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: This rating analyzes the external components of web applications to identify potential weaknesses that attackers could exploit to take control.
Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility: This rating assesses the risk of attackers taking over unused or improperly configured subdomains, which could be used as a stepping stone to access other systems.
Data Leak Susceptibility: This rating evaluates the likelihood of sensitive data being exposed through various channels, such as cloud misconfigurations or dark web leaks, which could provide attackers with valuable information for further attacks.
Cyber Risk Exposure: This rating considers various factors, including exposed sensitive ports, known vulnerabilities, and code secret exposure, to determine the overall cyber risk exposure of an organization, which can help identify potential entry points and vulnerable assets.
Mapping the Attack Path
ThreatNG's investigation modules enable deep dives into specific assets or areas of concern to gather more detailed information for mapping the attack path. For example:
Domain Intelligence: This module provides detailed information about domain names, subdomains, and associated technologies, helping identify relationships between different web assets and potential attack paths that could exploit those relationships.
Sensitive Code Exposure: This module scans public code repositories for sensitive information that could be exploited by attackers, such as API keys, access tokens, and database credentials, helping identify connections between code repositories and other assets that could be compromised if the sensitive information is leaked.
Cloud and SaaS Exposure: This module identifies the organization's cloud services and SaaS applications, helping assess the risk of attackers exploiting misconfigurations or vulnerabilities in these services to gain access to other connected assets.
By combining the information from these modules, security teams can visualize potential attack paths, showing the various steps and methods an attacker might use to compromise a system or network.
Understanding Lateral Movement
ThreatNG's intelligence repositories and continuous monitoring capabilities help organizations understand how attackers might move laterally within their network after gaining initial access. This information includes data on:
Dark web activities: ThreatNG scans the dark web for mentions of the organization, its assets, or its employees, helping identify potential data leaks, compromised credentials, or planned attacks that could facilitate lateral movement.
Known vulnerabilities: ThreatNG maintains a database of known vulnerabilities, helping organizations assess the likelihood of attackers exploiting specific weaknesses in their assets to move laterally within the network.
Changes in the attack surface: ThreatNG's continuous monitoring capabilities track changes in the organization's external attack surface, which could indicate new entry points or vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit for lateral movement.
Identifying the Target
ThreatNG's reporting capabilities can help organizations identify the potential targets of an attack, such as critical servers, databases, or sensitive data. This information can be used to prioritize security controls and mitigation efforts to protect these valuable assets.
Working with Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG can integrate with other security solutions to enhance attack path analysis and mitigation. For example, ThreatNG can complement:
Vulnerability Scanners: ThreatNG can provide external context and threat intelligence to help prioritize vulnerabilities identified by scanners based on their potential role in an attack path.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: ThreatNG can feed its findings into SIEM systems to provide a broader view of security events and enable more effective detection and response to ongoing attacks.
Penetration Testing Tools: ThreatNG can provide valuable information for penetration testers, helping them identify potential attack paths and focus their efforts on the most critical areas.
Examples of ThreatNG Helping with Attack Path Analysis
Identifying a Vulnerable Web Application and its Connections: ThreatNG could identify a vulnerable web application connected to a critical database server. By analyzing the application's technology stack and dependencies, ThreatNG can help map out potential attack paths through the application to the database.
Uncovering a Subdomain Takeover Risk and its Potential for Lateral Movement: ThreatNG could identify a vulnerable subdomain used for marketing campaigns. If attackers take over this subdomain, it could redirect users to malicious websites or distribute malware, which could then be used to gain access to other systems within the network.
Detecting a Leaked API Key and its Associated Attack Paths: ThreatNG could identify an API key accidentally exposed in a public code repository. Attackers could use this API key to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data or systems. By understanding which assets are connected to this API key, ThreatNG can help map out the potential attack paths that could be exploited using the leaked key.
By combining its powerful external discovery, assessment, and monitoring capabilities with comprehensive threat intelligence and investigation modules, ThreatNG provides a valuable toolset for attack path analysis. This enables organizations to better understand how attackers might attempt to compromise their systems and data, prioritize mitigation efforts, and proactively defend against evolving threats.
