Attack Surface Management (ASM) in cybersecurity is the continuous process of discovering, inventorying, assessing, prioritizing, and monitoring an organization's entire attack surface to minimize risk and prevent cyberattacks. It involves identifying all internet-exposed assets and potential vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit.

Key Components of ASM:

• Discovery: Identifying all assets, both known and unknown (shadow IT), including IP addresses, domains, subdomains, cloud instances, code repositories, IoT devices, etc.

• Inventory: Creating a comprehensive inventory of all discovered assets and their associated attributes (software versions, open ports, configurations, etc.).

• Assessment: Analyzing the identified assets for vulnerabilities and weaknesses that attackers could exploit. This includes vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and security assessments.

• Prioritization: Assessing and prioritizing the identified vulnerabilities based on their potential impact and likelihood of exploitation.

• Monitoring: Continuously monitoring the attack surface for changes, new vulnerabilities, and emerging threats.

• Remediation: Taking action to mitigate identified vulnerabilities and reduce risk. This may involve patching systems, updating configurations, or implementing security controls.

Benefits of ASM:

• Reduced Attack Surface: Organizations can significantly reduce their overall attack surface by identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities.

• Improved Security Posture: ASM helps organizations comprehensively understand their security posture and identify areas for improvement.

• Proactive Risk Management: ASM enables organizations to proactively identify and mitigate risks before attackers can exploit them.

• Enhanced Visibility: ASM provides complete visibility into all internet-exposed assets, including shadow IT.

• Improved Compliance: ASM helps organizations comply with various security regulations and standards.

Types of ASM:

• External Attack Surface Management (EASM): Focuses on identifying and managing internet-facing assets and vulnerabilities.

• Internal Attack Surface Management: Focuses on managing assets and vulnerabilities within the organization's internal network.

ASM vs. Traditional Vulnerability Management:

While traditional vulnerability management focuses on known assets and scheduled scans, ASM goes beyond that by:

• Continuously monitoring the attack surface for changes.

• Identifying unknown and forgotten assets (shadow IT).

• Providing an attacker's perspective on the organization's security posture.

• Offering actionable insights and recommendations for risk mitigation.

ASM provides a holistic and proactive approach to cybersecurity. Continuously assessing and managing the attack surface enables organizations to reduce their risk of cyberattacks and improve their overall security posture.

ThreatNG aligns strongly with the core principles of Attack Surface Management (ASM), offering a comprehensive solution to discover, assess, prioritize, and monitor an organization's external attack surface. Here's how its features and capabilities contribute to practical ASM:

1. Comprehensive Discovery:

• Superior Discovery Capabilities: ThreatNG identifies all internet-facing assets, including known and unknown (shadow IT) elements like IP addresses, domains, subdomains, cloud instances, code repositories, and more. Its deep and broad search capabilities provide a complete picture of the organization's external attack surface.

• Investigation Modules: The various investigation modules, such as Domain Intelligence, Social Media, and Sensitive Code Exposure, further enhance discovery by uncovering hidden assets and potential vulnerabilities linked to the organization.

2. In-depth Assessment:

• Wide Range of Assessments: ThreatNG goes beyond fundamental vulnerability scanning by offering a wide range of assessments, including BEC & Phishing Susceptibility, Breach & Ransomware Susceptibility, Web Application Hijack Susceptibility, and more. This provides a comprehensive view of the organization's security posture from various angles.

• Vulnerability Identification: ThreatNG's Domain Intelligence module, for example, can identify known vulnerabilities associated with discovered domains, while the Sensitive Code Exposure module can uncover exposed credentials and security misconfigurations in code repositories.

3. Risk Prioritization:

• Risk Scoring and Prioritization: ThreatNG assigns risk scores to identified vulnerabilities based on their potential impact and likelihood of exploitation. This allows security teams to prioritize remediation efforts and focus on the most critical threats.

• Reporting Features: The platform offers various reporting options (Executive, Technical, Prioritized, etc.) to facilitate informed decision-making and risk management.

4. Continuous Monitoring:

• Real-time Monitoring: ThreatNG continuously monitors the attack surface for changes, new vulnerabilities, and emerging threats. This ensures that the organization is always aware of its security posture and can proactively address potential risks.

• Intelligence Repositories: Leveraging its vast intelligence repositories, ThreatNG can identify emerging threats and vulnerabilities related to the organization's specific assets and technologies.

5. Collaboration and Remediation:

• Collaboration Features: ThreatNG's collaboration features, such as role-based access controls and dynamically generated questionnaires, facilitate efficient communication and coordination among security teams and other stakeholders.

• Remediation Guidance: ThreatNG provides actionable insights and recommendations to help organizations remediate identified vulnerabilities and improve their security posture.

Examples of ThreatNG's ASM capabilities:

• Domain Intelligence & Subdomain Takeover: ThreatNG can identify potential subdomain takeover vulnerabilities by analyzing DNS records and certificate information. This helps organizations prevent attackers from hijacking their subdomains and expanding their attack surface.

• Sensitive Code Exposure & API Keys: By scanning code repositories, ThreatNG can uncover exposed API keys and other sensitive credentials. This allows organizations to secure these credentials and prevent unauthorized access to their systems and data.

• Cloud and SaaS Exposure & Shadow IT: ThreatNG can identify unsanctioned cloud services and SaaS applications, helping organizations gain control over their cloud footprint and prevent shadow IT from expanding their attack surface.

• Dark Web Presence & Compromised Credentials: By monitoring the dark web for mentions of the organization and its assets, ThreatNG can identify compromised credentials and other potential threats. This allows organizations to take proactive measures to protect their systems and data.

Integration with Complementary Solutions:

• Vulnerability Scanners: ThreatNG can complement traditional vulnerability scanners by providing a broader view of the attack surface and identifying vulnerabilities that conventional scans may miss.

• SIEM and SOAR: Integrating ThreatNG with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) solutions can enhance threat detection and response capabilities by providing external threat intelligence and context.

By combining comprehensive discovery, in-depth assessment, risk prioritization, continuous monitoring, and collaboration features, ThreatNG provides a robust solution for Attack Surface Management. It empowers organizations to completely understand their external attack surface, proactively manage risks, and effectively mitigate vulnerabilities to strengthen their overall security posture.