Cloud Exposure Validation, in the context of cybersecurity, is the process of actively testing and verifying the effectiveness of your cloud security controls against real-world threats and vulnerabilities. It goes beyond simply identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities by simulating actual attacks to determine if your defenses can withstand them.

Here's a breakdown of what Cloud Exposure Validation entails:

• Identifying vulnerabilities: This includes examining your cloud environment to identify recognized vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and security weaknesses.

• Simulating attacks: This step safely emulates real-world attack scenarios against your cloud infrastructure and applications. This could include techniques like penetration testing, breach and attack simulation (BAS), and utilizing threat intelligence to mimic the latest attack patterns.

• Validating security controls: This is where you assess the effectiveness of your security controls in preventing, detecting, and responding to simulated attacks. This includes firewalls, intrusion detection systems, security information and event management (SIEM) tools, and other security measures.

• Remediating and improving: Based on the validation results, you remediate identified weaknesses and improve your security posture. This might involve adjusting security configurations, patching vulnerabilities, or implementing additional security controls.

Key benefits of Cloud Exposure Validation:

• Reduces risk: By proactively identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities, you reduce the risk of successful attacks and data breaches.

• Improves security posture: Provides a clear understanding of your cloud security strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to prioritize and optimize your security efforts.

• Increases confidence: Gives you confidence that your security controls are truly effective against real-world threats.

• Facilitates compliance: Helps you meet regulatory compliance requirements by demonstrating that your security controls are actively tested and validated.

• Optimizes security investments: Ensures your security investments are targeted and effective in mitigating risks.

Cloud Exposure Validation is a crucial component of a robust cloud security strategy. It helps organizations move beyond theoretical security assessments to a more proactive and data-driven approach to security. By continuously testing and validating their security controls, organizations can ensure that their cloud environments remain secure and resilient in the face of evolving threats.

ThreatNG is a comprehensive platform that can significantly contribute to Cloud Exposure Validation. Here's how its various features can help, along with examples of their application:

1. Discovery and Assessment:

• Identifying Shadow IT: ThreatNG's extensive discovery capabilities, including Domain Intelligence and Cloud and SaaS Exposure modules, can uncover unknown cloud assets and services the organization uses. This helps identify "shadow IT," which often lacks proper security configurations and increases the attack surface. For example, it could identify an unsanctioned AWS S3 bucket a department uses for file sharing, which might have enabled public access.

• Vulnerability Scanning: ThreatNG's Domain Intelligence module identifies known vulnerabilities associated with discovered domains and applications. This complements vulnerability scanners by providing an external perspective and identifying vulnerabilities that internal scans might miss. For example, it could identify a known vulnerability in a web application framework used by the organization.

• Configuration Assessment: ThreatNG can assess the security configuration of various cloud services. For example, the Cloud and SaaS Exposure module can identify misconfigured security settings in AWS S3 buckets, Azure blob storage, or Google Cloud Storage, such as publicly accessible data or missing encryption.

• Phishing and BEC Susceptibility: ThreatNG can assess the organization's susceptibility to phishing and Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks by analyzing publicly available information and identifying potential attack vectors. This can help validate the effectiveness of email security controls and employee training programs.

2. Continuous Monitoring:

• Real-time Threat Intelligence: ThreatNG's intelligence repositories, including dark web monitoring and compromised credential databases, provide real-time insights into emerging threats. This allows for proactively identifying and mitigating potential risks before they materialize into attacks. For example, if an employee's credentials are found on the dark web, ThreatNG can alert the organization to take immediate action.

• Attack Surface Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of the external attack surface using ThreatNG helps identify new vulnerabilities and misconfigurations as they arise. For example, if a new subdomain is created with weak security settings, ThreatNG can immediately flag it for remediation.

3. Reporting and Collaboration:

• Evidence-based Reporting: ThreatNG's reporting capabilities, including technical and executive reports, provide clear and concise information on identified vulnerabilities and risks. This facilitates informed decision-making and prioritization of remediation efforts.

• Collaboration Tools: ThreatNG's collaboration features, such as role-based access controls and Correlation Evidence Questionnaires, enable efficient communication and collaboration between security teams, IT operations, and other stakeholders. This streamlines the remediation process and ensures everyone is on the same page.

4. Complementary Solutions:

• Vulnerability Scanners: ThreatNG complements vulnerability scanners by providing an external perspective and identifying vulnerabilities that internal scans might miss.

• SIEM and SOAR: ThreatNG can integrate with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) solutions to provide enriched threat intelligence and automate incident response.

• Penetration Testing: ThreatNG can be used to identify potential targets for penetration testing and provide context for penetration testers.

Examples with Investigation Modules:

• Domain Intelligence: This module can identify a subdomain takeover vulnerability by analyzing DNS records and identifying expired or misconfigured domains. This information can be used to validate the effectiveness of domain management and security controls.

• Sensitive Code Exposure: This module can identify exposed API keys or credentials in public code repositories. This helps validate the effectiveness of secure coding practices and code review processes.

• Cloud and SaaS Exposure: This module can identify an open AWS S3 bucket containing sensitive data. This helps validate the effectiveness of cloud security configurations and access controls.

• Dark Web Presence: This module can identify leaked credentials or mentions of the organization in dark web forums. This helps validate the effectiveness of credential management and security awareness training.

By combining ThreatNG's extensive discovery, assessment, monitoring, and reporting capabilities, organizations can effectively validate their cloud security posture and ensure robust defenses against real-world threats.