Contextualization

In cybersecurity, contextualization refers to understanding and analyzing security events, incidents, or threats within their relevant environment and circumstances. It involves examining the surrounding factors, relationships, and dependencies impacting the security incident or event.

Contextualization helps security professionals understand the event better by considering various contextual elements such as system configurations, network architecture, user behavior, threat intelligence, and organizational policies. Analysts can better assess security incidents' severity, impact, and potential implications by examining the broader context.

Cybersecurity experts can spot patterns, trends, and abnormalities through contextualization that can point to a compromise or security breach. It enables them to determine the scope of the incident, its potential impact on critical assets, and the appropriate response measures to mitigate the threat effectively.

In essence, contextualization in cybersecurity involves going beyond the immediate details of an incident and considering the larger context in which it occurs. By doing so, security practitioners can make more informed decisions, prioritize their response efforts, and develop strategies to prevent similar incidents.

ThreatNG is a comprehensive cybersecurity platform that offers a wide range of features and capabilities. Here's a breakdown of how its various components contribute to contextualization in cybersecurity:

1. Data Collection and Correlation:

• Extensive Data Sources: ThreatNG gathers data from diverse sources, including the surface web, deep web, dark web, social media, code repositories, and financial filings. This breadth of information provides valuable context for understanding the threat landscape and an organization's specific risks.

• Domain Intelligence: This module is crucial in contextualization by providing detailed information about an organization's domain names, subdomains, DNS records, certificates, and IP addresses. This helps identify potential vulnerabilities and weaknesses that attackers could exploit.

• Intelligence Repositories: ThreatNG also collects data on compromised credentials, ransomware events, known vulnerabilities, ESG violations, etc. This information helps to identify potential threats and prioritize security efforts.

2. Risk Assessment and Scoring:

• Multiple Risk Categories: ThreatNG assesses risk across various categories, including web application hijacking, subdomain takeover, BEC & phishing, brand damage, data leaks, cyber risk exposure, ESG exposure, supply chain & third-party exposure, and breach & ransomware susceptibility. ThreatNG provides a holistic view of an organization's security posture by evaluating risk across these different areas.

3. Continuous Monitoring and Reporting:

• Real-time Monitoring: ThreatNG continuously monitors an organization's attack surface and digital footprint for changes and new threats. This allows security teams to identify and respond to emerging risks proactively.

• Context-rich Reports: The platform generates reports that provide detailed information about an organization's security posture, including risk scores, vulnerabilities, and threat intelligence. These reports help security teams understand the context of their security risks and make informed decisions.

4. Collaboration and Management:

• Role-based Access Control: This feature ensures that only authorized personnel can access sensitive security information.

• Correlation Evidence Questionnaires: These questionnaires help to facilitate cross-functional collaboration and ensure that all relevant stakeholders are involved in the security assessment process.

• Policy Management: This feature allows organizations to customize risk configurations and scoring to align with their risk tolerance.

Examples of Contextualization:

• Identifying Targeted Attacks: By correlating data from various sources, ThreatNG can identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate a targeted attack. For example, suppose the platform detects a spike in mentions of a specific vulnerability affecting an organization's software. In that case, it can alert security teams to the increased risk of exploitation.

• Assessing Supply Chain Risk: ThreatNG can determine the security posture of an organization's third-party vendors and suppliers. This helps identify potential supply chain weaknesses that attackers could exploit.

• Prioritizing Remediation Efforts: ThreatNG helps organizations prioritize their remediation efforts by providing context-rich risk scores and reports. This ensures that resources are focused on addressing the most critical vulnerabilities and threats.

Complementary Solutions:

While ThreatNG offers a comprehensive suite of features, it can be further enhanced by integrating with other security solutions, such as:

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems: ThreatNG can feed its threat intelligence and risk scores into a SIEM system to provide additional context for security events.

• Vulnerability scanners: ThreatNG can correlate its findings with vulnerability scan results to provide a more complete picture of an organization's security posture.

• Threat intelligence platforms: ThreatNG can integrate with other platforms to enrich its data and provide more comprehensive threat analysis.

By combining its capabilities with complementary solutions, ThreatNG can provide a truly contextualized view of an organization's cybersecurity risks. This allows security teams to make informed decisions and take proactive steps to protect their organizations from attacks.