Credential Exposure Detection
Credential Exposure Detection, in the context of cybersecurity, is identifying usernames, passwords, and related authentication information that has been exposed or compromised. This exposure can occur through various means, including:
Data breaches: When organizations suffer data breaches, the stolen information often includes user credentials.
Dark web activity: Cybercriminals buy, sell, and trade compromised credentials on the dark web.
Phishing attacks: Attackers use deceptive emails or websites to trick users into revealing their credentials.
Malware infections: Some types of malware are designed to steal credentials from infected devices.
Accidental leaks: Credentials can be unintentionally exposed through misconfigurations, code repositories, or other means.
Credential exposure detection involves actively seeking out these exposed credentials to enable security teams to take action, such as:
Password resets: Forcing users to change their passwords to prevent unauthorized access.
Account lockouts: Temporarily disabling accounts to prevent them from being compromised.
Enhanced monitoring: Implementing closer monitoring of accounts that have been identified as potentially compromised.
Credential exposure detection aims to proactively identify and mitigate the risks associated with compromised credentials before attackers can exploit them.
Here's how ThreatNG helps with credential exposure detection:
ThreatNG's Assistance with Credential Exposure Detection
ThreatNG is designed to provide significant assistance in credential exposure detection through a variety of capabilities:
ThreatNG performs external unauthenticated discovery, which means it can identify an organization's digital footprint from an attacker's perspective. This is the first step in understanding potential exposure points for credentials.
For example, ThreatNG discovers mobile apps in marketplaces, which can be analyzed for embedded credentials.
ThreatNG conducts various assessments that directly contribute to credential exposure detection:
Dark Web Presence: ThreatNG monitors the dark web for compromised credentials. This allows organizations to identify if their credentials have already been exposed and are circulating among cybercriminals.
Code Secret Exposure: ThreatNG discovers code repositories and analyzes their contents for exposed credentials, such as API keys, passwords, and other sensitive information. This helps organizations find and remediate potential leaks within their development processes.
Mobile App Exposure: ThreatNG evaluates mobile apps for the presence of access credentials.
These assessments provide proactive insights into potential credential compromises.
ThreatNG provides reports that include information on compromised credentials. This allows security teams to identify and respond to credential exposures quickly.
ThreatNG continuously monitors for compromised credentials. This ongoing monitoring helps organizations stay informed about new exposures and take timely action to mitigate risks.
ThreatNG's investigation modules provide detailed information that aids in understanding credential exposure:
Domain Intelligence: ThreatNG's domain intelligence capabilities include email intelligence, which can provide insights into potential phishing attacks and other credential theft attempts.
Sensitive Code Exposure: This module helps discover exposed credentials within code repositories.
ThreatNG uses intelligence repositories that include dark web data and compromised credentials. These repositories provide valuable context and information for identifying and assessing credential exposures.
Working with Complementary Solutions:
While the document doesn't explicitly detail integrations, ThreatNG's capabilities can complement other security solutions:
SIEM Systems: ThreatNG can feed data on compromised credentials to SIEM systems for centralized logging, alerting, and correlation with other security events.
Identity and Access Management (IAM) Systems: ThreatNG's findings on exposed credentials can be used to trigger actions within IAM systems, such as password resets or multi-factor authentication enforcement.
