Dynamic Attack Surface
In cybersecurity, a dynamic attack surface refers to the ever-changing collection of vulnerabilities and entry points that attackers can exploit to gain unauthorized access to an organization's systems and data. It's called "dynamic" because it's constantly evolving due to various factors like:
The adoption of new technologies, such as cloud computing, IoT devices, mobile devices, and remote work, expands the attack surface by introducing new entry points and complexities.
Changes in network infrastructure: Mergers, acquisitions, and expansions can alter the network perimeter, creating new vulnerabilities if not properly secured.
Software updates and patches: While these address known vulnerabilities, they can also inadvertently introduce new ones or change system configurations in ways that expose weaknesses.
Employee behavior: Human error, such as phishing attacks or weak passwords, can create vulnerabilities.
Third-party risks: Vendors and partners can introduce vulnerabilities if their systems are compromised.
Key characteristics of a dynamic attack surface:
Constantly changing: It's not a fixed entity; it expands and contracts over time.
Difficult to manage: Traditional security approaches struggle to keep up with the dynamic nature of the attack surface.
Requires continuous monitoring: Organizations must continuously assess and monitor their attack surface to identify and mitigate new vulnerabilities.
Why is it important to understand the dynamic attack surface?
Understanding the dynamic attack surface is crucial for organizations to manage their cybersecurity risk effectively. By continuously monitoring and assessing their attack surface, organizations can:
Proactively identify and mitigate vulnerabilities: This reduces the likelihood of successful attacks.
Prioritize security efforts: Focus on the most critical vulnerabilities and entry points.
Improve incident response: Quickly identify and respond to security incidents.
Strengthen overall security posture: Reduce the risk of data breaches and other cyberattacks.
Organizations often employ attack surface management (ASM) tools and strategies to manage a dynamic attack surface. These tools automate the discovery of assets and vulnerabilities, providing real-time visibility into the attack surface and helping security teams prioritize and mitigate risks.
ThreatNG is a comprehensive platform that addresses the challenges of a dynamic attack surface by combining several key capabilities. Here's how it helps and some examples:
1. Comprehensive Discovery and Assessment:
Identifies known and unknown assets: ThreatNG goes beyond fundamental asset discovery by using various techniques (domain intelligence, social media analysis, code repository scanning, etc.) to uncover all digital assets, including shadow IT and forgotten web applications. This helps organizations understand their actual attack surface, even those parts they weren't aware of.
Example: ThreatNG might discover an old, forgotten subdomain that's still live but hasn't been updated in years, making it a prime target for attackers.
Assesses vulnerabilities and risks: It doesn't just find assets; it analyzes them for various vulnerabilities, including BEC & phishing susceptibility, ransomware susceptibility, data leaks, and ESG risks. This allows organizations to prioritize remediation efforts based on the severity of the risk.
Example: ThreatNG might identify a web application with a known vulnerability that makes it susceptible to SQL injection attacks, allowing attackers to steal sensitive data.
Keeps track of changes: The dynamic attack surface constantly changes, and ThreatNG continuously monitors for new assets, vulnerabilities, and threats. This ensures that organizations are always aware of their current risk profile.
Example: If a developer accidentally exposes an API key on GitHub, ThreatNG would immediately alert the security team.
3. Reporting and Collaboration:
Provides actionable insights: ThreatNG offers various reports tailored to stakeholders, from executives to technical teams. This ensures everyone has the information they need to make informed security decisions.
Example: A ransomware susceptibility report could highlight the organization's most vulnerable systems, allowing the security team to focus on hardening them.
Facilitates collaboration: ThreatNG includes features like role-based access control and correlation evidence questionnaires to improve communication and cooperation between different teams. This is crucial for effectively managing a dynamic attack surface, which requires input from various stakeholders.
Example: If ThreatNG discovers a phishing campaign targeting the organization, it can automatically generate a questionnaire for the relevant teams (security, legal, HR) to gather information and coordinate a response.
Provides context and insights: ThreatNG leverages a vast collection of threat intelligence data (dark web, compromised credentials, etc.) to provide context and insights into potential threats. This helps organizations proactively identify and mitigate risks.
Example: If ThreatNG detects a spike in mentions of the organization on the dark web, it could indicate an increased attack risk.
How ThreatNG works with complementary solutions:
ThreatNG can integrate with other security tools, such as:
Vulnerability scanners: To provide more in-depth vulnerability assessments.
Security information and event management (SIEM) systems: To correlate ThreatNG's findings with other security events.
Threat intelligence platforms (TIPs): To enrich ThreatNG's intelligence repositories.
Examples with Investigation Modules:
Domain Intelligence: ThreatNG can identify a subdomain takeover vulnerability by analyzing DNS records and certificate information.
Sensitive Code Exposure: ThreatNG can scan public code repositories to identify exposed API keys or other sensitive information.
Cloud and SaaS Exposure: ThreatNG can identify unsanctioned cloud services or misconfigured cloud storage buckets.
Dark Web Presence: ThreatNG can monitor dark web forums for mentions of the organization or its employees, potentially indicating a planned attack.
By combining these capabilities, ThreatNG helps organizations comprehensively understand their dynamic attack surface, continuously monitor for changes, and proactively mitigate risks.
