Emails Exposed
In cybersecurity, email exposure refers to the situation where email addresses or email data belonging to an organization or its employees are discovered in publicly accessible sources or unauthorized locations. This exposure can occur in various ways and poses significant security risks.
Ways Emails Can Be Exposed
Data Breaches: Attackers may compromise an organization's email servers or databases, gaining access to many emails and associated data.
Unsecured Cloud Storage: Emails or email backups stored in cloud services without proper security measures can be accessed by unauthorized individuals.
Publicly Accessible Documents: Emails might be inadvertently included in documents or files shared publicly on websites or platforms.
Website Scraping: Attackers can use automated tools to scrape websites for publicly visible email addresses.
Social Media: Employees might share their corporate email addresses on social media platforms, making them accessible to a broader audience.
Dark Web Leaks: Compromised databases containing email addresses might be traded or sold on the dark web.
Risks Associated with Exposed Emails
Phishing Attacks: Exposed email addresses can be targeted by phishing campaigns, where attackers send deceptive emails to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information or downloading malware.
Spam and Malware: Exposed email addresses can be added to spam lists, leading to unwanted emails and potential malware distribution.
Social Engineering: Attackers can use exposed email addresses to gather information about individuals or organizations, which can be used for social engineering attacks.
Account Takeover: If exposed emails are associated with login credentials, attackers might attempt to gain unauthorized access to accounts.
Reputational Damage: Exposure of sensitive or confidential emails can damage an organization's reputation and erode customer trust.
Mitigating the Risks of Exposed Emails
Email Security Measures: Implement strong email security measures, such as spam filters, anti-malware software, and email encryption.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Use tools to prevent sensitive data, including emails, from leaving the organization's network.
Access Controls: Restrict email data access based on the least privilege principle.
Employee Training: Educate employees about the risks of phishing, social engineering, and the importance of protecting their email accounts.
Dark Web Monitoring: Monitor the dark web for any signs of leaked or compromised email data.
Key Takeaway: Exposed emails can have serious consequences for individuals and organizations. By implementing security measures, raising awareness, and actively monitoring threats, organizations can reduce risk and protect sensitive information.
ThreatNG offers a comprehensive suite of tools to help organizations identify and manage exposed emails, reducing the risks they pose. Here's how ThreatNG can help, drawing on its capabilities detailed in the attached document:
ThreatNG's external discovery engine scans various online sources to identify exposed emails associated with your organization. This includes:
Websites and Subdomains: ThreatNG crawls websites and subdomains, analyzing their content for any email addresses that might be publicly visible.
Social Media: ThreatNG scans social media platforms for any corporate email addresses shared by employees or associated with your organization's profiles.
Online Sharing Platforms: ThreatNG investigates code-sharing platforms like Pastebin and GitHub for any emails exposed within code snippets or comments.
Archived Web Pages: ThreatNG analyzes archived versions of your organization's websites and online content to identify any historical email exposures.
ThreatNG's external assessment capabilities evaluate the risks associated with exposed emails:
BEC & Phishing Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses the likelihood of exposed emails targeted by business email compromise (BEC) and phishing attacks.
Data Leak Susceptibility: ThreatNG evaluates the susceptibility of exposed emails to data leaks and breaches.
ThreatNG's investigation modules provide deeper insights into exposed emails and their context:
Email Intelligence: This module analyzes email addresses to determine their validity, format, and associated security measures (e.g., DMARC, SPF, DKIM).
Example: ThreatNG can identify if an exposed email address has proper email authentication protocols, which can help reduce the risk of spoofing or phishing.
WHOIS Intelligence: This module analyzes the WHOIS records of domains associated with exposed emails to identify potential connections to malicious actors or suspicious activities.
Example: ThreatNG can identify if an exposed email address is associated with a domain registered anonymously or with fake contact information, raising red flags for potential malicious use.
Subdomain Intelligence / Content Identification: This module analyzes the content of websites and subdomains where emails are exposed to identify any sensitive information or security risks associated with those locations.
Example: ThreatNG can identify if an exposed email address is found on a website with vulnerabilities or signs of compromise, indicating a higher risk of malicious activity.
Certificate Intelligence: This module analyzes SSL certificates associated with domains where emails are exposed to identify potential misconfigurations or vulnerabilities.
Example: ThreatNG can identify if an exposed email address is associated with a domain with an expired or invalid SSL certificate, increasing the risk of man-in-the-middle attacks.
Online Sharing Exposure: This module analyzes the context in which emails are exposed on online sharing platforms to assess the potential risks.
Example: ThreatNG can identify if an exposed email address is found within a code snippet containing sensitive information like API keys or passwords, indicating a significant security risk.
Archived Web Pages: This module analyzes historical website data to identify patterns or trends in email exposure, providing insights into potential vulnerabilities or past incidents.
Example: ThreatNG can identify if an email address was previously exposed on an older version of your website, indicating a potential recurring security issue.
ThreatNG's intelligence repositories provide additional context to exposed emails:
Dark Web: ThreatNG can check if an exposed email address has been found in dark web forums or marketplaces, indicating a potential compromise or risk of being targeted for malicious activities.
Compromised Credentials: ThreatNG can identify if any exposed email addresses are associated with compromised credentials on the dark web, indicating a higher risk of account takeover.
ThreatNG continuously monitors for new instances of exposed emails, allowing you to address potential risks as they emerge proactively.
ThreatNG generates detailed reports on exposed emails, providing information about their location, context, and associated risks. These reports can be used to inform security teams and guide mitigation efforts.
Working with Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG can integrate with other security solutions to enhance protection against the risks of exposed emails:
Security Awareness Training: ThreatNG's findings can be used to educate employees about the risks of exposing their corporate email addresses and how to identify phishing attempts.
Email Security Solutions: ThreatNG can integrate with email security solutions to block spam and phishing emails targeting exposed email addresses.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Tools: ThreatNG can work with DLP tools to prevent sensitive information from being shared via email or online.
Examples of ThreatNG Helping
A company uses ThreatNG to discover that employee email addresses are exposed on a public website. They contact the website owner to have the information removed and update their internal policies to prevent future exposures.
An organization uses ThreatNG to identify an exposed email address associated with a compromised password on the dark web. They immediately reset the password and implement multi-factor authentication to secure the account.
Key Takeaway: ThreatNG's comprehensive capabilities make it a valuable tool for identifying and managing exposed emails. By proactively discovering, assessing, and investigating email exposures, ThreatNG can help organizations protect their employees, data, and reputation.