External Reconnaissance
In cybersecurity, external reconnaissance is the process an attacker (or security professional) uses to gather information about a target organization's systems and network from the outside without any inside access or credentials.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
Information Gathering: The primary goal is to collect as much publicly available information as possible. This can include:
Network information (IP addresses, domain names, DNS records)
Systems and services (web servers, email servers, open ports)
Technologies in use (operating systems, software versions)
Organizational information (employee details, contact information)
Passive vs. Active Reconnaissance:
Passive: This involves gathering information without directly interacting with the target systems. Examples include searching public records, social media, and websites.
Active: This involves directly interacting with the target systems to gather information. Examples include network scanning to identify open ports and services.
Footprinting: This term is often used interchangeably with reconnaissance and refers to the process of mapping out an organization's systems and network.
Purpose: External reconnaissance helps attackers identify potential vulnerabilities and attack vectors. For security professionals, it's a valuable technique for assessing an organization's security posture from an attacker's perspective.
ThreatNG is designed to provide a comprehensive solution for managing external reconnaissance and related security concerns. It achieves this through external discovery, assessment, reporting, continuous monitoring, and investigation modules, all enhanced by extensive intelligence repositories.
ThreatNG's strength lies in its ability to perform purely external, unauthenticated discovery. This is crucial for reconnaissance because it mirrors the perspective of an attacker who starts with no internal access. ThreatNG identifies all internet-facing assets, which is the foundation of external reconnaissance. This includes:
Websites and web applications
Domains and subdomains
Servers
Cloud services
Mobile apps
ThreatNG uses the information gathered during discovery to conduct in-depth external assessments, providing insights that are invaluable for understanding an organization's reconnaissance footprint:
Domain Intelligence: ThreatNG's Domain Intelligence module is a powerful reconnaissance tool, providing details on DNS records, subdomains, and email security presence. Analyzing DNS records can reveal mail servers and potential email spoofing vulnerabilities.
Vulnerability Scanning: ThreatNG identifies externally exposed vulnerabilities in web applications and infrastructure, similar to how an attacker would scan for weaknesses to exploit.
Technology Stack Analysis: ThreatNG identifies the technologies used by an organization's web servers and applications. This information can be used to find known vulnerabilities associated with specific software versions.
Cloud and SaaS Exposure: ThreatNG's ability to discover cloud services and SaaS solutions reveals potential attack vectors related to cloud misconfigurations or data exposure.
Mobile App Analysis: ThreatNG's mobile app discovery and analysis can uncover sensitive information or security flaws within apps that could be targets for attackers.
3. Reporting
ThreatNG's reporting capabilities are essential for communicating the findings of reconnaissance activities. Reports can be generated in various formats and tailored to different audiences, providing clear and actionable information about an organization's external footprint and potential vulnerabilities.
ThreatNG's continuous monitoring feature keeps an eye on the external attack surface. This is critical for reconnaissance because an organization's exposure can change rapidly. Continuous monitoring helps detect new assets, vulnerabilities, or misconfigurations that could be exploited.
ThreatNG's investigation modules provide detailed tools and information for in-depth reconnaissance:
Domain Intelligence Module: As mentioned earlier, this module is crucial for gathering information about domains, DNS, email, and subdomains. For example, the Subdomain Intelligence feature can map an organization's web presence.
IP Intelligence Module: This module provides information about IP addresses, which is fundamental to network reconnaissance.
Social Media Module: This module can monitor social media for information related to the organization, which can be valuable for both attackers and defenders.
Code Repository Exposure: This module discovers public code repositories and identifies exposed secrets like API keys or credentials, a critical aspect of modern reconnaissance.
Search Engine Exploitation: This module helps identify information that an organization unintentionally exposes through search engines, a common reconnaissance technique.
ThreatNG's intelligence repositories enhance its reconnaissance capabilities by providing a wealth of contextual information:
Dark Web Data: Information from the dark web can reveal compromised credentials or discussions about potential attacks.
Known Vulnerabilities: ThreatNG's knowledge of known vulnerabilities helps prioritize potential weaknesses discovered during reconnaissance.
How ThreatNG Helps with External Reconnaissance
ThreatNG automates and streamlines many aspects of external reconnaissance, making it more efficient and comprehensive. It provides a single platform to:
Discover external assets
Gather detailed information about those assets
Identify potential vulnerabilities
Monitor changes in the external attack surface
How ThreatNG Works with Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG's data and insights can be integrated with other security tools to enhance their effectiveness:
SIEM: ThreatNG data can enrich SIEM events, providing context about external attack vectors.
Vulnerability Management Tools: ThreatNG's external vulnerability scans can complement internal vulnerability assessments.
SOAR: ThreatNG can trigger automated responses in SOAR platforms based on reconnaissance findings.
