Internet-Facing Attack Surface
An Internet-facing attack surface encompasses all an organization's assets, systems, and applications accessible from the public Internet. Essentially, it's any part of your digital infrastructure that a hacker could potentially reach and exploit remotely.
Think of it as the external perimeter of your organization's online presence. This includes:
Websites and web applications: Any website or web application hosted by your organization, including your main website, e-commerce platforms, and any web-based services you offer.
Servers and network devices: Any servers, routers, firewalls, or other network devices directly connected to the internet.
Cloud infrastructure: Any cloud-based services or resources accessible from the public internet, such as cloud storage, databases, and virtual machines.
Remote access services: Any services that allow employees or partners to connect to your internal network remotely, such as VPNs and remote desktop protocols.
APIs: Any Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) exposed to the internet, allowing external applications to interact with your systems.
IoT devices: Any Internet of Things (IoT) devices connected to the Internet, such as security cameras, smart appliances, and industrial sensors.
Social media accounts: Any social media accounts associated with your organization.
Third-party services: Any third-party services or applications integrated with your systems and accessible from the internet.
Why is it important to understand your internet-facing attack surface?
Identify vulnerabilities: By understanding your attack surface, you can identify potential vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit to gain unauthorized access to your systems and data.
Prioritize security efforts: Knowing your attack surface allows you to prioritize your security efforts and focus on the most critical assets and vulnerabilities.
Reduce your risk: By reducing your internet-facing attack surface, you can significantly reduce your risk of cyberattacks.
Improve your security posture: Regularly assessing and managing your attack surface helps you maintain a strong security posture and protect your organization from evolving threats.
How to manage your internet-facing attack surface:
Regularly scan for vulnerabilities: Use automated vulnerability scanning tools to identify and assess potential weaknesses in your systems.
Implement strong security controls: To protect your assets, implement strong security controls, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and multi-factor authentication.
Reduce your exposure: Minimize the number of internet-facing assets and services and limit access to only necessary ones.
Monitor your attack surface: Monitor your surface for changes and new vulnerabilities.
Stay informed about threats: Keep up-to-date on cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities.
By proactively managing your internet-facing attack surface, you can significantly reduce your organization's risk of cyberattacks and protect your valuable assets and data.
ThreatNG's comprehensive suite of features helps organizations manage their internet-facing attack surface. Here's how it addresses the key aspects:
1. Discovery and Inventory:
Domain Intelligence: ThreatNG's domain intelligence module goes beyond basic domain information. It deepens into DNS records, subdomains, certificates, and IP addresses to map out the organization's web presence. This includes identifying:
Forgotten or unknown assets: ThreatNG can uncover subdomains the organization may not even be aware of, which could be vulnerable.
Outdated certificates: Expired or misconfigured SSL certificates can expose sensitive data.
Exposed APIs and development environments: These can be entry points for attackers if not properly secured.
Social Media: ThreatNG analyzes social media posts to identify potential risks, such as phishing links or sensitive information shared inadvertently.
Cloud and SaaS Exposure: ThreatNG discovers sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud services, identifies cloud service impersonations, and detects openly exposed cloud buckets. This is crucial for managing risks associated with cloud misconfigurations and shadow IT.
Technology Stack: By identifying the technologies used by the organization, ThreatNG helps understand the potential vulnerabilities associated with each technology and prioritize security efforts accordingly.
2. Vulnerability Assessment:
Automated Vulnerability Scanning: ThreatNG automatically scans discovered assets for a wide range of vulnerabilities, including:
BEC & Phishing Susceptibility: Identifies vulnerabilities that could be exploited for Business Email Compromise (BEC) or phishing attacks.
Breach & Ransomware Susceptibility: Assesses the likelihood of a data breach or ransomware attack based on identified vulnerabilities.
Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: Detects vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to take control of web applications.
Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility: Identifies vulnerable subdomains that attackers could hijack.
Sensitive Code Exposure: ThreatNG scans for exposed code repositories and identifies sensitive information like API keys, credentials, and security configurations that attackers could exploit.
Search Engine Exploitation: This module helps identify sensitive information, such as error messages, privileged folders, or user data, that may be inadvertently exposed through search engines.
Alerts: ThreatNG continuously monitors the attack surface and alerts the organization to new threats, vulnerabilities, and changes in the risk profile. This enables proactive risk management and rapid response to emerging threats.
4. Risk Mitigation and Remediation:
Reporting: ThreatNG generates various reports (executive, technical, prioritized) that provide insights into the organization's attack surface and vulnerabilities. These reports help prioritize remediation efforts and communicate risks to stakeholders.
Collaboration: ThreatNG facilitates collaboration through role-based access controls and Correlation Evidence Questionnaires. This helps streamline communication and ensure efficient remediation.
Policy Management: ThreatNG's features allow organizations to define risk tolerance, customize risk scoring, and manage exceptions, ensuring alignment with their specific security requirements.
Working with Complementary Solutions:
ThreatNG can integrate with complementary solutions to further enhance attack surface management:
Vulnerability Management Tools: Integrate with vulnerability scanners like Nessus or QualysGuard to gain deeper insights into specific vulnerabilities and leverage their remediation capabilities.
Penetration Testing Tools: Use penetration testing tools like Metasploit to simulate attacks and identify vulnerabilities that automated scans may miss.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: Integrate with SIEM systems to correlate ThreatNG's findings with internal security logs and events, providing a holistic view of the organization's security posture.
Examples:
Identifying Shadow IT: ThreatNG's cloud and SaaS exposure module can identify unsanctioned cloud services used by employees, allowing the organization to assess the risks associated with shadow IT and take appropriate action.
Preventing Subdomain Takeover: By identifying vulnerable subdomains, ThreatNG can help organizations prevent subdomain takeover attacks, which could be used for phishing, malware distribution, or data theft.
Protecting Sensitive Data: ThreatNG's sensitive code exposure module can detect exposed API keys and credentials, allowing organizations to secure and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data.
By leveraging ThreatNG's comprehensive capabilities and integrating it with other security solutions, organizations can effectively manage their internet-facing attack surface, reduce their risk of cyberattacks, and protect their valuable assets and data.
