Public-Facing Infrastructure
In the context of cybersecurity, public-facing infrastructure refers to any hardware, software, or networks that are accessible from the Internet. These components interface an organization and the outside world, facilitating communication, services, and data exchange. Examples of public-facing infrastructure include:
Websites and web applications: These provide information, enable online transactions, and support various interactive features.
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces): These allow external systems and applications to interact with an organization's services and data.
Email servers: These handle inbound and outbound email communications.
VPN (Virtual Private Network) gateways: These provide secure remote access to internal resources for authorized users.
Firewalls and load balancers: These manage network traffic and distribute workload across multiple servers.
Public-facing infrastructure is particularly vulnerable to cyber-attacks because it is directly exposed to the Internet, making it an attractive target for malicious actors. As a result, organizations must implement robust security measures to protect this infrastructure and mitigate the risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, and service disruptions.
How ThreatNG Helps Secure Public-Facing Infrastructure
ThreatNG's comprehensive capabilities contribute to public-facing infrastructure security in multiple ways:
Superior Discovery and Assessment:
Identifying the Attack Surface: ThreatNG's extensive investigation modules and capabilities allow it to thoroughly map an organization's public-facing infrastructure. It goes beyond essential domain and subdomain discovery to identify exposed APIs, development environments, cloud services, and vulnerable third-party components. For example, ThreatNG can identify admin pages, APIs, development environments, and VPNs. It also discovers cloud and SaaS solutions, including sanctioned and unsanctioned services.
Evaluating Vulnerabilities: The continuous monitoring and assessment capabilities of ThreatNG provide insights into the infrastructure's security posture. It identifies specific vulnerabilities, such as BEC & Phishing susceptibility, Web Application Hijack susceptibility, subdomain takeover susceptibility, or exposed sensitive code, allowing for targeted remediation. For example, it assesses web application hijack susceptibility by analyzing externally accessible parts of a web application to identify potential entry points for attackers.
Contextualizing Threats: ThreatNG's access to dark web data, compromised credentials, and ransomware events helps organizations understand their threat landscape. It enables them to prioritize their security efforts and address the most critical risks to their public-facing assets. ThreatNG tracks over 70 ransomware gangs.
Domain Intelligence: DNS, subdomain, and certificate intelligence provide insights into an organization's domain infrastructure, helping identify potential vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. For example, ThreatNG provides domain record analysis, including IP identification, vendors and technology identification, and domain name permutations. It also analyzes subdomain takeover susceptibility.
Social Media Monitoring: Monitoring social media helps detect any signs of phishing campaigns, brand impersonation, or data leaks that could affect the public-facing infrastructure. ThreatNG analyzes posts from the organization under investigation, breaking out the content copy, hashtags, links, and tags.
Sensitive Code Exposure: Identifying exposed code repositories and mobile apps allows organizations to address potential security risks that attackers could exploit. ThreatNG discovers various access credentials, security credentials, and platform-specific identifiers within mobile apps. It also discovers code repositories and their exposure level and investigates the contents for the presence of sensitive data.
Cloud and SaaS Exposure: ThreatNG's ability to identify cloud service misconfigurations and shadow IT helps organizations ensure that their public-facing cloud assets are adequately secured. ThreatNG evaluates cloud services and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions.
Working with Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG can integrate with other security tools to enhance public-facing infrastructure protection:
Web Application Firewalls (WAFs): ThreatNG's Web Application Firewall Discovery capability can identify WAFs in place and their vendor types. This information can be shared with WAF management tools for improved policy enforcement and incident response.
Vulnerability Management Tools: ThreatNG's discovery of known vulnerabilities and exposed APIs can be fed into vulnerability management solutions for prioritization and remediation.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: ThreatNG's continuous monitoring data and intelligence can be integrated into SIEM systems for correlation and analysis, improving threat detection and incident response capabilities.
Examples
Exposed API Leading to Data Breach: ThreatNG discovers an exposed API in a web application that allows unauthorized access to sensitive customer data. The organization can then remediate the vulnerability and implement more robust access controls to prevent data breaches.
Phishing Campaign Targeting Employees: ThreatNG assesses BEC and phishing Susceptibility, leveraging domain intelligence and dark web presence. The organization can then warn employees and block malicious links, preventing unauthorized access to the infrastructure.
Subdomain Takeover Vulnerability: ThreatNG identifies a misconfigured DNS record leading to a subdomain takeover vulnerability. An attacker could exploit this to host malicious content and deceive users. The organization can address the misconfiguration and prevent the attack.
ThreatNG is a powerful ally in securing public-facing infrastructure by providing comprehensive visibility, real-time threat intelligence, and actionable insights. Its ability to work with existing security solutions further strengthens an organization's overall cybersecurity posture.
