Third-Party Attack Surface
The Third-Party Attack Surface in cybersecurity refers to the vulnerabilities and potential entry points that attackers could exploit to compromise an organization's systems and data through its connections with third-party vendors, suppliers, partners, and other external entities. It encompasses various elements, including:
Third-Party Software: Vulnerabilities in software or applications provided by third parties, such as operating systems, libraries, and plugins.
Third-Party Services: Security risks associated with services provided by third parties, such as cloud computing, data storage, and payment processing.
Third-Party Access: Vulnerabilities arise from third parties accessing an organization's systems or data, such as through shared networks, APIs, or remote access tools.
Third-Party Data Security: Risks related to how third parties handle and protect an organization's sensitive data.
Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: Weaknesses in the supply chain that attackers, such as compromised third-party vendors or suppliers could exploit.
The Third-Party Attack Surface is expanding as organizations increasingly rely on third-party relationships for various business functions. This makes it a prime target for attackers, who can exploit vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access, steal data, disrupt operations, and damage reputation.
Effective management of the Third-Party Attack Surface requires a comprehensive approach that includes:
Third-Party Risk Assessments: Conduct thorough security assessments of third parties before engaging their services or granting them access to systems and data.
Contractual Agreements: Establishing precise security requirements and responsibilities in contracts with third parties.
Access Control: Implementing strong access controls to limit third-party access to only necessary systems and data.
Data Security: Ensuring third parties have adequate data security measures to protect sensitive information.
Monitoring and Oversight: Monitor third-party activities and security posture for potential risks.
Incident Response: Having a well-defined incident response plan that includes procedures for addressing security incidents involving third parties.
By implementing these measures, organizations can reduce their Third-Party Attack Surface and improve their overall security posture when working with external entities.
ThreatNG offers a robust suite of capabilities to effectively assess and manage the Third-Party Attack Surface, providing organizations with valuable insights and actionable intelligence to strengthen their security posture when working with external entities. Here's how ThreatNG helps:
ThreatNG's external discovery engine can identify and map various elements of the Third-Party Attack Surface, including:
Third-Party Software: ThreatNG can discover third-party software and libraries the organization uses by analyzing websites, applications, and other publicly available information. This helps identify potential vulnerabilities in third-party components that attackers could exploit.
Third-Party Services: ThreatNG can identify third-party services the organization uses, such as cloud computing, data storage, and payment processing. This helps assess the security posture of these services and identify potential risks.
Third-Party Connections: ThreatNG can discover connections between the organization and third parties, such as through shared networks, APIs, or remote access tools. This helps understand the extent of third-party access and potential vulnerabilities arising from these connections.
ThreatNG's external assessment capabilities thoroughly evaluate the security posture of the Third-Party Attack Surface. It assesses various aspects, including:
Supply Chain & Third-Party Exposure: ThreatNG assesses the risks associated with third-party integrations and supply chain dependencies, helping organizations identify potential vulnerabilities in their third-party ecosystem.
Cyber Risk Exposure: ThreatNG assesses the overall cyber risk exposure related to third parties, considering factors like exposed sensitive ports, known vulnerabilities, and code secret exposure. This helps identify potential weaknesses in third-party systems that attackers could exploit.
Data Leak Susceptibility: ThreatNG evaluates the risk of data leaks from third parties, considering factors like cloud and SaaS exposure, dark web presence, and domain intelligence. This helps identify potential data leakage points that could arise from third-party relationships.
BEC & Phishing Susceptibility: ThreatNG evaluates the organization's susceptibility to Business Email Compromise (BEC) and phishing attacks that could originate from or target third parties. This helps assess the risk of social engineering attacks that could compromise third-party accounts and systems.
Breach & Ransomware Susceptibility: ThreatNG evaluates the susceptibility of third parties to breaches and ransomware attacks, considering factors like exposed sensitive ports, known vulnerabilities, dark web presence, and financial health. This helps assess the overall risk of cyberattacks that could impact third parties and potentially affect the organization.
ThreatNG offers comprehensive reporting capabilities that provide valuable insights into the security posture of the Third-Party Attack Surface. Reports can be tailored to different audiences, from executives to security analysts, and can include information on:
Third-Party Vulnerabilities: Detailed information on vulnerabilities identified in third-party software, services, and connections.
Supply Chain Risk Assessment: A comprehensive risk assessment of the organization's supply chain, including potential vulnerabilities and recommendations for mitigation.
Overall Risk Assessment: A comprehensive risk assessment of the organization's third-party ecosystem, including potential vulnerabilities and recommendations for mitigation.
ThreatNG continuously monitors the Third-Party Attack Surface, enabling organizations to detect and respond to security threats targeting third parties in real time. This helps minimize the potential impact of attacks and ensures ongoing protection.
ThreatNG leverages various investigation modules to provide deeper insights into potential risks and vulnerabilities associated with third parties:
Domain Intelligence: This module provides a comprehensive view of third-party domains and subdomains, helping identify potential risks like subdomain takeover or misconfigured DNS settings that could expose third-party systems to attacks.
IP Intelligence: This module analyzes IP addresses associated with third parties to identify potential risks, such as connections from suspicious locations or IP addresses associated with malicious activities.
Sensitive Code Exposure: This module scans public code repositories for exposed credentials and sensitive information that could compromise third-party systems. It provides detailed information about the type of credentials exposed, their location, and the potential impact of their compromise.
Dark Web Presence: This module monitors the dark web for mentions of third parties, any leaked credentials or planned attacks that could affect them, and any potential risks they might pose to the organization. It provides alerts and context to help organizations stay ahead of possible threats.
Social Media: This module analyzes third-party social media posts to identify potential security risks or vulnerabilities.
Sentiment and Financials: This module analyzes third-party sentiment and financial health to identify potential risks impacting their security and the organization.
Archived Web Pages: This module analyzes archived web pages to identify potential security risks or vulnerabilities related to third parties that may have been present in the past.
ThreatNG leverages a wealth of intelligence repositories to provide context and enrich its findings. This helps organizations understand the broader threat landscape and make informed decisions about their third-party security posture.
Working with Complementary Solutions:
ThreatNG is designed to integrate with existing security tools and workflows to provide a more comprehensive security solution for managing third-party risk:
Vendor Risk Management (VRM) Solutions: ThreatNG can integrate with VRM solutions to provide external threat intelligence and enrich risk assessments.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): ThreatNG can integrate with SIEM systems to correlate external threat intelligence with internal security logs, providing a more comprehensive view of the organization's security posture, including third-party risks.
Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIPs): ThreatNG can integrate with TIPs to provide additional context and insights into potential threats associated with third parties.
Examples of ThreatNG Helping:
ThreatNG could identify a vulnerable third-party software component used by the organization, allowing the organization to notify the vendor and request a patch or update.
ThreatNG could discover leaked credentials for a third-party service on the dark web, enabling the organization to notify the third party and take steps to mitigate the risk.
ThreatNG could identify a phishing campaign targeting a third party that could impact the organization, allowing it to take proactive measures to protect its systems and data.
By focusing on the organization's third-party ecosystem, leveraging threat intelligence and dark web monitoring, and integrating with complementary solutions, ThreatNG provides valuable insights into the Third-Party Attack Surface and helps organizations proactively manage third-party risk and strengthen their overall security posture.