In cybersecurity, a trusted relationship attack refers to a cyberattack in which malicious actors exploit the trust and access granted to third-party vendors, partners, or service providers to gain unauthorized access to a target organization's network or systems.

Key points about trusted relationship attacks:

• Abuse of Existing Connections: The attacker leverages a pre-existing connection that is typically less scrutinized or has elevated privileges, bypassing traditional security measures.

• Supply Chain Compromise: Often, the initial compromise occurs at the third-party organization, from where the attacker pivots to the target's environment.

• Stealth and Persistence: The attacker's actions may blend in with the legitimate activity of the trusted third party, making detection challenging.

• High Impact: These attacks can lead to significant data breaches, disruption of operations, and financial loss.

Examples:

• Compromised Managed Service Provider (MSP): An attacker gains access to an MSP's network and uses their privileged access to infiltrate the networks of the MSP's clients.

• Malicious Software Update: A software vendor's update mechanism is compromised, allowing the attacker to distribute malware to all software users.

• Phishing Targeting Trusted Relationships: An attacker sends a targeted phishing email that appears to come from a trusted partner, tricking the recipient into revealing sensitive information or clicking on a malicious link.

Mitigation:

• Third-Party Risk Management: Conduct thorough due diligence and ongoing monitoring of all third-party vendors.

• Network Segmentation: Limit the access granted to third parties based on the principle of least privilege.

• Security Awareness Training: Educate employees about the risks of trusted relationship attacks and how to recognize and report suspicious activity.

• Advanced Threat Detection: Implement security solutions to detect anomalous behavior and lateral movement within the network, even from trusted sources.

Trusted relationship attacks highlight the importance of securing not just your organization but also the entire ecosystem of partners and vendors that you rely on.

How ThreatNG Helps with Trusted Relationship Attacks

ThreatNG's multi-faceted approach helps identify, assess, and mitigate risks associated with trusted relationships in the following ways:

Third-Party Risk Assessment:

• Supply Chain & Third-Party Exposure: ThreatNG continuously monitors your vendors and partners, identifying their vulnerabilities and security posture. It allows you to understand the risks they may introduce to your environment through their connection to your network.

• Cyber Risk Exposure & ESG Exposure: ThreatNG assesses third parties for their cybersecurity risk and compliance with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards. It helps identify partners susceptible to compromise and could pose a risk due to lax security practices.

• Dark Web Presence & Compromised Credentials: Monitoring for mentions of your partners on the dark web or evidence of their compromised credentials provides early warnings of potential breaches that could impact your organization.

Early Warning System:

• Continuous Monitoring & Intelligence Repositories: ThreatNG's constant monitoring and collection of intelligence from various sources (dark web, ransomware events, known vulnerabilities, etc.) enable early detection of potential threats. For example, a spike in hacker chatter related to a vendor could indicate an impending attack that could affect you indirectly.

• Domain Intelligence, Social Media, Sensitive Code Exposure & Search Engine Exploitation: These modules help identify potential risks in your digital footprint and that of your partners. For example, attackers could leverage a vulnerability discovered in a vendor's exposed code repository to access your network.

Vulnerability & Attack Surface Reduction:

• BEC & Phishing Susceptibility, Web Application Hijack & Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility: These modules help identify weaknesses in your own and your partners' infrastructure that could be exploited for trusted relationship attacks, such as phishing attacks targeting your employees or vulnerabilities in a partner's web application that attackers could leverage to access your network.

Working with Complementary Solutions

While ThreatNG offers robust capabilities, it can be even more powerful when integrated with complementary solutions:

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: Integrate ThreatNG's intelligence feeds into your SIEM to correlate external threats with internal events, enhancing threat detection and response capabilities.

• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Solutions: Integrate ThreatNG's threat intelligence with EDR solutions to detect and block malicious activity from compromised third-party connections.

• Vulnerability Management Tools: Combine ThreatNG's vulnerability discovery with your existing vulnerability management tools to prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities in your environment and your partners'.

Examples

• Scenario: A phishing email appears to be from a trusted partner and asks an employee to click on a link.

  • ThreatNG's Role:

    • BEC & Phishing Susceptibility assessment might have flagged the partner as high-risk.

• Scenario: A vulnerability is discovered in a software library used by one of your vendors.

  • ThreatNG's Role:

    • Sensitive Code Exposure module could identify the vulnerability in the vendor's public code repositories.

    • Known Vulnerabilities database would flag the vulnerability and its severity.

    • Continuous monitoring of hacker chatter could reveal any attempts to exploit this vulnerability.

Key Takeaways:

• ThreatNG's all-in-one approach to external attack surface management helps organizations understand and mitigate the risks associated with trusted relationships.

• By providing continuous monitoring, comprehensive threat intelligence, and vulnerability assessments, ThreatNG empowers organizations to identify potential threats early and take proactive measures to protect themselves.

• Integration with complementary solutions further strengthens an organization's security posture and enables effective threat detection and response.