Zero Trust Security

Zero Trust is a cybersecurity framework that operates on the principle of "never trust, always verify." In contrast to traditional security models that assume trust within an organization's network perimeter, Zero Trust assumes that threats can originate from both inside and outside that perimeter. Therefore, it mandates strict verification for every user, device, application, and network flow attempting to access resources, regardless of their location.

Here are the core principles of Zero Trust:

• Assume Breach: Organizations should operate under the assumption that attackers are already present within their environment or will eventually breach it.

• Explicit Verification: Every user, device, and application must be explicitly verified before being granted access to resources.

• Least Privilege Access: Users and applications should be granted only the minimum level of access required to perform their tasks.

• Microsegmentation: Networks should be divided into small, isolated segments to limit the impact of a breach.

• Data-Centric Security: Security efforts should focus on protecting data itself, rather than just the network perimeter.

• Continuous Monitoring: The environment should be continuously monitored for suspicious activity, and security policies should be dynamically adjusted.

By adhering to these principles, Zero Trust enables organizations to enhance their security posture and mitigate the risk of successful cyberattacks.

ThreatNG's design and capabilities are well-aligned with the core principles of Zero Trust, providing organizations with valuable tools to implement and maintain a strong security posture.

1. External Discovery: Comprehensive Visibility

• Zero Trust emphasizes the importance of knowing your entire environment. ThreatNG excels in this area with its ability to perform purely external, unauthenticated discovery without requiring connectors.

• This capability is essential because Zero Trust requires identifying all assets, including those that might be unknown or unmanaged. ThreatNG's discovery helps uncover shadow IT, forgotten subdomains, and rogue applications, reducing potential blind spots.

2. External Assessment: Granular Risk Evaluation

ThreatNG's external assessment capabilities provide detailed insights that support Zero Trust's "always verify" principle. Here are some key examples:

• Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: ThreatNG analyzes externally accessible parts of web applications to identify potential entry points for attackers. This aligns with Zero Trust by continuously assessing application security.

• Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses a website's susceptibility to subdomain takeovers by examining its subdomains, DNS records, and SSL certificates. This proactive assessment helps prevent attackers from exploiting subdomain vulnerabilities.

• BEC & Phishing Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses susceptibility to Business Email Compromise (BEC) and phishing using sentiment analysis, financial findings, domain intelligence, and dark web presence. This analysis helps verify the legitimacy of communications, a crucial aspect of Zero Trust.

• Brand Damage Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses the risk of brand damage by considering attack surface intelligence, digital risk intelligence, ESG violations, sentiment analysis, financial data, and domain intelligence. Zero Trust extends to protecting brand reputation, and ThreatNG provides the tools to assess related risks.

• Data Leak Susceptibility: ThreatNG identifies potential data leaks by analyzing cloud and SaaS exposure, dark web presence, domain intelligence, sentiment analysis, and financial data. This capability aligns with Zero Trust's focus on data-centric security.

• Cyber Risk Exposure: ThreatNG determines cyber risk exposure by examining domain intelligence parameters like certificates, subdomain headers, vulnerabilities, and sensitive ports. It also considers code secret exposure, cloud and SaaS exposure, and compromised credentials. This comprehensive assessment helps prioritize security efforts.

• Supply Chain & Third-Party Exposure: ThreatNG assesses supply chain and third-party exposure using domain intelligence, technology stack analysis, and cloud and SaaS exposure. Zero Trust acknowledges the risks posed by third parties, and ThreatNG aids in evaluating those risks.

• Mobile App Exposure: ThreatNG evaluates the exposure of an organization's mobile apps by discovering them in marketplaces and analyzing their content for sensitive information. This assessment helps apply Zero Trust principles to mobile access.

• Positive Security Indicators: ThreatNG identifies and highlights an organization's security strengths, such as the presence of Web Application Firewalls or multi-factor authentication. This provides a balanced view of the security posture.

3. Reporting: Actionable Insights

• ThreatNG offers various reports, including executive, technical, prioritized, security ratings, inventory, ransomware susceptibility, and U.S. SEC filings reports.

• These reports include a knowledge base with risk levels, reasoning, recommendations, and reference links. This context enables security teams to understand risks and prioritize actions effectively.

4. Continuous Monitoring: Ongoing Vigilance

• ThreatNG provides continuous monitoring of the external attack surface, digital risk, and security ratings.

• Continuous monitoring enables organizations to stay informed about changes and emerging threats, allowing for a proactive security approach.

5. Investigation Modules: In-Depth Analysis

ThreatNG's investigation modules enable detailed analysis of security findings, supporting Zero Trust's need for granular understanding. Some examples include:

• Domain Intelligence: This module provides a comprehensive view of an organization's digital presence, including domain overview, DNS intelligence, email intelligence, WHOIS intelligence, and subdomain intelligence. For example, the Subdomain Intelligence feature helps identify vulnerabilities in subdomains and exposed ports.

• Sensitive Code Exposure: This module identifies public code repositories and reveals sensitive information, including access credentials and configuration files. For instance, it can locate exposed API keys and passwords.

• Mobile Application Discovery: This module identifies and analyzes mobile apps for sensitive information. It can locate access credentials and security credentials within the apps.

• Search Engine Exploitation: This module helps users investigate an organization’s susceptibility to exposing information via search engines. It discovers website control files and assesses the search engine attack surface.

6. Intelligence Repositories: Contextual Awareness

• ThreatNG's intelligence repositories contain information on dark web activity, compromised credentials, ransomware events, vulnerabilities, ESG violations, bug bounty programs, SEC filings, and mobile app indicators.

• This intelligence enriches ThreatNG's assessments and investigations, providing context for risk management. For example, compromised credential data can inform the development of stricter authentication policies.

7. Working with Complementary Solutions

• While specific integrations aren't detailed in the document, ThreatNG's external perspective and rich intelligence make it valuable for use with other Zero Trust solutions.

• ThreatNG's findings can be integrated with:

  • SIEM systems for enhanced threat detection.

  • IAM solutions to refine access control.

  • SOAR platforms to automate incident response.

  • Vulnerability management tools to prioritize remediation.

Examples of ThreatNG Helping with Zero Trust:

• Scenario: An organization implementing microsegmentation can utilize ThreatNG to identify all external-facing assets and their associated vulnerabilities, informing segmentation strategies to protect critical systems.

• Scenario: A company adopting a cloud-first strategy can use ThreatNG to monitor cloud configurations and data exposures, ensuring that cloud resources align with Zero Trust principles.

• Scenario: An organization that enhances identity verification can use ThreatNG's compromised credential intelligence to trigger stronger authentication for at-risk users.

ThreatNG offers comprehensive external visibility, continuous monitoring, and detailed risk assessments, empowering organizations to implement and benefit from a Zero Trust security model effectively.