As digital landscapes evolve, attack surfaces are expanding at a pace that often outstrips the capacity of security teams to manage. To effectively defend against potential breaches, understanding what assets are exposed and identifying vulnerabilities is essential.
The surge in cloud adoption has made it easier for organizations to inadvertently expose new services to the internet, underscoring the necessity of managing attack surfaces through the lens of an attacker. This guide aims to clarify the factors contributing to the growth of attack surfaces and provide insights on effectively monitoring and managing them using tools like Intruder.
Defining Your Attack Surface
An attack surface encompasses all your digital assets that are accessible to attackers—whether they’re secured or not, recognized or overlooked, actively in use or otherwise. It consists of both internal and external facets. For example, while an exposed FTP server becomes an external surface, a phishing email targeting an employee’s inbox demonstrates internal vulnerabilities.
Dynamic by nature, your external attack surface includes all digital assets on-premises, in the cloud, within subsidiary networks, and across third-party environments. Essentially, anything that can be targeted or exploited forms part of this surface.
Understanding Attack Surface Management (ASM)
Attack Surface Management refers to the practice of identifying these valuable assets and minimizing their risk of exploitation. Exposure can manifest in two ways: as current vulnerabilities, such as unpatched systems, or as potential risks from future threats and determined malicious entities. For instance, while an admin interface might be secure against existing threats, newfound vulnerabilities can emerge swiftly, turning previously safeguarded entry points into serious risks.
Consider the implications of an exposed firewall administration panel; it serves as an attractive target for attackers leveraging stolen credentials or attempting brute force attacks. Recent reports highlight that ransomware groups have targeted VMware vSphere environments directly accessible from the internet, exploiting vulnerabilities to encrypt crucial infrastructure data.
In essence, the act of reducing your attack surface today can effectively bolster your defenses against tomorrow’s threats.
The Importance of ASM
Challenges in Asset Management
A critical aspect of ASM is the identification of all assets; this process is notably labor-intensive and often neglected. Even within controlled environments, an overlooked asset can lead to severe security risks. Instances include the Deloitte breach, where a missed admin account led to data exposure.
Mergers and acquisitions complicate matters further, as companies may inherit systems unknown to them. In 2015, telco TalkTalk suffered a breach resulting in the theft of up to 4 million unencrypted records from a system they had not previously identified.
The Pivot to Cloud
Today’s digital landscape is further complicated by the transition to cloud platforms like Google Cloud and AWS, which empower development teams to operate swiftly and independently. However, this decentralization can lead to visibility gaps for traditional IT security teams. Consequently, strategies for attack surface management must evolve to keep pace with this rapid transformation.
A Modern Approach
Effective ASM combines asset management and vulnerability management, necessitating tools that facilitate this synergy. For instance, an Intruder client identified an unknown IP address in their cloud environment, which turned out to reside in a previously unrecognized AWS region. This underscores the crucial role visibility plays in ASM.
Identifying Boundaries
When utilizing SaaS tools, such as HubSpot, the onus of data security shifts to third parties. While these platforms implement their security measures, businesses should assess their risk exposure. Lines may blur with external agencies—what happens if a website created by a contractor remains live and vulnerable without ongoing management?
This is where third-party risk management and insurance are vital to mitigate the repercussions of data breaches and compliance issues.
Implementing ASM with Intruder
Having established the significance of ASM, the next step involves translating insights into actionable strategies. A robust ASM strategy explores both known and unknown risks while adapting to an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Intruder facilitates this process through several means: first, by continuously monitoring for overlooked assets including subdomains and APIs, while also analyzing exposed services through its Attack Surface View feature. Additionally, Intruder enhances coverage by customizing output from various scanning engines to identify vulnerabilities that other solutions might miss.
Continual scans for changes ensure that newly detected services are promptly assessed, integrating seamlessly with cloud accounts to fill any blind spots. Furthermore, Intruder proactively checks for critical vulnerabilities as they emerge, with the Rapid Response team identifying risks faster than automated systems can. Lastly, the platform emphasizes effective prioritization, helping businesses focus on vulnerabilities most likely to be exploited in the near future.
Initiating Your ASM Journey
Intruder’s EASM platform addresses one of cybersecurity’s most pressing challenges. Understanding how attackers perceive your organization, pinpointing potential breach entry points, and effectively managing risks are crucial. Schedule a consultation with our team to explore how Intruder can help safeguard your attack surface.
