The foundation of any effective cybersecurity plan is an in-depth analysis of the attack surface to reduce entry points. An organization’s or system’s entire vulnerable area is called its attack surface. It further consists of every point of entry that an unauthorized user could utilize to get inside the network. It can be difficult to learn how to conduct thorough external attack surface analysis and management on your own, particularly in large organizations with a variety of user permission levels.
Attack Surface
The attack surface measures the total number of entry points (also called “attack vectors”) through which sensitive information can be stolen from a computer system. Protection is also simpler if there is less surface area to attack. Organizations need to keep an eye on their attack vectors to spot and stop threats as soon as they emerge. To further lessen the likelihood of a successful cyberattack, they should try to reduce the attack surface area. However, this becomes more challenging as they increase their online presence and adopt cutting-edge technologies.
Both the digital and physical components make up the attack surface.
#1. Digital Attack Surface
Every piece of hardware and piece of software that connects to a company’s network is part of the digital attack surface area. Websites, servers, code, apps, and shadow IT—where users get around IT to use unapproved software or hardware—are some examples of these.
#2. Physical Attack Surface
Desktops, hard drives, laptops, mobile phones, and USB drives are all part of the physical attack surface. Therefore, there are many potential entry points for physical attackers, including lost or stolen hardware containing sensitive information, users jotting down passwords on paper, and actual break-ins.
Through access control and surveillance, businesses can reduce their physical attack surface. Disaster recovery protocols and policies also need to be put into practice and tested.
Common Attack Surface Vulnerabilities
Any area on a network where a data breach could occur is considered a common vulnerability. This covers both hardware—such as computers, smartphones, and hard drives—and human error—where users reveal personal information to hackers.
Weak passwords, insecure email, unprotected ports, and neglected software updates all leave users and businesses wide open to attack. Without proper web-based protocols, hackers can perform man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks and steal sensitive information.
How To Define Your Attack Surface Area
Define and map the attack surface before beginning any visualization. This means looking for possible weaknesses, evaluating vulnerabilities, and figuring out user roles and permission levels. Assessing a company’s exposure to risk begins with a thorough inventory of its attack surface, which can include such things as firewalls, switches, file servers, desktops, laptops, smartphones, and printers.
The next step is for them to classify all potential places for storing their company’s data and separate it into cloud, device, and on-premises systems. In this way, businesses can determine which employees have access to what information and resources, as well as the extent of those employees’ privileges. By doing so, they are better able to comprehend the nuances of user and departmental behavior and to organize potential points of attack according to factors like function and risk.
Attack Surface Management
The term “attack surface management” describes the process of keeping an eye out for potential cyberattacks to prevent them in the future. It also maps the attack surface and reduces attack success with risk assessments, security controls, and security measures.
In addition, it is critical to test for vulnerabilities and keep an eye on an attack surface’s performance after mapping it. Monitoring your online and offline resources for security flaws is also an integral part of attack surface management. The goal is to reduce the likelihood of an attack happening to you. Benefits of effective attack surface management include but are not limited to, the following:
- Locate high-risk areas for vulnerability testing.
- Check for changes and new attack vectors.
- Determine who can access each system part.
- Counter-targeted cyberattacks
Attack Surface Reduction and Management Tools
Organizations can use a variety of tools to monitor their attack surface, identify current and future attack vectors, and take steps to eliminate or protect against them. These tools can help achieve this visibility:
#1. Inventory Management
Organizations can store known systems with this tool. Usually, this process begins with “asset discovery,” or a systematic search for and inventory of all relevant IT resources.
#2. Vulnerability Management
These programs probe the Internet and an organization’s networks for security flaws. It also aids in the prioritization of vulnerabilities, allowing organizations to tackle the most pressing ones first.
#3. External Risk Ratings
Specifically, this means welcoming periodic audits of the company’s outward-facing security from independent third parties.
#4. Red Teaming and Penetration Testing
Teams like these are invaluable to surface attackers because of the information they provide regarding attack vectors. These findings aid in determining which attack vectors are most pressing to address to lower the attack surface.
Attack Surface Analysis
To improve your organization’s security, an attack surface analysis can give your team a glimpse into your IT setup from the eyes of a potential intruder. An attack surface analysis checklist can help you find security holes and catalog all the ways your business could be compromised. It entails keeping an eye on the vulnerable areas and securing them so that hackers and other malicious actors can not get in.
The purpose of an attack surface analysis is to identify and catalog potential entry points into a system. It helps businesses locate potential weak points and open doors for attackers to exploit.
With the aid of attack surface analysis, businesses can pinpoint vulnerable spots and high-risk areas where additional security testing is needed. This analysis can also be used to learn when upgrades to the infrastructure introduce new vulnerabilities. Attack surface analysis can be done manually with the aid of penetration testers and security architects or automatically using a variety of different tools.
Attack Surface Analysis Steps
- Locate any possible points of entry and weak points in the infrastructure of the company.
- Assess the possible consequences of the found vulnerabilities, giving high-risk entry points that need quick attention priority.
- Figure out what an attacker could do to exploit the holes you found.
- Create a plan to address the identified risks.
Reducing Attack Surface
Reducing an organization’s attack surface involves finding and fixing all the places where hackers could gain access to its computer systems and networks. This can involve limiting the possible openings for exploits and vulnerabilities by putting in place security measures like firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and access controls. Additionally, it can involve conducting routine security audits to find and fix any newly discovered vulnerabilities, as well as offering staff education and awareness campaigns to inform them of cybersecurity best practices.
These five steps will help organizations reduce their attack surface.
#1. Implement Zero-trust Policies
The zero-trust security model guarantees that only authorized users have access to sensitive data when needed. As a result, organizations can rest assured that only authorized users are gaining access to their networks, which strengthens the entire infrastructure and reduces the number of entry points.
#2. Eliminate Complexity
Complexity that is not needed can lead to missteps in management and policy that give hackers access to private company information. To streamline their network, businesses should remove unused applications and hardware.
#3. Scan for Vulnerabilities
Scanning and analyzing networks regularly helps businesses find problems quickly. It is critical to have complete attack surface visibility to prevent issues with cloud and on-premises networks and to ensure that only authorized devices can access them. In addition to finding exploitable holes, a thorough scan should demonstrate how those holes can be used to compromise endpoints.
#4. Segment Network
By dividing their networks into smaller, more manageable pieces, businesses can in reducing the attack surface area. These consist of devices such as firewalls and tactics like micro-segmentation, which partitions the network into smaller sections.
#5. Train Employees
Defending against cyberattacks starts with employees. They will be better prepared to recognize the warning signs of a phishing email or social engineering attack if they receive regular cybersecurity awareness training.
External Attack Surface Management
A company’s “external attack surface management” (EASM) is its process of identifying, assessing, and resolving vulnerabilities and threats to its externally accessible digital assets. EASM includes a range of tasks, including asset identification, vulnerability assessment, threat intelligence tracking, deployment of security controls, and ongoing monitoring to maintain a strong security posture and quickly address new threats.
The objective of EASM is to decrease the number of weak points and potential entry points that hostile actors could use to gain unauthorized access, contaminate data, or interfere with services. An organization’s vulnerability to cyber attacks, data breaches, and reputational harm can be mitigated by taking measures to control the external attack surface.
How does External Attack Surface Management Work?
Common practices for an external attack surface management (EASM) platform include the use of both automated tools and human analysis. Automated tools investigate the company’s online presence from the outside, looking for weak spots and entry points to the network. These instruments may use a variety of techniques, including port scanning, vulnerability analysis, web application testing, and OSINT (open-source intelligence) analysis.
Manual analysis can validate and interpret scan results to supplement automated tools. Experts in the field of security investigate the data, examine the surrounding circumstances, and weigh the risks that come with the vulnerabilities that have been uncovered.
After discovering a security hole, businesses can take steps to fix it by installing patches, adjusting settings on security tools, increasing the security of access points, and so on. The best way to stay ahead of developing threats and maintain continuous protection is to conduct regular scans and monitoring of the external attack surface.
Gathering and analyzing threat intelligence is an example of a preventative step that may be the best way for businesses to stay abreast of the latest attack methods, vulnerabilities, and threat actors. In addition, you subscribe to threat feeds and read security blogs.
As a whole, EASM is a methodical strategy for protecting an organization’s external attack surface by systematically discovering, analyzing, and fixing security flaws and threats to lessen the likelihood of successful cyber attacks.
Why is External Attack Surface Management Important?
Effective cybersecurity requires constant attention to the management of the external attack surface. Detecting and fixing external attack surface vulnerabilities can greatly reduce the risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, and other cyberattacks. EASM discovers sensitive data, assisting in upholding industry standards, preserving consumer confidence, and protecting the company’s brand.
Benefits of External Attack Surface Management
#1. Vulnerability Identification
Organizations can use EASM to better protect their websites, servers, applications, and networks from outside threats. By constantly scanning and monitoring assets that are exposed to the outside world, the solution can find possible entry points for attackers and set priorities for fixing vulnerabilities.
#2. Risk Reduction
Using EASM solutions helps lower risk because flaws in the network’s outer defenses are patched in advance. Organizations can reduce the likelihood of successful cyber attacks and data breaches by addressing vulnerabilities and bolstering security controls.
#3. Compliance and Regulatory Alignment
EASM solutions help businesses comply with industry standards and legal obligations. Finding and fixing security holes is one way for businesses to show they follow regulations like GDPR and PCI DSS and are serious about protecting customer information.
#4. Enhancing Reaction Time to Incidents
Attack vectors and signs of compromise are visible with EASM solutions. This insight allows businesses to act quickly in the face of security threats, reducing the severity of any impact on operations.
#5. Reputation Protection
Organizations can protect their brand and keep customers by managing the external attack surface well. Proactive security measures like this can reassure customers and other stakeholders that their information and interactions are safe.
#6. Continuous Monitoring
By providing round-the-clock monitoring, EASM solutions help businesses keep their guard up against the ever-evolving threats, attack vectors, and digital landscape. This kind of preventative vigilance guarantees that security measures are always current and can adapt to new forms of cyberattack.
What Are the Three Types of Attack Surfaces?
Experts in the field of information security distinguish between three distinct types of attack surfaces: the physical, the digital, and the social.
Attack Vector vs. Attack Surface?
An attack vector is a specific means by which an intruder gains access to a network or computer system, and an attack surface is the sum of all possible attack vectors.
What Is the Difference Between an Attack Tree and an Attack Surface?
A system’s attack surface is the actual physical location where attacks are launched, while an attack tree is the collection of measures taken to thwart unauthorized users.
What Is an Example of an Attack Surface in Cyber Security?
There are many potential entry points for physical attacks, such as lost or stolen hardware containing sensitive information, users jotting down passwords on scraps of paper, and actual break-ins.
What Best Describes an Attack Surface?
When cybercriminals break into a system, they do so via the attack surface. A system’s attack surface is the sum of all the potential entry points an intruder could use to compromise it and steal data. It is easier to defend against an attack if there is less surface area to do so.
Conclusion
For effective management and protection against external attacks, businesses must constantly carry out analysis to identify, evaluate, and prioritize threats across their entire attack surface. Without that, businesses run the risk of intrusion from enemies whose strategies work in similar circumstances.
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