Attack surface analysis is an assessment to identify the total of vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks that an attacker could exploit.
Attack Surface Analysis is a technique that white-hat hackers use to identify and analyze weaknesses in systems of organizations. On the other hand, the security architects also have this responsibility, though developers should understand and monitor the Attack Surface as they design, build, and change a system.
Unfortunately, hackers also use this method to scan the target’s attack surface for vulnerabilities before choosing an attack vector. In this case, attack surface analysis is ideal for identifying all the possible entry points for an attacker and figuring out how they could exploit them. Therefore, organizations would be minimizing the risk of being attacked by deploying an Attack Surface Analysis that allows them:
- Identify functions and parts of the system you need to review/test for security vulnerabilities.
- Identify high-risk areas of code that require defense-in-depth protection.
- Identify when you have changed the attack surface and need to do some threat assessment.
What is an Attack Surface?
The Attack Surface is all the vulnerable areas exposed to unauthorized users that use it to access systems and steal data.
There are 3 categories of attack surface:
1. Digital attack surface: Digital Attack Surfaces are all the vulnerabilities found in an organization’s assets exposed to the internet.
Your digital attack surface includes:
- Known assets: Your corporate website, servers, data stored, web browsers, email clients, etc.
- Unknown assets: These assets are outside the purview of your security team. For example, forgotten websites, marketing sites, and employee-installed software.
- Rogue assets: Malicious infrastructure spun up by threat actors such as malware, a typosquatting domain, and others.
2. Physical attack surface: Physical Attack Surfaces are all security vulnerabilities that occur when an attacker gets physical access to your office or devices.
Examples of these vulnerabilities:
- Rogue employees.
- Intruders that are posing as service workers.
- Untrusted or BYOD devices on secure networks.
3. Social engineering attack surface: A Social Engineering Attack Surface is the sum of all people in a company susceptible to social engineering.
Social engineering attacks are a type of hacking that relies on human interaction. The attacker tries to manipulate an individual into performing an action that will give the attacker access to sensitive information or breaks the usual security standards.
How can a Digital Attack Surface Analysis platform help you protect your environment?
A Digital Attack Surface Analysis platform is a tool to help you assess your environment’s risk. These platforms will scan your environment and give you a detailed report of what needs to be patched up and how at risk your environment is.
InsecureWeb is a cost-effective Digital Attack Surface Analysis platform designed to keep you safe from malicious external actors. This platform delivers Dark Web monitoring for businesses, open, deep, and dark web scans, Typosquatting, and email security. However, its leading service resides in the Dark Web monitoring, which allows monitoring domains, personal email addresses, phone numbers, user names, IPs, and personal data.
Conclusion
Organizations need to identify each blind spot in their security posture that attackers can exploit. Just as attackers target the most vulnerable elements within an organization’s network, you can deploy a Digital Attack Surface Analysis platform that helps you identify vulnerabilities to mitigate cyber-attacks. Note that Attack Surface Analysis should be done periodically to identify changes in your security environment. Therefore, if you deploy a cost-effective solution, you would save money, protect your reputation, and understand the threats that can affect your digital assets.