How to locate the seven cyber assets that are covertly increasing your attack surface
You have made investments in cybersecurity protection and prevention tools, such as SIEM, next-generation firewalls, and endpoint detection and response. Still, there are breaches that take place. It's possible that your company has dealt with more breaches than it would like to acknowledge.
Perhaps you're ready to give up on the situation at this point. But before exhaustion wins you over, think about these things:
Unknown cyber assets are one cause of recurrent breaches. It's possible that your company has a wealth of cyberassets that are hidden from your staff, growing your attack surface covertly.
Cybercriminals are keen to take advantage of the hidden weaknesses these roving, elusive assets present. Any unmonitored cyber resource or failure, from rogue cloud instances to server misconfigurations, is a possible point of entry into your networks.
Learn about seven often-ignored cyber assets that may unintentionally raise your exposure to cyber risk in this article. We also offer advice on how to spot these sneaky dangers in your surroundings. To find out more, continue reading.
- Cloud resources left unclaimed. Cloud resources such as databases, compute instances, and storage buckets are more likely to go unmonitored and vulnerable as cloud adoption picks up speed. These ghost assets, which are no longer under active monitoring, give attackers access to your cloud environment through a backdoor.
- Assets exposed via rogue websites. Any internet-exposed asset, including database servers and authorized web apps, carries danger if it is not adequately secured. Vulnerable assets that evade detection provide intruders with an easy way to access your internal networks.
- Forgotten BYOD or personal electronics. Now that hybrid workforces are commonplace, the number of BYOD and personal devices has increased. Many lack security procedures and are unaccounted for. They act as unobserved points of entry for company data.
- The internet of things (IoT) is exploding. As with IoT, the attempted business optimization initiatives have overflowed networks with innumerable smart devices. Nevertheless, IoT security is often neglected, making the installation of smart cameras, sensors, HVAC controllers, and other devices an easy target for hackers.
- Inadequate network configuration. Lateral movement within your infrastructure can be made possible by oversights such as open ports, insecure protocols, and inadequate access controls on routers, switches, and other network equipment.
- Antiquated hardware and software. Outdated and unpatched systems inevitably find their way into complex ecosystems, creating exploitable weaknesses ranging from OS vulnerabilities to end-of-life appliances.
- Purchased blind spots in a firm or asset. Inherent hazards associated with mergers and acquisitions can include unmonitored assets, technical debt, and hazardous integrations from the acquired company.
Attack surface monitoring
How might the hazards associated with these unidentified but existing cyber resources be recognized and reduced? Constantly monitoring the attack surface is the solution.
Sophisticated attack surface management systems enable the real-time identification of all cyber assets in on-premises, cloud, home, and Internet of Things settings. A unified platform that provides a high degree of visibility enables you to precisely evaluate security posture and rank threats that were not previously known.
Any asset that is not tracked is like having an open door for intruders. Remove all of your hidden cyber dangers and expose your whole attack surface. Find out more about the best tools for managing and monitoring attack surfaces.
Source: CyberTalk.org
