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External Threats

Threat NG Staff

In cybersecurity, external threats are dangers that originate from outside your organization's network and security perimeter. These threats come in many forms and are carried out by various malicious actors with different motives.

Think of your organization as a castle. External threats are like the enemy forces trying to breach your walls and defenses from the outside.

Here's a breakdown of common types of external threats:

1. Cybercriminals: These are individuals or groups motivated by financial gain. They might employ various tactics to steal money, data, or intellectual property. * Examples: Ransomware attacks, phishing scams, credit card fraud, and data breaches to sell information on the dark web.

2. Hacktivists: These individuals or groups are driven by political or social agendas. They might launch attacks to disrupt operations, deface websites, or leak sensitive information to make a statement. * Examples: Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks to take down websites, website defacements to spread propaganda, and data leaks to expose wrongdoing.

3. Nation-State Actors: These are government-backed hackers who conduct espionage, sabotage, or disruption for political or strategic purposes. * Examples: Cyberespionage to steal government or military secrets, attacks on critical infrastructure to disrupt essential services, and disinformation campaigns to influence public opinion.

4. Script Kiddies: These are less-skilled individuals who use readily available tools and scripts to launch attacks, often without a clear motive beyond causing disruption or gaining notoriety. * Examples: Launching basic DDoS attacks using readily available tools, defacing websites with simple scripts, and spreading malware without a specific target.

5. Competitors: In some cases, competing businesses might engage in cyber espionage or sabotage to gain a competitive advantage. * Examples: Stealing trade secrets, disrupting operations of a rival company, or spreading misinformation to damage their reputation.

Common attack methods used by external threats:

  • Malware: Malicious software designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to systems.

  • Phishing: Deceptive emails or messages that trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or downloading malware.

  • Social Engineering: Manipulating individuals through psychological tactics to gain access to systems or information.

  • Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks: Flooding a system with traffic to overwhelm it and make it unavailable to legitimate users.

  • Exploiting Vulnerabilities: Taking advantage of weaknesses in software, hardware, or configurations to gain unauthorized access.

It's crucial for organizations to understand the external threat landscape and proactively defend against these threats by implementing strong security measures, staying informed about emerging threats, and educating employees about cybersecurity best practices.

ThreatNG can effectively address external threats through the following capabilities:

  1. External Discovery: ThreatNG automatically discovers and maps an organization's internet-facing assets, including websites, subdomains, cloud services, and more. This comprehensive view of the external attack surface helps identify potential entry points for external threats.

  2. External Assessment: ThreatNG assesses the discovered assets for vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and security risks. This helps identify weaknesses that attackers could exploit.

    • ThreatNG's assessment capabilities include:

      • Evaluating the susceptibility of web applications to hijacking, subdomain takeover, BEC and phishing attacks, brand damage, data leaks, and ransomware.

      • Assessing exposure to cyber risks, ESG risks, and supply chain and third-party risks.

      • Providing detailed breakdowns of findings for each assessment.

  3. Reporting: ThreatNG generates detailed reports on the external attack surface, vulnerabilities, and security ratings. These reports help organizations understand their security posture and prioritize remediation efforts.

  4. Continuous Monitoring: ThreatNG continuously monitors the external attack surface for changes and new threats, helping organizations stay ahead of emerging risks.

  5. Investigation Modules: ThreatNG provides in-depth investigation modules for domains, social media, sensitive code exposure, cloud and SaaS exposure, online sharing exposure, sentiment and financials, archived web pages, dark web presence, and technology stack. These modules help analyze potential attack vectors and identify specific threats.

  6. Intelligence Repositories: ThreatNG leverages intelligence repositories on the dark web, compromised credentials, ransomware events and groups, known vulnerabilities, ESG violations, bug bounty programs, SEC Form 8-Ks, and Bank Identification Numbers. This threat intelligence helps organizations understand the broader threat landscape and proactively defend against external attacks.

ThreatNG can also work with complementary security solutions like vulnerability scanners, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems, further enhancing an organization's security posture.

Examples of ThreatNG Helping:

  • ThreatNG helped a financial institution discover a subdomain takeover vulnerability on one of its forgotten marketing websites, preventing a potential phishing attack.

  • ThreatNG helped a healthcare organization identify sensitive patient data exposed on a misconfigured cloud storage bucket, preventing a potential data breach.

Examples of ThreatNG Working with Complementary Solutions:

  • ThreatNG integrates with a vulnerability scanner to provide detailed vulnerability assessment reports on internet-facing assets, helping organizations prioritize remediation efforts.

  • ThreatNG integrates with a firewall to provide real-time threat intelligence, helping the firewall block malicious traffic and prevent attacks.