Technical Attack Vectors
Technical attack vectors in cybersecurity exploit vulnerabilities in your organization's technology and systems. These vulnerabilities can exist in software, hardware, configurations, or even architectural design. Essentially, they are weaknesses that attackers can use to gain unauthorized access to your systems, steal data, disrupt operations, or cause other harm.
Here are some key characteristics of technical attack vectors:
Exploitation of Code: Often involve exploiting flaws in software code, like bugs or design oversights, to gain control or access sensitive information.
Network Manipulation: May involve manipulating network protocols or configurations to intercept data, reroute traffic, or launch denial-of-service attacks.
System Misconfigurations: Can stem from improperly configured systems or security settings, leaving openings for attackers to slip through.
Hardware Vulnerabilities: Can also be present in hardware components, such as firmware vulnerabilities in network devices or physical security flaws in data centers.
Examples of Technical Attack Vectors:
SQL Injection: Injecting malicious code into a website or application to gain access to underlying databases.
Cross-site Scripting (XSS): Injecting malicious scripts into websites viewed by other users to steal their information or take control of their accounts.
Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks: Flooding a system with traffic to overwhelm it and make it unavailable to legitimate users.
Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks: Intercepting communication between two parties to eavesdrop or manipulate the data being exchanged.
Zero-day Exploits: Exploiting vulnerabilities that are unknown to the software vendor or security community.
Understanding and mitigating technical attack vectors is crucial for maintaining a strong security posture. This involves regular vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, system hardening, and keeping software and hardware updated with the latest security patches.
ThreatNG can help manage and mitigate technical attack vectors by:
External Discovery: ThreatNG automatically discovers and maps an organization's internet-facing assets, including websites, subdomains, cloud services, and more. This provides a comprehensive view of the attack surface, including unknown or forgotten assets that may be vulnerable to technical exploits.
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. It also assesses exposure to cyber risks, ESG risks, and supply chain and third-party risks. For each assessment, ThreatNG provides a detailed breakdown of the findings. For example, the Web Application Hijack Susceptibility assessment analyzes the parts of a web application accessible from the outside world to identify potential entry points for attackers. The Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility assessment analyzes the website's subdomains, DNS records, SSL certificate statuses, and other relevant factors. The BEC & Phishing Susceptibility assessment is derived from Sentiment and Financials Findings, Domain Intelligence, and Dark Web Presence.
Reporting: ThreatNG generates detailed reports on the attack surface, vulnerabilities, and security ratings. These reports help organizations understand their security posture and prioritize remediation efforts.
Continuous Monitoring: ThreatNG continuously monitors the external attack surface for changes and new threats. This helps organizations stay ahead of emerging risks and maintain a strong security posture.
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. For example, the Domain Intelligence module provides detailed information about a domain, including its DNS records, subdomains, email addresses, and TLS certificates. The Sensitive Code Exposure module scans public code repositories for sensitive information such as API keys, access tokens, and database credentials. The Cloud and SaaS Exposure module identifies cloud services and SaaS applications used by the organization and assesses their security posture.
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 attacks.
Work with Complementary Solutions: ThreatNG can work with complementary security solutions like vulnerability scanners, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems. ThreatNG's external attack surface management capabilities complement these solutions by providing visibility into internet-facing assets and risks.
Examples of ThreatNG Helping:
ThreatNG helped a financial institution discover a subdomain takeover vulnerability on one of its forgotten marketing websites. By identifying and remediating this vulnerability, the organization prevented a potential phishing attack.
ThreatNG helped a healthcare organization identify sensitive patient data exposed on a misconfigured cloud storage bucket. By securing the bucket, the organization prevented 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. This helps organizations prioritize remediation efforts based on the severity of the vulnerabilities.
ThreatNG integrates with a firewall to provide real-time threat intelligence. This helps the firewall block malicious traffic and prevent attacks.
