Attack Surface Monitoring

Do you know how big your attack surface actually is?

The larger your organization’s attack surface, the greater the danger that an attacker might find vulnerabilities to exploit — and your attack surface may be larger than you think it is. Organizations’ attack surfaces have been growing fast in the last few years, thanks to the adoption of new platforms, smart devices, and cloud services. It’s easy to forget or overlook some parts of your external threat exposure, but this can lead to increased risk… and more doorways for criminals who want to get into your networks and data.

Attack surface monitoring (ASM) is an important tool designed to make your entire attack surface visible — and make it safer.

How Can Flare Support Attack Surface Monitoring?

How does Flare’s platform answer attack surface monitoring needs?

It can be difficult for your security team to manually monitor every possible attack vector — especially since your attack surface is always growing and changing. Flare enables you to map your organization’s attack surfaces so that your team is easily able to identify new pathways into your data or devices, while monitoring threat intelligence so that you know when threat actors are trying to attack you.

What are the key benefits of Flare’s threat exposure management (TEM) platform?

Proactive monitoring: Flare automates threat detection, monitoring sources on the clear and dark web, as well as prominent threat actor communities. This gives your team 24/7 proactive monitoring of your attack surface.
Visibility: Flare maps your attack surface, giving you a real-time view of your attack surface, allowing your security team to focus on high-risk assets.
Relevant threat information: Flare cuts through the noise of constant alerts, sending only the alerts that matter to your team.
Transparency: Flare lists every source so you know exactly where every piece of threat intelligence data is coming from
Data collection: Flare uses billions of data points to provide your team with information about your customers’ security stance, relevant threats, and the movement of threat actors between platforms.

How does Flare help monitor your attack surface?

Security teams are faced with a lot of noise from threat management tools, and all of those notifications can cause them to miss the notifications that are most important to your organization’s security. Flare cuts through the noise by constantly scanning your attack surface, and providing high-fidelity, actionable intelligence specific to your organization, offering context, sources, and translation if needed.

Understanding Attack Surface Monitoring

What is an attack surface?

Your attack surface refers to all the points in your system or network that can be targeted, exploited, or compromised in order to carry out a cyberattack. These points might include vulnerabilities in the software, misconfigurations in your network or system, or human error, like weak passwords or poor security hygiene. Your attack surface might include:

Known assets: Registered domains and subdomains, SSL certificates, servers, devices, applications, and any endpoints used by your employees.
Unknown assets: Shadow IT, old and forgotten apps or infrastructure, or orphaned user accounts that weren’t shut down when the user left the organization.
Third-party assets: Any assets that have access to your networks and data, such as vendors, third parties, or partners.
Malicious assets: Fake domains and subdomains that criminals sometimes create to impersonate your brand and trick unsuspecting customers.

How is attack surface monitoring (ASM) different from external attack surface management (EASM)?

Automate Your Threat Exposure Management

Integrate the world’s easiest to use and most comprehensive cybercrime database into your security program in 30 minutes.

An organization’s attack surface includes every surface, both internal and external, that an organization has. The external attack surface, for example, includes all Internet-facing digital vulnerabilities that can compromise your data and networks. External attack surface management (EASM) is the process of scanning for, finding, analyzing and remediating all of these potential risks. Internal attack surface monitoring (IASM) focuses on internal risks like shadow IT, employee behavior, and credential-related risks.

What are common threats to your attack surface?

There are several common attack surface vulnerabilities that organizations should be aware of when it comes to securing systems and applications:

Unpatched software: Threat actors know when patches are released, they know what vulnerabilities are being patched, and they’re really hoping your team doesn’t patch your software.
Poor password hygiene: Passwords that are easy to guess or crack can provide an easy entry point for attackers.
Misconfigured systems: Systems that are not properly configured can create security holes attackers can exploit.
Social engineering attacks: Phishing and other social engineering attacks are designed to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information or clicking on malicious links. While many phishing campaigns are easy to spot, some attacks are sophisticated and difficult to identify.
Malware: Malware such as viruses, Trojans, and ransomware can infect systems and steal or encrypt data.
Insider threats: Insiders who have access to systems and data can intentionally or accidentally create vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers.
Third-party risks: Vendors often come along with risk, especially if they have unrestricted access to your systems, devices, and data.

Why Do You Need Attack Surface Monitoring Platforms Right Now?

Why is ASM so important in today’s cybersecurity landscape?

When attack surfaces grow, it creates more vulnerabilities for attackers to exploit — and thanks to issues like shadow IT, your security team may not even know the extent of your attack surface. Mapping your attack surface is a vital step in securing your data.

What is shadow IT?

Shadow IT is any technology being used by departments or individuals within a company without approval from your central information technology department. IT can’t protect technology it doesn’t know anything about. For this reason, shadow IT presents a major risk to organizations when it comes to attack surfaces.

How can your organization protect its attack surface?

Know your surface area: You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Inventory your digital and physical assets, including all systems, devices, and applications, as well as any shadow IT and technology used by remote workers. You can do this manually, or use scanning technology to help you get a better picture of your external threats.
Map your network: A complex IT infrastructure can be risky for your organization. By mapping your network, you can identify all the connections between your devices and applications, which will help identify potential attack vectors that an attacker can use to move laterally across your network.
Prioritize your vulnerabilities: It may not be possible to remediate all your vulnerabilities at once, but by knowing your attack surface you’ll be able to prioritize the risks that need mitigation immediately.