What is the attack surface? It is a total of the vulnerabilities present in any system. Attackers could then use these vulnerabilities to steal/destroy information. An attack surface management solution can scan a given network to find the vulnerabilities within any system. Finding them is crucial in securing a system because that gives one ultimate control over one's assets.
Discovering the attack surfaces
It is a well-known fact that the greater the complexity of a system, the greater is the vulnerability. And this process becomes increasingly difficult with the size of data one network handles. Even the best of systems administrators tend to overlook vulnerabilities that would later lead to an exploit. With the right tools at hand, the systems administrators can automate this process, focusing on the more important part – the problem resolution.
The initial step is the identification and enumeration of all assets on a network. This step creates a list of all the assets and identifies the risk associated with each of them.
Once such a list is made, system administrators can choose to work on the most significant vulnerabilities first, thereby making the network increasingly stronger and secure. Networks these days require continuous maintenance, and therefore it is highly dynamic, and so is the presence of vulnerabilities present in the network at any given point in time.
Network Segmentation adds the next layer of security. A neatly segmented network would slow down any potential attacker by reducing the number of network assets available per segment. Segmentation also makes it easier for network administrators to view and assess the systems' performance health in real-time and perform the necessary actions when they are required.
See your stuff before others do
In a highly competitive customer-centric world, it is of paramount importance to design the business website and its architecture in a highly user-friendly manner. Consequently, the network is forced to undergo many changes, making it easier than ever for the vulnerabilities to creep in. There is only one way to ace the game here – it is to be prepared for everything that could happen. And that involves attack surface reduction: finding and minimizing attack surfaces when they appear.
Two essential steps will ensure this: attack surface mapping and attack surface analysis. They make sure that attack surface visibility is at a minimum. It is an exhausting process, and one requires all the help one possibly could help to stay ahead of the threats and hackers trying to exploit every vulnerability they come across.
Installing, operating and handling the licenses of all the software—a business needs is a hectic task in itself, and this is where the SaaS delivery model comes in. SaaS, short for software as a service, enables the business owners to remotely get all the protection components. It saves those valuable hours of installation and configuration for you. It, therefore, gives one more time to focus on better things that matter – improving the quality of service of one's business.
Dark Web Monitoring
The internet is a very complex space. With millions of websites spread across multitudes of servers spread worldwide, keeping track of stuff that happens online is a huge task. What is more interesting is that all the internet resources on the internet accessible to search engines like google, bing, etc., are just the tip of the iceberg, often called the surface web or the open web.
More than 90% of internet resources are not even accessible to these search engines and common browsers like chrome, firefox, etc. These resources are said to be on the Deep Web. Within the deep web is even lesser-known cyberspace called the dark web. The dark web resources are protected behind several proxy server layers and are inaccessible to an average netizen. This anonymity makes the dark web a haven for primarily illegal activities like the sale of private information acquired through data breaches, the sale of contraband items like drugs, and much more.
Data security and database integrity should be of paramount importance on any network, and dark web monitoring is quintessential to identifying and thereby successfully preventing a potential data breach. It requires concrete tools built for this job. Critical data like usernames, passwords, credit card details, and other private details fetch more value in this age of information than one could imagine. One needs the best security service in the industry to keep their business on its feet, always.
Better safe than sorry should be the motto, given the fierce competition out there in the market. With attack surface management, one can now focus on building the business – tension free!
