
Aurelija Einorytė
Cybersecurity
In cybersecurity, the term “attack surface” refers to every possible weak spot in your network that could open the door for attackers and jeopardize your system's security and privacy. It's easy to think that your IT department and sysadmins are responsible for vulnerability management. The reality is it's everyone's responsibility — from HR and marketing to sales and creatives. Read the article to learn about the types of attack surface and how to manage and reduce it.
An attack surface is all the vulnerabilities, possible entry points, or attack vectors that hackers can use to infiltrate a system or network and steal private information. The larger and more open the attack surface area, the easier it is for an attacker to penetrate and compromise a system. Therefore, organizations must understand their network's attack surface, address its weakest points, patch it, and minimize the risk of successful cyberattacks.
Cybersecurity experts distinguish three attack surface categories, including digital, physical, and social engineering attack surfaces.
A digital attack surface is the organization's hardware and software that an attacker can reach via an internet connection. The more apps, computers, smartphones, or even smart fridges the company uses, the bigger the digital attack surface grows. Each connection, login, and app creates a new "door" for a cybercriminal to get in through. The most common digital attack vectors include:
Strong passwords, regular software updates, or pristine configuration of your network won't protect your company from cybercriminals if a user loses their laptop, USB, or smartphone. If a hacker gets physical access to a company device, they can access all its sensitive data. The most common physical attack vectors are:
Social engineering attacks happen when hackers manipulate people or use trickery instead of cracking and hacking systems. Phishing is the best-known social engineering technique, where attackers send trustworthy-looking emails, texts, or voice messages. Their goal is to get people to click on malicious links, download malware, or hand over personal information. Sometimes they even pose as tech support to get people to share sensitive details. These scams are all about catching you off guard, so staying alert can save you from trouble.
Attack surface management (ASM) is a set of processes where the company's cybersecurity risk team takes the hacker's view and tests the attack surface of a network. The goal is to monitor system vulnerabilities that hackers could detect and exploit. The ASM process includes:
Threat exposure management platforms like NordStellar are created for this purpose. NordStellar detects loopholes in your organization's network's attack surface and responds to them before hackers do. Its goal is to secure corporate data, prevent account takeover attempts, monitor for data breaches, and stop unauthorized access to your internal systems by detecting stolen employee credentials.
The attack surface comprises all the possible entry points that attackers could use to break in, like open ports or outdated software. Attack vectors, on the other hand, are the tricks attackers use to get into systems, like phishing emails, malware, or drive-by downloads.
When defining the attack surface area, your main task is to assess every potential weakness and vulnerability that an attacker could target. Start by listing devices, apps, data storage, web servers, APIs, databases, firewalls, and physical devices connected to your network that your organization relies on. They all count when it comes to keeping the attack surface under control.
Also, don't forget the human error factor, which includes weak passwords or misconfigurations — these could easily become an entry point for an attacker.
Another critical step is to review the storage locations of the corporate data. Make sure all the data is kept separate. This way, even if the attacker does get in, they will not access everything in one go. System administrators can then decide who gets access to what and at what level.
Mapping and defining the attack surface gives you the full picture of how someone could gain unauthorized access to an internal system. Once you've got that, you can prioritize which areas need attention most.
Reducing the attack surface requires both the company's and employees' effort. Follow the tips below to minimize your attack surface:
Contact the NordStellar team to protect your employee and customer data. We’ll keep an eye on your attack surface, spot vulnerabilities, and alert you so you can take action in time.
An attack surface is a sum of all potential entry points that an attacker could exploit. Meanwhile, a threat is anything that could harm your system or data. In other words, the attack surface is what an attacker could target, while a threat is what could exploit those targets.
An attack surface is a set of various network vulnerabilities and weaknesses that hackers can exploit to gain unauthorized access to private information. An attack tree, on the other hand, is a diagram that outlines the attack paths someone could take to exploit those vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
An attack surface is measured by identifying and analyzing possible organizational threats. The process requires a thorough analysis of the system's entry points, a well-thought-out list of security measures, and how a successful attack could impact the organization.