External Attack Surface Management (EASM)

As Gartner puts it, “External attack surface management (EASM) refers to the processes, technology and managed services deployed to discover internet-facing enterprise assets and systems and associated vulnerabilities which include exposed servers, credentials, public cloud service misconfigurations, deep dark web disclosures and third-party partner software code vulnerabilities that could be exploited by adversaries. EASM provides valuable risk context and actionable information through: Monitoring continuously for exposed assets and asset discovery for external-facing assets and systems Analysis to assess and prioritize the risks and vulnerabilities discovered External attack surface management is a top priority for security teams and security risk managers.”

FireCompass prioritizes External Attack Surface Management efforts by first assessing the risk levels of existing attack surface areas, and then determining the most effective mitigation strategies for each. It then prioritizes the remediation of the highest-risk areas to reduce the overall attack surface. The process includes identifying and classifying attack surface assets, mapping the attack surface, analyzing and assessing risk, and implementing mitigation strategies. FireCompass also offers various advisories and recommendations to improve the effectiveness of attack surface management efforts.

• – Strengthened cyber security posture: Continuous external attack surface management provides a comprehensive and continual picture of an organization’s external attack surface. This allows organizations to better identify and prioritize threats and vulnerabilities, and take proactive steps to address them.
• – Enhanced visibility: Continuous monitoring of the external attack surface provides a greater visibility into an organization’s cyber security posture, allowing for more efficient and effective security operations.
• – Improved compliance: By regularly assessing the external attack surface, organizations can ensure that their security measures comply with regulatory requirements and standards.
• – Reduced attack surface: Continuous external attack surface management helps organizations identify and address weaknesses in their external attack surface, reducing the risk of a successful attack.
• – Cost savings: By investing in a continuous external attack surface management process, organizations can save time and money by reducing the amount of manual labor required to scan and assess their attack surface.

An organization’s External attack surface management (EASM) refers to the processes, technology and managed services deployed to discover internet-facing enterprise assets/ systems and associated vulnerabilities like exposed servers, credentials, public cloud service misconfigurations, deep dark web disclosures that could be exploited by attackers.  On the other hand the internal attack surface represents everything inside an organization’s network that employees use.

FireCompass automates External Attack Surface Management by providing a centralized platform to identify and prioritize external attack surfaces and vulnerabilities. It uses machine learning and advanced analytics to continuously monitor and scan the external attack surfaces and identify potential threats. It also provides detailed reporting and analytics to help organizations gain better insights into their attack surface and take corrective actions accordingly. FireCompass also helps organizations to actively manage their external attack surface by providing patching advice, reporting, and remediation capabilities.

External Attack Surface Management can be an invaluable asset for small businesses. It can help them identify and mitigate potential risks to their online presence, allowing them to protect their customers’ data, their corporate data, and their intellectual property. This can also help small businesses remain up to date on the latest cybersecurity trends and technologies. Additionally, it can help them reduce their overall security costs as they can focus on preventing attacks instead of responding to them. Finally, it can help them ensure their compliance with industry standards and regulations.

• – Asset discovery and inventory: Identifying and cataloging all assets connected to the network that could be a potential target for an attack.
• – Network security: Establishing strong network security policies and procedures, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and access control.
• – Vulnerability assessment: Assessing the security of all assets to identify weaknesses and potential attack vectors.
• – Patch management: Installing, updating, and managing security patches and updates on assets.
  – Security monitoring: Monitoring network activity for suspicious or malicious activity.
• – Incident response: Developing an incident response plan and practicing incident response procedures.
• – Managing up and down: Providing metrics to risk owners and educating users and IT staff on security best practices.

External Attack Surface Management is a proactive approach to securing an organization’s external resources, such as websites, web applications, and cloud services. It involves scanning for potential vulnerabilities, monitoring for malicious activity, and responding quickly to any threats detected. Threat intelligence is information gathered from outside sources, such as hacker forums and dark web sources, to identify and anticipate potential threats. By leveraging threat intelligence, organizations can be better informed when it comes to external attack surface management, allowing them to proactively address potential threats before they become an issue.

External Attack Surface Management can be used to improve security posture by proactively identifying and addressing potential security vulnerabilities in external-facing systems, including web applications. This is done by scanning for known vulnerabilities, assessing current security controls, and conducting penetration tests. Additionally, external attack surface management helps organizations prioritize risk mitigation efforts by providing visibility into potential attack vectors, allowing organizations to focus their resources on the most critical risks. Finally, external attack surface management helps organizations stay up-to-date on the latest threats and trends, enabling them to better prepare for future attacks. In other words, it democratizes red teaming by distributing information to the entire organization.

• – Malware Attack Scenarios: FireCompass can detect exposed services, URLs, and misconfigurations, helping to identify susceptibility to malware initial access.
• – Web Application Attack Scenarios: FireCompass can detect sites for potential web application attacks, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and malicious code injection.
• – Exposed Services: FireCompass can detect and analyze exposed services, such as open ports and unpatched systems, which can be exploited by attackers.
• – Data Breach Scenarios: FireCompass can detect and analyze data breaches, helping to identify data theft and credential leaks.
• – Reputational Risk Scenarios: FireCompass can detect and analyze DNS records for reputational risks, such as brand misuse, phishing domains, and credentials leaks.

External Attack Surface Management works with endpoint security to identify, monitor, and protect all externally facing assets from external threats. This includes improper network placement, scanning for vulnerabilities, and patching any security holes in the systems exposed. Additionally, external attack surface management can be used to emulate external threat scenarios such as phishing attacks, malware injection, credential stuffing and web application attacks where endpoint controls may or may not be effective. The emulation of attacks can test these endpoint defenses before they are circumvented by attackers.

• – Number and severity of external vulnerabilities detected and patched.
• – Number of external assets correctly discovered and attributed.
• – Number of unused or unmanaged domains eliminated
• – Number of unused or unmanaged IPs eliminated
• – Percentage reduction in “Shadow IT”
• – Mean Time to resolution for external threats.
• – Number or percentage of external systems regularly patched.
• – Ratio of time spent on EASM tasks versus more valuable work.
• – Number of Asset Scans performed on a quarterly/yearly basis.
• – Percentage change in external attack surface.