Attack Surface Management 2022 Midyear Review Part 3

With the rise of ransomware and other vulnerabilities, it has been an eventful year in cybersecurity. In part two, we discussed these issues at length today as well as their implications on a global scale for both businesses large (and small).

In the last and final part of the series, we talk about how malicious actors take advantage of cloud tunnelling and how misconfiguration remains a headache for most organization.

Malicious Actors Abuse Cloud Tunneling

Cloud technologies are powerful tools that can be used to enhance an organization’s efficiency and provide greater security. However, the lack of visibility into deployed assets by IT teams and security staff may present challenges when managing these systems. It leaves room for attackers who use unconventional methods at their disposal—attacks that would otherwise go unnoticed without full access monitoring capabilities.

We recently observed malicious actors abusing cloud tunnels, a service used by both individuals and businesses. This service is used to expose the internal systems to the internet by relaying traffic through cloud-based infrastructure. In enterprise settings, these kinds of services are used by developers to test and deploy code, as well as to make certain services available to select users on the internet. In other words, cloud tunnelling serves as a convenient tool that allows users to deploy local development services without needing to configure network firewalls and register domain names.

Cloud Misconfiguration Remains an Issue for Organizations

The container market is expected to grow over the next five years, making it one of if not the fastest growing segments in cybersecurity. However, it also poses potential risks along with any security flaws within individual components that make up these platforms themselves.

For companies’ business processes to continue flowing smoothly while they’re being attacked by outside sources intent on causing harm – whether through hacking or simply leveraging vulnerabilities already present-it’s imperative we start thinking more about how best to protect our systems.

Misconfigured container software remains a significant issue for many organizations. According to a survey from Red Hat encompassing over 300 DevOps, engineering, and security professionals, 53% of the respondents detected a misconfiguration in their container and/or Kubernetes deployment.

Keeping your business future-proof

The current state of cybersecurity is a scramble for resources as organizations try to cover every gap. This trend will only grow with remote work and hybrid arrangements, which are both on the rise among employees. The increasing sophistication of malware has made it harder for cybercriminals and even legitimate software developers alike. To stay ahead in this game, threat actors now exploit multiple parts on the attack surface with each campaign.

The evolution of ransomware from the more innocuous attacks of yesteryear to the double—and even triple extortion schemes of today means that defending systems against modern ransomware families cannot be viewed as anything less than a top priority. In the same vein, widespread technologies such as cloud services, where organizations do not physically control the infrastructure, must still rely on the shared responsibility model for effective security.

The discovery of an organization’s attack surface is the first step in attack surface management (ASM). Assets should be examined and assessed for vulnerabilities. Risk levels from different sources (e.g., threats or obsolete technology), and available security controls that offset those risks should also be evaluated all before designing a plan to maintain your company’s safety.

The best way to protect your company from cyber attacks is by understanding the risks. ASM helps enterprises understand their exposure, helping them avoid costly mistakes that could result in data breaches or other major problems down the line.

Proper security protocols and best practices go a long way toward helping businesses protect their system from attacks. Organizations should also prioritize updating their software as soon as possible to minimize the chance of attackers successfully exploiting vulnerabilities in their systems. Other options, such as virtual patching, can help organizations protect their machines while they wait for vendors to provide security updates.

Moreover, having a single platform that covers the entire attack surface is an ideal solution for organizations with limited resources. With this comprehensive security system, companies can gain complete visibility over their desired assets and track indicators across different layers to focus on what matters most in any given situation – like threats or vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, unified platforms are especially beneficial because they provide multi-layered protection against cyberattacks while helping reduce expenditures elsewhere.

To learn more about how you can future-proof your enterprise and its cybersecurity framework, check out our innovative, forward-looking solutions.