As cyber threats continue to evolve and expand, organizations in 2024 must fortify their defenses. One key aspect of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy in 2024 is External Attack Surface Management (EASM).
This approach involves the continuous discovery, assessment, and mitigation of vulnerabilities and threats that exist outside an organization's traditional network perimeter. EASM can help organizations especially SMBs, to protect themselves against a variety of cyber threats, such as targeted attacks and opportunistic exploits, by focusing on it. This article explores the importance of EASM as an inseparable part of the 2024 cybersecurity strategy, highlighting its benefits and key statistics.
External Attack Surface can be likened to the Trojan War, where the wooden horse serves as a metaphor for potential threats and the external attack surface represents the inside of the city walls.
In the Trojan War, the Greeks used the wooden horse as a deceptive tactic to breach the city's defenses. Similarly, in cybersecurity, potential threats are like the wooden horse, appearing harmless or beneficial but hiding malicious intent.
In this analogy, the external attack surface, which represents the inside of the city walls, is continuously monitored and assessed for vulnerabilities and anomalies. Organizations must continuously discover and assess their assets to protect against potential attacks.
What is External Attack Surface?
All the points where an attacker can potentially exploit a system is known as External Attack Surface. Managing the external attack surface requires identifying, assessing, and mitigating these points to decrease the risk of cybersecurity attacks in cybersecurity.
Why do you need External Attack Surface Management?
Modern AppSec teams are discovering that External Attack Surface Management (EASM) is more valuable than traditional Application Security tools.
EASM enables organizations to identify and prioritize vulnerabilities beyond their network perimeter by addressing gaps that conventional testing solutions fail to address.
Since 2020, purchases have increased from 30% to 95%, making EASM the ideal choice for continuous monitoring and visibility into external threats, which can lead to proactive risk mitigation and stronger cybersecurity defenses.
What are the capabilities that EASM typically has?
External Attack Surface Management (EASM) solutions usually have multiple capabilities to effectively protect modern technology stacks and tackle the ever-evolving cyber threat landscape. Here are some of them:
Discovery and Inventory. EASM solutions scan and detect all assets, including domains, subdomains, IP addresses, and cloud resources, to provide a comprehensive view of the external attack surface.
Vulnerability Assessment. EASM tools identify and assess vulnerabilities in the external attack surface, including misconfigurations, outdated software, and other potential security weaknesses.
Threat Intelligence Integration. EASM solutions integrate with threat intelligence feeds to identify known malicious actors, indicators of compromise (IOCs), and other relevant threat information.
Continuous Monitoring. EASM solutions continuously monitor the external attack surface for changes and new vulnerabilities, providing real-time alerts and notifications.
Testing the modern tech stack EASM solutions focus on tools and strategies that protect the modern tech stack, ensuring that vulnerabilities specific to newer technologies are identified and mitigated.
Crowdsourcing vulnerabilities. Providers can obtain up to 99.7% accuracy in identifying vulnerabilities through payload-based testing, which utilizes payloads from elite ethical hackers.
Customer-specific risk assessment. The unique business context of each customer is considered when prioritizing remedial efforts, and vulnerabilities that do not pose a real risk to the organization are not flagged.
Comprehensive patch management. This is recommended that companies to consider patch management as a part of their cybersecurity strategy, ensuring that vulnerabilities are addressed in the context of overall security measures.
Attack Surface Reduction. EASM tools provide recommendations for reducing the external attack surface, such as consolidating domains, removing unnecessary services, and implementing security best practices.
Integration with Other Security Tools: EASM solutions integrate with other security tools, such as vulnerability management platforms and SIEM solutions, to provide a unified view of security posture and streamline remediation efforts.
Reporting and Analytics. EASM solutions generate reports and analytics to help organizations understand their external attack surface, prioritize vulnerabilities, and track remediation progress.
Compliance and Regulatory Support. EASM solutions help organizations comply with industry regulations and standards by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities that could lead to compliance violations.
EASM: Key Statistics
Highest vulnerabilities discovered in 2023 by region North America, South America, The Nordics, UKI (United Kingdom and Ireland), Southern Europe, DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), Oceania
Top vulnerabilities in the Gaming industry Metabase Installer Exposure, PHP "Zerodium" Backdoor RCE, DNS Hijacking using Expired Domain, Google Cloud Storage Bucket Directory Listing, SSL/TLS X.509 Hostname Mismatch Certificate
Top vulnerabilities in the Internet Software & Services (SaaS) industry Adobe AEM Query Builder Exposure, DNS Hijacking using Amazon Route53, Open Redirect, Directory Listing, CVE-2021-40438: Apache mod_proxy SSRF
Top vulnerabilities in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry Adobe AEM CRX Explorer Exposure, Subdomain Takeover using Gemfury, Adobe AEM Denial-of-Service via Flushing Cached Pages, CVE-2021-40438: Apache mod_proxy SSRF, Adobe Experience Manager CRX Search Exposed, GraphQL Introspection Enabled
Top vulnerabilities in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry Adobe AEM Query Builder Exposure, DNS Hijacking using Amazon Route53, Open Redirect, Directory Listing, CVE-2021-40438: Apache mod_proxy SSRF
Top vulnerabilities in the Public Sector SQL Injection in PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, Microsoft, IBM DB2, Mini Profiler Exposure, Statamic Configuration Exposure, CVE-2009-3555: SSL/TLS Insecure Renegotiation
Top vulnerabilities in the Banking & Financial Services Git Configuration Exposure, SQL Injection, Google Cloud Storage Bucket Directory Listing, CVE-2021-40438: Apache mod_proxy SSRF
Top vulnerabilities in North America SSL/TLS X.509 Hostname Mismatch Certificate, SSL/TLS X.509 Certificate Expired, Apache Server Status Exposure, WordPress Full Path Disclosure, Twenty Sixteen Theme, Google Cloud Storage Bucket Directory Listing, Directory Listing
Top vulnerabilities in South America SSL/TLS X.509 Hostname Mismatch Certificate, SSL/TLS X.509 Certificate Expired, DNS Hijacking using Amazon Route53, OpenAPI Specification Exposure
Top vulnerabilities in the Nordic region SSL/TLS X.509 Hostname Mismatch Certificate, SSL/TLS X.509 Certificate Expired, NPM Packages Disclosure, Open Redirect, PHP-Info Exposure
Top vulnerabilities in the UKI region SSL/TLS X.509 Hostname Mismatch Certificate, SSL/TLS X.509 Certificate Expired, Statamic Configuration Exposure, Directory Listing, CVE-2009-3555: SSL/TLS Insecure Renegotiation
Top vulnerabilities in Southern Europe SSL/TLS X.509 Hostname Mismatch Certificate, Access Log Exposure, Prometheus Metrics Exposure, CVE-2021-40438: Apache mod_proxy SSRF
Top vulnerabilities in the DACH region SSL/TLS X.509 Hostname Mismatch Certificate, Path-based XSS, Mixed Content, SSL/TLS X.509 Certificate Expired, Java Stack Trace, Apache HTTP Server Icon Leakage
Why Integrate External Attack Surface Management into Your 2024 Cybersecurity Strategy?
In 2024, External Attack Surface Management (EASM) will be essential for your cybersecurity strategy because it addresses key challenges.
CVSS Limitations: EASM provides a dynamic approach to vulnerability prioritization, overcoming the limitations of traditional metrics like CVSS.
High-Fidelity Assessments: EASM tools offer detailed and accurate assessments, enabling better prioritization and remediation of vulnerabilities.
Crowdsourced Security Research: EASM allows you to leverage ethical hackers' expertise, identifying and mitigating risks more effectively.
Conclusion
In conclusion, External Attack Surface Management is a critical component of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy in 2024. EASM is a useful tool for identifying, assessing, and mitigating vulnerabilities and threats in your external attack surface, you can better protect your organization against cyber threats and enhance your overall security posture.
