Without taking a critical eye to the status quo, organizations can become complacent, and in doing so inadvertently shift into a dangerous lane with fewer offramps. We have recently been heavily invested in improving how organizations measure exposure beyond data feeds, by providing a complete end-to-end capability to identify and measure exposure based on complete context. The below summarizes the tools and data points that have been found to be the most effective in understanding exposure to threats.
The Inadequacy of Surface-Level Analysis
The conventional methodology of evaluating cyber exposure — largely reliant on aggregating and reacting to trend-based vulnerability data — falls short of offering the nuanced insights required for effective cybersecurity management. This objective data aggregation and analysis is often unable to be incorporated with internal network connectivity, the specific vulnerabilities within, and the contextual factors that significantly influence exploitation capabilities. While trends may serve as a predictor of which threats a business is most likely to face, the reality is that the enterprise network has layers of network and security controls to prevent the majority of attacks. The challenge for organizations is to understand the handful of alerts out of the thousands they receive that impose an immediate or unacceptable amount of risk based on business impact.
The Core Capabilities for Comprehensive Exposure Analysis
To transcend these limitations, a multifaceted approach is essential—one that incorporates the following core capabilities:
- Integration of Diverse Data Sources: The foundation of a robust exposure analysis framework is the integration of security and telemetry data with traditional IT asset management. This integration facilitates a holistic view of the cyber landscape, marrying the detailed understanding of each asset’s risk profile with vulnerability and security control data sources to understand assets, their ownership, risk, and likelihood of exploitation of vulnerabilities based on compensating controls.
- Advanced Attack Surface Mapping: Going beyond mere asset cataloging, attack surface mapping delves into the comprehensive assessment of all potential entry or extraction points within a network. This approach leverages all available security tools to paint a detailed picture of an organization’s security posture, prioritizing risks based on their actual impact rather than abstract severity scores. Understanding whether cyber assets are direct or indirect dependencies of applications based on network connections provides another layer of refinement to understand how significant exposure is.
- Deep Contextual Insight: A profound understanding of each asset’s interconnectivity, ownership, risk profile, and dependencies is non-negotiable. Such depth of insight ensures that vulnerabilities are not assessed in isolation but are considered within the full context of their network environment and potential business impact. The outcome of this is informed vulnerability prioritization based on business impact as opposed to a volumetric approach with varying and often immeasurable results.
- Dynamic Management of the Attack Surface: In the face of constantly evolving networks, the capacity to adaptively manage the attack surface is key. This involves not only the continuous monitoring of assets but also the ability to track changes in their statuses and relationships, thereby maintaining an up-to-date view of the attack surface.
Moving Beyond Traditional Paradigms
The transition to this comprehensive model of exposure analysis demands a shift in perspective—from viewing cybersecurity as a series of disconnected tasks to understanding it as a coherent, integrated process. This paradigm shift is not trivial; it requires the seamless fusion of disparate data sources, the adoption of sophisticated analytical tools, and a commitment to continuous adaptation in the face of an ever-changing cyber threat landscape.
The Practical Path Forward
For organizations looking to implement an improved approach to exposure analysis, the path forward involves several practical steps:
- Leverage Existing Technologies: Utilize the full spectrum of security and IT management tools at your disposal, ensuring they are tightly integrated to provide a unified view of your cyber assets.
- Prioritize Contextual Analysis: Focus on developing a deep, context-rich understanding of your network and assets. This involves not just knowing what assets you have, but understanding their roles, vulnerabilities, and interdependencies within your network.
- Adopt a Dynamic Approach: Embrace the reality that your cyber environment is in a state of constant flux. Implement systems and processes that allow for the real-time tracking and analysis of changes to your assets and their exposure levels.
Conclusion
With the right approach to exposure analysis — one that emphasizes the integration of diverse data sources, advanced attack surface mapping, deep contextual insights, and dynamic management practices — organizations can both optimize their operations, derive greater value from their existing tools, and monitor, measure, and report on business risk reduction. By doing so, they move closer to achieving a cybersecurity posture that proactively aligns with their unique business context and security needs.
Your assets are everywhere—so are your tools. appNovi brings everything together, providing a holistic perspective of your security posture and an authoritative, contextualized data source to embed in your existing workflows, optimizing security processes.
