Your organization’s attack surface means the sum of all the possible entry points cybercriminals could use to access your systems and data.
Think of your home. Every door and window could be a way in for intruders, and the more of them you have, the higher your risk.
Similarly, each of your organization’s apps, systems, networks, cloud services, devices, data centers, and so on, could be a way in for cybercriminals looking to steal data or disrupt your operations.
The goal of managing your attack surface is to minimize the number of entry points cybercriminals could use to launch an attack.
This isn’t only about technology – the human factor is also vital. Your cybersecurity also depends on people across your organization understanding the risks, handling data carefully, and following best practices every day.
Managing your attack surface is vital for organizations of all sizes
The larger and more complex your organization is, the larger your attack surface will likely be. However, that doesn’t mean smaller organizations can relax.
As the Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report observes, large enterprises and small and midsize businesses (SMBs) increasingly use similar services and infrastructure. This means their attack surfaces are increasingly alike.
However, if they suffer an attack, SMBs are likely to have more limited resources to deal with the consequences. This makes attack surface management even more vital for smaller organizations.
The types of attack surface
Your organization’s attack surface is made up of three key areas:
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Physical attack surface: Your physical equipment, such as computers and devices, server rooms, and data centers.
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Digital attack surface: Your IT systems. This includes public-facing assets like your websites, networks, APIs, and cloud storage. It also includes your shadow IT. This means any personal devices that your colleagues use for work without the knowledge or authorization of your IT team.
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Human (or social engineering) attack surface: People are critical to your organization’s security. For example, it’s vital that they’re constantly on the alert for potential phishing and avoid giving away their login credentials or other sensitive data to cybercriminals.
Your attack surface can be further classified as:
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External: Publicly accessible assets, such as domains, exposed databases, and cloud services. These are high risk because they’re visible outside your organization.
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Internal: This includes your internal systems, which must be configured and updated. It also includes potential insider threats. These threats range from mistakes, like accidentally emailing confidential information to the wrong people, to deliberate sabotage.
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Dynamic: Remote working, third-party integrations, and cloud environments can make attack surfaces fluid and extensible. Since your attack surface will change over time, you need to assess and manage it continually.
How to understand your attack surface
The first step is to audit your organization’s physical, digital, and human environments. Map your devices, systems, and data, and identify all the points where cybercriminals could gain access. For example:
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Hardware, including computers, devices, servers, and printers.
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Software and apps, including cloud and on-premises systems and shadow IT.
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Network Infrastructure, switches, firewalls, and so on.
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Cloud and on-premises systems.
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People’s day-to-day habits and security awareness. Cybercheck can help. With our solution, you can monitor your organization for risky practices such as weak or duplicated passwords.
How to minimize your attack surface
When you’ve understood your attack surface, you work to reduce it and give cybercriminals fewer potential ways in. For example:
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Ensure all your software and operating systems are regularly updated: Updates fix known vulnerabilities.
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Control access using the principle of least privilege: Ensure that people in your organization have access only to the data and systems they really need to perform their roles.
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Segment your networks to isolate critical systems and data: If cybercriminals attack, ensure they won’t be able to run riot across your entire network.
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Eliminate needless complexity: Remove obsolete or unused software and devices, close down redundant user accounts, and so on.
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Model potential threats and attack scenarios: This allows you to prepare your defenses.
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Run regular network scans: Ensure you have full visibility of your attack surface and scan regularly for potential issues on cloud and on-premises networks.
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Provide security awareness training: Ensure everyone in your organization, at all levels, understands cybersecurity risks and their role in keeping the organization safe.
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Use a real-time credential monitoring solution, such as Cybercheck. We constantly scan for compromised email addresses, passwords, physical addresses, identity profiles, financial data, and more. If cybercriminals are trading information about you or your organization, we alert you right away. That means you can change passwords and block access before attackers can strike.
