Digital Attack Surface

Vulnerabilities are everywhere, and often, they're exploited. There are organisations who are struggling to define and secure an expanding cyberattack surface, hampering risk management efforts. A study revealed that three-quarters i.e., 73% of global organisations are worried about their growing attack surface. Over a third or 37% said it is ‘constantly evolving and messy,’ with only 51% able to fully define its extent.

An attack surface is essentially the entire external-facing area of your system. The model contains all of the attack vectors (or vulnerabilities) a hacker could use to gain access to your system and attack vectors are the landmarks on an attack surface. Each one represents vulnerabilities, such as access points, protocols, and services.

Whereas, the digital attack surface area encompasses all the hardware and software that connect to an organization's network. These include applications, code, ports, servers, and websites, as well as shadow IT, which sees users bypass IT to use unauthorized applications or devices.

Essentially, there are three main types of attack surfaces:

·Digital attack surface.

·Physical attack surface.

·Social engineering attack surface.

The Trendmicro report states that over two-fifths or 43% of respondents went further, admitting the digital attack surface is ‘spiralling out of control.’ Visibility challenges appear to be the main reason organisations are struggling to manage and understand cyber-risk in these environments.

Almost two-thirds i.e., 62% said they have blind spots that hamper security, with cloud environments cited as the most opaque. On average, respondents estimated having just 62% visibility of their attack surface.

These challenges are multiplied in global organisations. Two-thirds or 65% of respondents claimed that being an international enterprise that spans multiple jurisdictions makes managing the attack surface harder.

“IT modernisation over the past two years was a necessary response to the ravages of the pandemic, but in many cases, it unwittingly expanded the digital attack surface, giving threat actors more opportunities to compromise key assets.”

Going forward, “A unified, platform-based approach is the best way to minimise visibility gaps, enhance risk assessments and improve protection across these complex, distributed IT environments.”

The study also revealed that 54% of global organisations don’t believe their method of assessing risk exposure is sophisticated enough.