Attack Path Analysis (APA) is a tactical cybersecurity discipline that moves beyond identifying static, isolated vulnerabilities to mapping the interconnected steps an adversary must take to compromise a mission-critical asset. In modern security operations, APA serves as the "connective tissue" that transforms raw technical data into a prioritized narrative of risk, identifying critical choke points where an attack can be disrupted.

How ThreatNG Powers Attack Path Analysis

ThreatNG functions as a centralized intelligence engine that iteratively correlates technical, social, and regulatory exposures into a structured threat model.

1. External Discovery (Unauthenticated Reconnaissance)

ThreatNG performs purely external, unauthenticated discovery without requiring internal connectors or agents. This "adversary view" identifies the organization's entire digital footprint, including forgotten subdomains, cloud environments, and non-human identities.

  • Example: ThreatNG can perform DNS enumeration to find CNAME records pointing to third-party services such as AWS S3 or GitHub Pages, thereby identifying "dangling DNS" states.

2. External Assessment (Detailed Risk Mapping)

Assessments quantify an organization's susceptibility across multiple vectors, providing A-F security ratings that include the following:

  • Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: Analyzes the absence of key security headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options). For example, a missing Content Security Policy (CSP) is considered a high-risk finding because it allows attackers to inject scripts to steal credentials.

  • Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility: Cross-references hostnames against a comprehensive vendor list (Cloud & Infrastructure, DevOps, etc.) to confirm if a resource is inactive and claimable by an attacker.

  • Non-Human Identity (NHI) Exposure: Assesses machine identities, such as leaked API keys and service accounts, that are invisible to internal tools but exploitable from the outside.

3. Investigation Modules (Deep-Dive Analysis)

ThreatNG uses specialized modules to provide granular evidence for attack path modeling that include the following:

  • Domain Intelligence: Discovers related SwaggerHub instances, enabling users to understand and test API functionality.

  • Sensitive Code Exposure: Scans public repositories for cloud credentials (AWS Secret Access Keys), configuration files (Terraform configs), and activity records (shell command histories).

  • Social Media Intelligence: Uses LinkedIn Discovery to identify employees susceptible to social engineering and Reddit Discovery to monitor technical help requests that may leak internal server configurations.

4. Attack Path Intelligence (DarChain)

The DarChain (Digital Attack Risk Contextual Hyper-Analysis Insights Narrative) is ThreatNG's sophisticated modeling tool. It maps out the precise exploit chain—from initial reconnaissance to impact—allowing security teams to move defense timelines upstream.

5. Intelligence Repositories (DarCache)

The DarCache provides a proactive, holistic approach to risk by understanding the real-world exploitability of threats that include the following:

  • DarCache Vulnerability: Integrates the NVD (severity), KEV (active exploitation), and EPSS (likelihood) to prioritize remediation on threats that are actively being weaponized.

  • DarCache Rupture & Dark Web: Continuously monitors underground markets for compromised credentials tied to the organization.

6. Continuous Monitoring and Reporting

ThreatNG provides constant oversight of the external attack surface and digital risk. Reports include executive and technical summaries, ransomware susceptibility ratings, and mappings of external GRC assessments to frameworks such as NIST CSF, GDPR, and PCI DSS.

Cooperation with Complementary Solutions

ThreatNG is designed to work in tandem with other cybersecurity categories to create a comprehensive defense posture:

  • EASM & SIEM/XDR: While ThreatNG identifies external entry points (e.g., an exposed API endpoint on a subdomain), a complementary SIEM (e.g., Splunk, Microsoft Defender) monitors the execution of an injection attack against that endpoint.

  • Attack Path Analysis & CNAPP: ThreatNG uncovers exposed cloud buckets and leaked AWS keys. A complementary Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) (e.g., Wiz, Orca Security) then takes those findings to map the internal lateral movement an attacker could take once inside the cloud environment.

  • Digital Risk Protection & IAM: ThreatNG discovers "Username Exposure" across forums and social media. This intelligence feeds into Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions (e.g., Okta, Auth0) to trigger mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) resets for those specific identities.

  • Vulnerability Management & EDR: ThreatNG identifies unpatched critical vulnerabilities on public-facing servers. Complementary Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tools (e.g., CrowdStrike, SentinelOne) can then prioritize monitoring those specific hosts for the post-exploitation behaviors detailed in ThreatNG's DarChain models.