The Keys to the Kingdom Left on the Front Porch: Why Public Cloud Images Are the Ultimate "Game Over"
For Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), the nightmare scenario isn't a sophisticated zero-day exploit or a nation-state attack. It’s a simple human error that bypasses every firewall, EDR, and SIEM you have deployed.
The error? A DevOps engineer accidentally toggled a setting from "Private" to "Public."
This one click can expose an entire Amazon Machine Image (AMI), an EBS Snapshot, or anAzure Disk to the world. It is the cloud equivalent of losing a corporate laptop, except the "laptop" is a perfect, frozen clone of your client's production server.
Most Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools miss this because they only look inside the accounts they are connected to. But attackers look outside, scanning public marketplaces for these "orphan" assets. Here is why ThreatNG is the critical "Zero-Touch" audit layer you need to find these catastrophic leaks before an attacker does.
The Anatomy of a Leak: The "Master Clone"
To understand the severity, consider what an AMI or Snapshot actually is. It’s not just data; it’s the Master Clone of a server.
It contains everything:
The Operating System and file structure.
The proprietary source code.
The database files.
Crucially: The configuration secrets (SSH keys, AWS credentials, environment variables).
When this image is accidentally set to "Public," it appears in the Global Catalog. Any AWS or Azure customer worldwide can search for your client's company name and find this disk image listed as a resource they can use.
The Attack Chain: Hostile Resurrection
Attackers don't need to "hack" a public image. They simply launch it.
Catalog Surfing: The attacker searches the public AWS/Azure catalog for keywords like your client's name or project codes (aws ec2 describe-images --owners all --filters "Name=name,Values=*client-name*").
The Resurrection: They spin up a virtual machine in their own private cloud account using your client's public image as the boot disk.
The Looting: They mount the disk and browse the file system as root. They extract high-value files like /home/user/.ssh/id_rsa (Private SSH Keys) or ~/.aws/credentials (Cloud Access Keys).
The Invasion: Using the stolen keys, they pivot from the "dead" backup to your client's "live" production environment, often with Administrator privileges.
This is a "Game Over" scenario. The attacker has bypassed the perimeter defenses because they have the legitimate keys to the front door.
Your "Why" for ThreatNG: Catastrophic Risk Prevention
Your clients rely on you to catch the mistakes that could end their business. ThreatNG provides "Outside-In" visibility to detect these public exposures without requiring permissions or agents.
The "Game Over" Finder: We find the assets that should be private but are publicly listed. We allow you to alert the client before a ransomware group launches a clone of their production server.
Zero-Touch Auditing: Because we scan the public marketplaces externally, we catch errors in "Shadow" accounts or personal developer accounts that your internal CSPM tools can't see.
Supply Chain Defense: We monitor for "Trojan Images"—malicious clones of your client's software posted by attackers to trick internal developers into using compromised infrastructure (AMI Typosquatting).
The Questions Every MSSP Should Ask
To differentiate your service and prove your value, ask your prospects these hard questions:
"If a developer accidentally made a production snapshot 'Public' today, would we catch it without login access to that specific account?" If the answer is no, you have a massive blind spot. ThreatNG closes it.
"Could we win a bid by showing a prospect their own server image?" Imagine the impact of walking into a sales meeting and saying, "We found this Disk Image labeled 'Prod-Backup-2025' available for free download. If we can see it, so can the attackers." That is the ultimate proof of value.
"Are we checking for 'Trojan Images' targeting your developers?" Standard vulnerability scanners ignore the risk of attackers uploading backdoored images that appear to be your client's official releases. ThreatNG polices the marketplace for these impostors.
Securing the Public Cloud: A Call to Action
A public cloud image is a silent catastrophe waiting to happen. It renders your firewalls and endpoint protection useless because the attacker isn't breaking in; they are logging in.
ThreatNG empowers MSSPs to police the public cloud catalogs, identifying these exposed "Master Clones" and securing the keys to the kingdom before they fall into the wrong hands.
