Actionable Audit Findings
Actionable audit findings in cybersecurity are the results of a security audit presented in a way that an organization can easily understand and take concrete steps to address. They go beyond simply identifying a problem; they provide the necessary context and guidance to resolve it effectively.
Here are the key characteristics of actionable audit findings:
Clear and Concise: The findings are written in plain language, avoiding technical jargon that might be difficult for non-security personnel to understand.
Specific: They pinpoint the exact issue, including the affected systems, applications, or processes. Vague findings are not actionable.
Prioritized: Findings are ranked based on severity and potential organizational impact. This helps organizations focus on the most critical issues first.
Contextualized: The findings explain why the issue is a risk, its potential consequences, and how it could be exploited.
Reproducible: The steps to reproduce the finding are documented, allowing the organization to verify the issue.
Remediation-Focused: Actionable findings include specific, practical recommendations on how to fix the identified problem.
Aligned with Standards: They often reference relevant security standards, frameworks, or best practices to provide further context and justification for the recommended actions.
Assigned Ownership: Each finding is assigned to a specific person or team responsible for addressing it.
Trackable: There's a mechanism to track the progress of remediation efforts and ensure that all findings are addressed promptly.
Here's how ThreatNG helps in generating actionable audit findings:
ThreatNG's external discovery capabilities provide a comprehensive view of the organization's external-facing assets, enabling actionable findings.
By identifying all domains, subdomains, applications, and other external resources, ThreatNG ensures that the audit scope is well-defined, which is the first step to generating specific and contextualized findings.
For instance, the Domain Intelligence module discovers all subdomains, which helps auditors understand the full extent of the web presence and identify potential risk areas.
ThreatNG's external assessment modules provide detailed evaluations of various security risks, going beyond simply identifying vulnerabilities to giving context and prioritization.
Examples:
Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: ThreatNG doesn't just flag potential hijack vulnerabilities; it analyzes the external attack surface to pinpoint the specific entry points attackers could use. This specificity makes the finding more actionable.
Code Secret Exposure: ThreatNG identifies exposed code repositories and their specific sensitive data (e.g., API keys, credentials). This level of detail allows for targeted remediation.
Mobile App Exposure: ThreatNG pinpoints the exact credentials and identifiers exposed within mobile apps, enabling developers to address the specific vulnerabilities.
3. Reporting
ThreatNG's reporting is designed to deliver actionable findings.
Reports include:
Risk levels: This helps organizations prioritize findings based on severity.
Reasoning: This provides context by explaining why a finding is a risk.
Recommendations: This offers specific guidance on how to remediate the issue.
Reference links: This provides additional resources for further investigation.
This comprehensive reporting ensures that organizations not only know what the problem is but also why it's a problem and how to fix it.
ThreatNG's continuous monitoring ensures that findings remain actionable over time.
By providing ongoing visibility into the external attack surface, ThreatNG helps organizations track their progress in remediating findings and identify any new issues.
ThreatNG's investigation modules provide the detailed information needed to take action on audit findings.
Examples:
Domain Intelligence: If a finding relates to a subdomain takeover risk, this module provides the tools to investigate the subdomain's configuration and identify the specific vulnerability.
Sensitive Code Exposure: If a finding involves exposed credentials in a code repository, this module helps security teams pinpoint the exact location of the leak and understand the potential impact.
ThreatNG's intelligence repositories provide context that makes findings more actionable.
For example, information on ransomware events and dark web activity can help organizations understand the real-world threats associated with their vulnerabilities and prioritize remediation efforts accordingly.
7. Working with Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG's actionable findings can be readily integrated into other security tools and workflows.
For example, ThreatNG's prioritized list of vulnerabilities can be fed into a vulnerability management system to track remediation efforts and promptly address the most critical issues.
In summary, ThreatNG is designed to deliver actionable audit findings by providing detailed, contextualized, and prioritized information about external security risks.
