CDE Exposure Intelligence
In the context of cybersecurity, CDE Exposure Intelligence refers to the specialized subset of digital risk intelligence explicitly focused on identifying, analyzing, and understanding all external-facing vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and sensitive data exposures that could directly or indirectly impact an organization's Cardholder Data Environment (CDE). The CDE is the critical network segment or system that stores, processes, or transmits payment card data.
CDE Exposure Intelligence moves beyond generic vulnerability scanning to provide actionable insights into how an attacker might perceive and exploit an organization's external posture to gain access to, or compromise, the highly sensitive cardholder data. It aims to answer questions like:
Where is the CDE externally visible? This includes identifying all public IP addresses, domains, subdomains, cloud services, and third-party connections that might directly or indirectly interact with payment card data.
What vulnerabilities or misconfigurations on these external assets could lead to CDE compromise? This involves looking for open ports, outdated software, missing security headers, insecure APIs, or exposed administrative interfaces that, if exploited, could provide a pathway to the CDE.
Is sensitive data, related to payment operations, being inadvertently exposed externally? This covers leaked credentials, code secrets, or cardholder data found in public repositories, cloud storage, or archived web pages.
Are there external threats specifically targeting the organization's CDE or payment processes? This includes monitoring for brand impersonation, phishing domains, and ransomware group activities that could impact the CDE through social engineering or direct attacks.
What is the security posture of third-party vendors with access to or influence over the CDE? It is crucial to assess their external risk exposure, as supply chain compromises are a common attack vector.
Key components of CDE Exposure Intelligence include:
External Asset Discovery: Continuously mapping an organization's internet-facing digital footprint to identify all potential entry points, including those previously unknown (shadow IT).
Vulnerability and Misconfiguration Assessment: Analyzing discovered assets for security weaknesses that could be exploited to reach the CDE, such as insecure web applications, exposed sensitive ports, or weak authentication mechanisms.
Data Leakage Detection: Monitoring for the unintended exposure of sensitive information (e.g., credentials, keys, or payment data) in public repositories, cloud storage, or the dark web.
Digital Risk Monitoring: Tracking threats like phishing, brand impersonation, and ransomware activity that could indirectly or directly compromise the CDE.
Third-Party Risk Evaluation (External): Assessing the external attack surface and digital risk of an organization's vendors and partners interacting with the CDE.
By providing this focused intelligence, organizations can proactively identify and remediate external risks, strengthen their CDE's perimeter, and ensure ongoing compliance with standards like PCI DSS. It helps prioritize security efforts where they matter most – protecting sensitive payment card data.
ThreatNG is an all-in-one solution for external attack surface management, digital risk protection, and security ratings that can significantly help organizations gain CDE exposure intelligence. It achieves this by focusing on the external, attacker-centric view of an organization's digital footprint.
External Discovery & Continuous Monitoring
ThreatNG performs purely external, unauthenticated discovery, meaning it identifies assets and risks from an attacker's perspective without needing connectors. This is critical for CDE Exposure Intelligence because it uncovers unknown or rogue assets that might be storing, processing, or transmitting cardholder data (CHD). ThreatNG monitors an organization's external attack surface, digital risk, and security ratings. This ongoing monitoring ensures that new exposures or changes to existing assets that could impact the CDE's security are immediately identified and incorporated into the CDE exposure intelligence.
Examples of ThreatNG's help:
Identifying Unknown Exposed Systems: ThreatNG can discover "Applications Identified" and login pages that the organization may not have been aware of, which were externally accessible. If these applications handle CHD, their discovery is vital for CDE Exposure Intelligence to ensure they are inventoried and secured according to PCI DSS Requirement 1.4.2. ThreatNG's continuous discovery helps ensure all such interfaces are known, tracked, and subject to proper security governance.
Detecting New Vulnerable Services: Through continuous monitoring, ThreatNG can identify newly exposed services on "Custom Port Scan" results or "Default Port Scan" findings. If these ports are open to sensitive services that could lead to the CDE, ThreatNG's identification allows for proactive security measures, preventing potential entry points for attackers.
ThreatNG performs a variety of external assessments that directly contribute to CDE Exposure Intelligence by highlighting potential attack vectors and data leakage points:
Cyber Risk Exposure: This assessment considers parameters like certificates, subdomain headers, vulnerabilities, and sensitive ports. It also factors in "Code Secret Exposure," which involves discovering code repositories and investigating their contents for sensitive data. These are all critical components of understanding external exposure that could lead to CDE compromise.
Example: ThreatNG detecting "Invalid Certificates" on a public-facing web application highlights a weakness in cryptographic protection (PCI DSS 4.2.1). This informs CDE Exposure Intelligence about a potential vulnerability to be exploited for man-in-the-middle attacks, potentially affecting CHD in transit.
Example: The discovery of "Private IPs Found" in public DNS reveals internal network architecture. ThreatNG identified this information, which can bypass network segmentation, making it a critical piece of CDE Exposure Intelligence as it exposes systems crucial for protecting cardholder data (PCI DSS 1.1.1).
Cloud and SaaS Exposure: ThreatNG evaluates sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud services and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions, including identifying "Open Exposed Cloud Buckets". This is crucial for CDE Exposure Intelligence, as cloud environments are frequently used for storing or processing CHD, and unknown or misconfigured instances pose a significant risk.
Example: ThreatNG discovering "Files in Open Cloud Buckets" directly highlights a data exposure risk that could include CHD. This finding immediately adds a critical, potentially overlooked, component to the CDE Exposure Intelligence, indicating a direct violation of data protection controls (PCI DSS 3.4.1).
Mobile App Exposure: ThreatNG evaluates an organization's mobile app exposure through marketplace discovery and by analyzing its content for "Access Credentials," "Security Credentials," and "Platform Specific ID.” Mobile applications can directly interact with or expose CHD.
Example: ThreatNG identifying "Mobile Application Exposure Sensitive Information Found" means sensitive data, such as API keys or basic auth credentials, are present within mobile applications. This finding is critical for CDE Exposure Intelligence as it points to potential violations of PCI DSS requirements related to sensitive authentication data storage (PCI DSS 3.2).
Breach & Ransomware Susceptibility: This assessment considers exposed sensitive ports, private IPs, known vulnerabilities, compromised credentials, and ransomware events/gang activity. These findings directly inform CDE Exposure Intelligence by identifying specific points of weakness and active threats that attackers could target to breach the CDE.
Example: ThreatNG identifies "Ransomware events" associated with the organization and provides intelligence about active data availability and integrity threats. This informs CDE Exposure Intelligence that a direct threat exists, prompting immediate activation of incident response procedures (PCI DSS 12.10.5).
ThreatNG provides comprehensive reports, including "Inventory" reports and "External GRC Assessment Mappings (eg, PCI DSS)". These reports are invaluable for building and maintaining CDE Exposure Intelligence:
The Inventory report directly supports identifying and cataloging assets that form part of or are linked to the CDE's external attack surface.
External GRC Assessment Mappings allow organizations to see how discovered external risks, like "Subdomains Missing Content Security Policy" , align with specific PCI DSS requirements. This helps prioritize remediation efforts for exposures directly impacting CDE compliance and security.
ThreatNG's core capability is "Continuous Monitoring of external attack surface, digital risk, and security ratings of all organizations". This is fundamental to CDE Exposure Intelligence, as the external attack surface is dynamic. New assets can be deployed, configurations can change, or sensitive data can be inadvertently exposed. Continuous monitoring ensures that the CDE Exposure Intelligence remains current, providing real-time visibility into new components that fall into the CDE scope or pose a risk to it.
ThreatNG's investigation modules provide detailed insights that are critical for populating and enriching CDE Exposure Intelligence:
Domain Intelligence: This module provides a comprehensive overview of an organization's digital presence, including DNS Intelligence, Email Intelligence, WHOIS Intelligence, and Subdomain Intelligence.
Example: Through Subdomain Intelligence, ThreatNG can identify "APIs on Subdomains". If these APIs handle payment data, their discovery is vital for CDE Exposure Intelligence, ensuring they are included in the CDE's security scope and subjected to secure coding practices (PCI DSS 6.5.1).
Example: When ThreatNG performs a "Default Port Scan" as part of its Subdomain Intelligence, it identifies externally exposed ports. Suppose sensitive ports like those for databases (e.g., SQL Server, MySQL) or remote access (e.g., RDP, SSH) are open externally. This indicates potential unauthorized access points that must be documented as part of the CDE Exposure Intelligence and secured with firewalls (PCI DSS 1.2.1).
Sensitive Code Exposure: This module discovers sensitive information within public code repositories.
Example: If ThreatNG finds "Code Secrets Found" such as API keys (e.g., Stripe API key, Google OAuth Key) or cloud credentials (e.g., AWS Access Key ID Value) in a public repository, these represent potential backdoor access points to systems within or connected to the CDE. This intelligence is crucial for CDE Exposure Intelligence, demanding immediate credential revocation and secure development practices (PCI DSS 6.6).
Cloud and SaaS Exposure: ThreatNG discovers "Sanctioned Cloud Services," "Unsanctioned Cloud Services," "Cloud Service Impersonations," and "Open Exposed Cloud Buckets" across major providers (AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform).
Example: Discovering an "Open Exposed Cloud Bucket" through Cloud and SaaS Exposure directly reveals an unintended storage location that might contain CHD. This immediately becomes a critical piece of CDE Exposure Intelligence, highlighting the need to restrict access based on need-to-know (PCI DSS 7.2.1) and ensure unreadable stored PAN (PCI DSS 3.4.1).
Intelligence Repositories (DarCache)
ThreatNG's continuously updated intelligence repositories provide vital context for enriching CDE Exposure Intelligence by providing threat context and vulnerability details:
Dark Web (DarCache Dark Web): This includes "Compromised Credentials (DarCache Rupture)" and "Ransomware Groups and Activities (DarCache Ransomware)".
Example: "DarCache Rupture" (Compromised Credentials) identifies leaked usernames and passwords. If these credentials belong to personnel with CDE access, this intelligence is immediately critical for CDE Exposure Intelligence, as it indicates a direct pathway for unauthorized access (PCI DSS 8.3.1).
Vulnerabilities (DarCache Vulnerability): This includes NVD (DarCache NVD), EPSS (DarCache EPSS), KEV (DarCache KEV), and Verified Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Exploits (DarCache eXploit).
Example: "DarCache KEV" identifies "Vulnerabilities actively exploiting in the wild". Suppose ThreatNG detects an internet-facing asset (identified as part of the CDE's external footprint) with a KEV vulnerability. In that case, this intelligence immediately highlights a proven threat for the CDE, mandating rapid patching prioritization (PCI DSS 6.2.3). "DarCache eXploit" provides direct links to PoC exploits, enabling security teams to reproduce vulnerabilities and understand their real-world impact to develop effective mitigation strategies, enhancing CDE Exposure Intelligence.
Working with Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG's capabilities create powerful synergies when combined with other cybersecurity solutions, significantly enhancing an organization's CDE Exposure Intelligence efforts.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: ThreatNG's continuous monitoring identifies exposed assets and critical external vulnerabilities. A SIEM system can ingest this data.
Example: When ThreatNG identifies "Admin Page References" or unexpected "Custom Port Scan" results on external interfaces, this CDE Exposure Intelligence can be fed into the SIEM. The SIEM can then correlate these external findings with internal log data to detect suspicious access attempts or activities targeting these newly identified or unmanaged attack surface components, supporting PCI DSS 10.2.1 (logging access to system components) and 10.6.1 (monitoring and responding to security alerts).
Vulnerability Management (VM) Platforms: ThreatNG's external assessment capabilities, particularly its identification of "Critical Severity Vulnerabilities Found" and "High Severity Vulnerabilities Found" on external subdomains, provide a crucial external perspective that complements VM platforms.
Example: ThreatNG can flag an exposed web application with a critical vulnerability. This external CDE Exposure Intelligence can then be pushed to a VM platform to initiate deeper, authenticated scans of the application's internal components. This combined approach ensures that external and internal vulnerabilities that could expose the CDE are identified and prioritized for remediation, supporting PCI DSS 6.2.3 (addressing security vulnerabilities) and 11.3.1 (annual external penetration testing).
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) Tools: ThreatNG's "Cloud and SaaS Exposure" capability identifies externally exposed cloud resources and misconfigurations.
Example: ThreatNG might discover an "Open Exposed Cloud Bucket" potentially containing CHD. This external CDE Exposure Intelligence can trigger a more granular internal scan by a CSPM tool to confirm data presence, assess misconfigurations, and ensure access controls are aligned with PCI DSS 7.2.1 (restrict access based on need-to-know) and 3.4.1 (render stored PAN unreadable). The CSPM tool can continuously monitor the cloud environment for new exposures, enriching the overall CDE Exposure Intelligence.
Digital Risk Protection (DRP) Solutions: ThreatNG's "Brand Damage Susceptibility" and "BEC & Phishing Susceptibility" assessments, which include identifying "Domain Name Permutations - Taken" and "Dark Web Presence," align closely with the broader scope of DRP.
Example: ThreatNG's "Domain Name Permutations - Taken with Mail Record" discovery provides high-confidence intelligence about potential phishing infrastructure. This CDE Exposure Intelligence can be fed into a DRP solution to monitor these domains for active campaigns and block them, significantly reducing the risk of social engineering attacks that could compromise CDE access (PCI DSS 5.4.1).
Incident Response (IR) Platforms: ThreatNG's continuous monitoring provides real-time alerts on significant external exposures that could lead to a breach of the CDE.
Example: If ThreatNG detects "Compromised Emails" linked to individuals with access to the CDE or a "Subdomain Takeover" that could be used for phishing, this CDE Exposure Intelligence can automatically trigger an incident response playbook in an IR platform. This allows for a swift and coordinated response, including immediate investigation of affected CDE components, in line with PCI DSS 12.10.5 (responding to alerts from detection systems).
