Proactive Security
Proactive security is a strategic approach to cybersecurity that emphasizes anticipating and preventing threats before they can exploit vulnerabilities, rather than simply reacting to attacks as they occur. It involves actively seeking out weaknesses and implementing measures to strengthen defenses before an incident happens.
Here are the key components and characteristics of proactive security:
Threat Hunting: Actively searching for malicious activity or indicators of compromise within a network or system, rather than waiting for alerts from security tools.
Vulnerability Management: Regularly scanning for and identifying vulnerabilities in systems and software, and prioritizing their remediation based on risk.
Security Assessments: Conducting penetration testing, security audits, and risk assessments to identify weaknesses and potential attack vectors.
Secure Development Practices: Building security into the software development lifecycle to prevent vulnerabilities from being introduced in the first place.
Security Awareness Training: Educating employees about security best practices and potential threats to reduce the risk of human error.
Predictive Analysis: Using threat intelligence and data analysis to anticipate future attack trends and proactively adjust security measures.
Zero Trust Security: Implementing a security model that assumes no user or device can be automatically trusted, requiring strict verification for every access request.
Continuous Monitoring: Constantly monitoring systems and networks for suspicious activity to detect and respond to attacks as quickly as possible.
Proactive security involves finding and fixing security problems before attackers can exploit them, creating a more resilient and secure environment.
ThreatNG is inherently designed to support a proactive security posture. Its capabilities enable organizations to identify, assess, and mitigate risks before they can be exploited. Here's a detailed explanation:
ThreatNG's external discovery is a proactive measure. By continuously mapping an organization's external attack surface, ThreatNG helps proactively identify potential entry points for attackers. This process allows security teams to discover shadow IT assets, unsecured subdomains, or exposed services they may not have been aware of, enabling them to bring these assets under security control.
ThreatNG's external assessment capabilities are strongly aligned with proactive security principles:
Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: ThreatNG proactively analyzes web applications to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited to hijack them. Organizations can prevent potential attacks by finding and fixing these weaknesses before attackers do.
Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility: ThreatNG proactively assesses the risk of subdomain takeovers. This proactive approach prevents attackers from using subdomains for malicious purposes like phishing or malware distribution.
Cyber Risk Exposure: ThreatNG proactively identifies potential cyber risks by assessing various parameters of an organization's external presence. This proactive identification of risks allows organizations to take preventive measures.
Code Secret Exposure: ThreatNG proactively discovers exposed code repositories and secrets. This proactive identification of exposed secrets helps organizations prevent attackers from using them to gain unauthorized access.
3. Reporting
ThreatNG's reporting capabilities support proactive security by providing the information security teams need to take preventive action:
Prioritized Reports: ThreatNG's reports prioritize vulnerabilities, enabling security teams to focus on the most critical issues and address them proactively.
Technical Reports: These reports provide detailed information about vulnerabilities, including actionable recommendations for remediation, empowering security teams to take proactive steps to fix them.
ThreatNG's continuous monitoring is a cornerstone of proactive security. By continuously monitoring the external attack surface, ThreatNG enables organizations to:
Detect changes: Proactively detect any changes in their external presence that could introduce new vulnerabilities.
Identify emerging threats: Proactively identify emerging threats and attack patterns.
ThreatNG's investigation modules provide the tools for proactive threat hunting and analysis:
Domain Intelligence: This module allows security teams to proactively investigate domain-related risks, such as potential phishing domains or DNS misconfigurations.
Vulnerability Intelligence (DarCache Vulnerability): This module provides information on vulnerabilities, including how they can be exploited, enabling security teams to assess their risk proactively.
Search Engine Exploitation: A facility that helps users proactively investigate an organization’s susceptibility to exposing information via search engines.
ThreatNG's intelligence repositories provide valuable information for proactive security:
Dark Web Presence (DarCache Dark Web): Monitoring the dark web for mentions of the organization or its credentials allows for proactively identifying potential threats.
Threat Intelligence (DarCache Vulnerability): This provides a holistic and proactive approach to managing external risks and vulnerabilities by understanding their real-world exploitability, likelihood of exploitation, and potential impact.
7. Synergies with Complementary Solutions
ThreatNG's proactive approach can be enhanced by working with other security solutions:
Vulnerability Management Systems: ThreatNG can feed vulnerability information to vulnerability management systems, enabling proactive patching and remediation.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: ThreatNG's proactive threat intelligence can enhance SIEM systems by providing early warnings of potential attacks.
Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS): ThreatNG can inform IPS systems to block traffic from known malicious sources or patterns proactively.
Examples of ThreatNG Helping:
ThreatNG proactively identifies a vulnerable web application before attackers exploit it, allowing the organization to patch it and prevent an attack.
ThreatNG's continuous monitoring detects the registration of a suspicious domain name that could be used for phishing, enabling the organization to take proactive steps to mitigate the risk.
Examples of ThreatNG and Complementary Solutions Working Together:
ThreatNG proactively identifies a critical vulnerability. It automatically triggers a patching process in the vulnerability management system.
ThreatNG detects early warning signs of a potential attack. It alerts the SIEM system, which initiates proactive threat hunting activities.
In summary, ThreatNG is a powerful tool for implementing proactive security measures. Its capabilities enable organizations to identify, assess, and mitigate risks before they can be exploited, reducing the likelihood and impact of cyberattacks.
