URL-Based Threats

URL-based threats in cybersecurity are a form of cyberattack that leverage malicious or deceptive Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) to trick users. These threats are designed to get users to click on a link that either downloads malware, redirects them to a fake website to steal their credentials, or initiates a direct attack on their device or network.

Common Types of URL-Based Threats

There are several ways that malicious URLs are used in cyberattacks, often as part of larger social engineering schemes.

• Phishing/Smishing: This is one of the most common URL-based threats. Attackers send fraudulent messages—typically via email (phishing) or text message (smishing)—that contain a malicious URL. These messages often impersonate a legitimate organization like a bank, a delivery service, or a social media platform. When a user clicks the link, they are taken to a fake website that looks identical to the real one, prompting them to enter sensitive information like login credentials, credit card numbers, or other personal data.

• Malicious Redirects: This occurs when a user visits a seemingly harmless or legitimate website, but a script on the page automatically redirects them to a different, malicious site. This can happen without the user's knowledge or action and is often used to lead people to sites that download malware or attempt to steal data.

• Typosquatting: Also known as URL hijacking, this tactic preys on human error. Cybercriminals register domain names that are slight variations of popular, legitimate websites. For example, they might register "gogle.com" or "amzon.com." If a user makes a small typo and visits one of these fraudulent sites, they are often directed to a page designed to steal information or install malware.

• Drive-by Downloads: This type of threat involves a malicious URL that, when clicked, automatically downloads and installs malware on the user's device without their consent or even a prompt. These downloads often exploit vulnerabilities in a user's web browser, operating system, or plugins.

How to Identify and Prevent Them

Recognizing URL-based threats requires caution and an understanding of key indicators.

• Check the URL Carefully: Before you click, hover your mouse over the link to see the full URL. Look for spelling errors, extra characters, or unusual domain extensions (e.g., ".xyz" instead of ".com").

• Look for HTTPS: A secure website's URL should begin with "https://" (the "s" stands for secure), and a padlock icon should be visible in the address bar. While this is not a foolproof guarantee of a site's safety, its absence is a major red flag.

• Beware of Urgency: Phishing and smishing messages often create a sense of urgency or panic, pressuring you to click a link and act immediately to avoid a negative consequence, such as an account suspension or a late fee.

• Use Security Tools: Antivirus software, URL filtering solutions, and browser extensions can help automatically block access to known malicious websites and alert you to potential threats before you visit them.

ThreatNG helps organizations combat URL-based threats by providing a comprehensive, external perspective on their digital presence, which can identify malicious domains and vulnerabilities that attackers could use. ThreatNG is an all-in-one solution for external attack surface management, digital risk protection, and security ratings.

External Discovery

ThreatNG's external discovery capabilities are the foundation of its defense against URL-based threats. It can perform purely external, unauthenticated discovery without connectors. This allows it to map an organization's digital footprint from an attacker's point of view, identifying assets and potential entry points that could be exploited. This includes finding domains, subdomains, and other web assets that might be a target for malicious URLs.

External Assessment

ThreatNG performs several detailed external assessments that are highly effective against URL-based threats.

• Web Application Hijack Susceptibility: This assessment analyzes parts of a web application accessible from the outside to find potential entry points for attackers. For example, ThreatNG might discover a misconfigured web server that could be hijacked to redirect users to a malicious site.

• Subdomain Takeover Susceptibility: ThreatNG evaluates a website's susceptibility to subdomain takeovers by analyzing its subdomains, DNS records, and SSL certificate statuses. An example would be if ThreatNG identifies a CNAME record for a subdomain that points to a non-existent external service, which an attacker could claim to host a phishing page.

• BEC & Phishing Susceptibility: ThreatNG assesses this risk using its Domain Intelligence capabilities, including Domain Name Permutations, Web3 Domains, and Email Intelligence. For example, ThreatNG can detect and group manipulations of a domain name like "mycompany-login.com" or "mycompany-verify.com". This helps an organization find typosquatting domains that attackers could use in phishing campaigns. * Brand Damage Susceptibility: This is derived from attack surface and digital risk intelligence, including Domain Intelligence. ThreatNG's analysis of domain name permutations can help identify fake websites or domains containing critical or offensive language that could harm a brand's reputation. For instance, it could discover a domain like "mycompany-bad.com".

• Cyber Risk Exposure: ThreatNG evaluates cyber risk by considering certificates, subdomain headers, vulnerabilities, and sensitive ports. This helps identify weaknesses that could be exploited to create convincing fake websites.

Reporting

ThreatNG provides comprehensive reports that translate its findings into actionable insights. The reports include:

• Prioritized Findings: Findings are categorized by risk level (High, Medium, Low, Informational), helping organizations focus on the most critical threats. This is crucial for addressing URL-based threats that pose the most immediate risk.

• Reasoning: Reports provide context and insights into identified risks, helping organizations understand why a specific URL or domain is a threat.

• Recommendations: The reports offer practical advice on how to mitigate risks, such as taking down a malicious domain or securing an exposed subdomain.

Continuous Monitoring

ThreatNG continuously monitors an organization's external attack surface, digital risk, and security ratings. This ensures that new URL-based threats, such as newly registered phishing domains or exposed assets, are detected and addressed promptly. The ongoing monitoring is essential because attackers constantly create new malicious URLs to evade detection.

Investigation Modules

ThreatNG's investigation modules allow for in-depth analysis of potential threats.

• Domain Intelligence: This is a core module for combating URL-based threats.

  • DNS Intelligence: Provides a detailed analysis of DNS records and IP addresses to identify vendors and technologies in use. This helps in spotting suspicious or misconfigured DNS entries.

  • Domain Name Permutations: Detects and groups manipulations of a domain name, including substitutions, additions, and typosquatting. For example, it can find registered domains that are slight variations of a company's name, which are often used in phishing attacks.

  • Email Intelligence: Provides information on email security presence (DMARC, SPF, DKIM records) and format predictions. This helps to identify domains with poor email security configurations, making them easier to spoof for phishing attacks.

• Sensitive Code Exposure: This module uncovers digital risks like hardcoded access credentials and secrets in public code repositories. For example, ThreatNG could find a public GitHub repository with an employee's API key, which an attacker could use to compromise a service and host a malicious URL.

Intelligence Repositories

ThreatNG's intelligence repositories, known as DarCache, are continuously updated and provide valuable context for URL-based threats.

• Compromised Credentials (DarCache Rupture): This repository contains compromised credentials from the dark web. If an employee's credentials have been leaked, attackers can use them to log into a legitimate system and host a malicious URL or a phishing page on a seemingly trusted site.

• Vulnerabilities (DarCache Vulnerability): This repository provides a proactive approach to managing external risks by understanding the real-world exploitability and likelihood of exploitation for vulnerabilities. This includes data from NVD, EPSS, and KEV. ThreatNG can identify known vulnerabilities in web servers that attackers are actively exploiting, enabling organizations to patch them before malicious URLs are created.

• Ransomware Groups and Activities (DarCache Ransomware): This repository tracks over 70 ransomware gangs. Information from this repository can help identify if a malicious URL is part of a ransomware campaign.

Complementary Solutions

ThreatNG's capabilities can be strengthened by integrating with other security solutions to create a more robust defense against URL-based threats.

• Threat Intelligence Platforms: ThreatNG's DarCache repositories can be used to enrich data on other threat intelligence platforms, providing a more comprehensive view of known malicious domains and actors.

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): By integrating ThreatNG's findings into a SIEM system, organizations can correlate external threat intelligence with internal log data. For example, if ThreatNG identifies a newly registered typosquatting domain, the SIEM can be configured to alert security teams to any internal network traffic attempting to access that URL.

• Email Security Gateways: ThreatNG's Email Intelligence can provide an email security gateway with data on domain spoofing and malicious domains. For instance, if ThreatNG's Domain Name Permutations module discovers a new domain created to impersonate a company, that information can be automatically fed to the email security gateway to block phishing emails originating from it.

• Secure Web Gateways (SWG) and URL Filtering Solutions: ThreatNG's real-time threat intelligence on malicious URLs and domains can be used to update the policies of an SWG or URL filtering solution. This allows the SWG to proactively block employee access to newly identified malicious sites before an attack can be launched.