What are Attack Surfaces?

"Attack surface" is a term that gained popularity as companies started using cloud services and adopting remote working cultures. These practices have created more opportunities for attack surfaces, making systems more vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

According to the official cybercrime report released in 2023, worldwide cybercrime costs are estimated to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. With the growing need to secure their applications, managers and developers of IT companies have started taking action to minimize attack surfaces.

In this article, let's dive into what attack surfaces are, why they are important to your organization, and steps your organization can take to minimize attack surfaces.

What is an attack surface?

An attack surface is a set of points on the boundary of a system or an environment where an attacker can try to enter or cause an effect. Basically, any vulnerability, pathway, or method that allows someone to carry out a cybersecurity attack on your system can be considered part of the attack surface. Attack surfaces can be found anywhere including network devices such as routers, firewalls, security vulnerabilities in web and mobile apps, and user accounts.

This is why managing attack surfaces properly through continuous monitoring and fixing vulnerabilities is important. Poorly managed attack surfaces can provide easy opportunities for hackers to carry out attacks.

There are so many factors that can explain the attack surface of an organization creating more entry points for cyberattacks. We can list some of them below. 

• Integrating multiple software applications
• Connecting various devices including IoT
• Poor security practices such as using weak passwords or outdated systems
• Too much reliance on third-party services

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Why are attack surfaces important to your organization?

Prevention is always better than cure. By understanding and managing the attack surfaces, organizations can take the necessary steps to secure them. By securing entry points to cyberattacks, organizations can prevent data breaches from happening at all.

Also, managing attack surfaces is often a requirement for compliance with data protection and privacy laws. Moreover, securing attack surfaces guarantees that critical systems remain operational and free from disruptions caused by cyber incidents.

Threats associated with an attack surface

Although we talk about cyberattacks in general, it would benefit you to know what kinds of cyber threats are particularly associated with attack surfaces. The most common types of threats you see are phishing attacks, which trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or downloading malware. Other security threats include:

• Network-based attacks such as denial of service attacks and SQL injections.
• Malware Infections like viruses, worms, and ransomware.
• Credential stuffing to use stolen account credentials to gain unauthorized access to systems. These attacks mostly use weak passwords.
• Man-in-the-middle attacks that intercept communications between two parties.
• Zero-day Exploits attacks that use previously unknown vulnerabilities before developers have had a chance to issue fixes or patches.

Types of attack surfaces

When a security analyst performs attack surface management, part of their job is analyzing all attack surfaces. For that, they need to have a clear understanding of all types of attack surfaces, which are listed below.

Digital attack surface

Digital attack surfaces include the software, hardware, and network components vulnerable to cyberattacks. Some common attack vectors that typically make up a digital attack surface are listed below.

• Weak Passwords: Simple or reused passwords that can be easily cracked.
• Misconfiguration: Incorrect settings in systems and applications.
• Vulnerabilities in software, OS, and firmware: Bugs or flaws in software, operating systems, or firmware that can be exploited.
• Shared databases: Data storage spaces that multiple users can access and potentially expose sensitive information.
• Outdated or obsolete devices, data, or applications: Older technology that does not have the latest security updates.
• Unauthorized software: Unauthorized software or devices used within an organization without explicit IT approval.
• Networks and services: This includes everything from open ports and code repositories to wireless connections that might be vulnerable.

Physical attack surfaces

Physical attack surfaces involve the tangible aspects of an organization's security perimeter that are accessible through physical means. These surfaces can be compromised through various methods that directly impact the hardware and devices within a company.

• Endpoint devices: Such as servers, computers, and mobile devices that are vulnerable to theft or unauthorized access.
• Malicious insiders: Employees or other insiders may misuse their access to steal data, introduce malware, or harm the organization's systems.
• Device theft: Theft of endpoint devices can give criminals access to stored data and network resources. This risk is heightened for devices used remotely or not properly secured.
• Baiting attacks: Hackers may leave malware-infected USB drives in public places to trick people into installing malware.

Social engineering attack surfaces

The social engineering attack surface is about the weaknesses in human behavior. Attackers exploit things like trust or curiosity. For example, phishing attacks involve tricking people into giving out sensitive information by pretending to be someone trustworthy.

Baiting is another trick, where attackers leave things like USB drives lying around, hoping someone will pick them up and use them, which can compromise security. Educating people to spot these tricks is crucial for reducing the risk of data breaches and keeping operations safe.

Attack surface vs attack vector

Some people find it hard to understand the difference between attack surface and attack vector. Attack vectors and attack surfaces are related concepts in cybersecurity. An attack vector is a specific method a hacker uses to get into a system, like phishing or malware. An attack surface is the total number of points where a hacker might try to get in or steal data from a system.

Here's a table to show the differences between attack vectors and attack surfaces.

How can an organization reduce an attack surface

Let’s look at some of the steps organizations can take to minimize attack surfaces.

• Implement zero trust principles - Zero Trust is a very popular and commonly followed practice nowadays. It assumes no user or device has access until they have authenticated and proven the security of their connection.
• Develop robust access controls - Control access to resources through user privileges. Make sure access is granted based on users' roles and only provide access to specific resources to those who need it.
• Enforce strong authentication measures - Use strong and layered authentication methods for access control. There are various authentication options such as attribute-based, role-based, multi-factor, and adaptive authentication. Make sure to use more than one authentication method.
• Save your backups - Backups are often overlooked in attack surface management. Implement strong security protocols to protect backup data.
• Create barriers within a highly secured network - Increase the security of your network by dividing it into smaller, more manageable segments, each protected by firewalls. This will prevent attackers from moving laterally within your network if they gain access.
• Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing - This will help to identify new vulnerabilities.
• Regular reporting and monitoring - Continuously monitor your network by dedicating some time each day to assess current threats and the effectiveness of your security measures.
• Educate and train staff - Awareness and training are key to maintaining security. Regularly educate your employees about the latest security practices.

There are three major challenges most modern organizations face when minimizing attack surfaces. Those are: 

1. The complexity and diversity of modern IT environments often obscure potential vulnerabilities.
2. The rapid pace of technological advancements demands constant vigilance as it creates new attack surfaces.
3. There are a lot of employees working in certain organizations but in different parts of the world. It can be difficult to get them all to follow security protocols.

This is why you should take the help of various software products built for attack surface management to increase the efficiency and speed of the overall process.

Conclusion

In this article, we talked about what an attack surface is and why it matters for companies. We also covered how to reduce it, what attack surface management is, the challenges in reducing attack surfaces, and the tools that can help. By knowing these ideas, companies can make their cybersecurity much stronger and protect better against cyber threats.