Hackers understand every angle of cybersecurity attack vectors, so it’s important that you do as well. Once you know how hackers can take advantage, you are better prepared to protect your organization
What are Cybersecurity Attack Vectors?
They’re called attack vectors or cyber security threat vectors – the methods by which cybercriminals gain unauthorized access to systems and networks in order to launch their attacks. Cyber Security attack vectors can be technical, like taking advantage of a known application vulnerability, or they may involve the utilization of social engineering tactics wherein deception is used to extract information to facilitate access. They can also involve insiders, where the attacker has direct physical access to the systems targeted or is a former contractor or vendor whose access was never removed.
To minimize the likelihood that these attacks will be successful, you need to know how they work and what actions to take to better protect your resources. Following is an overview of some of the most common attack vectors along with recommendations to help you improve your organization’s cybersecurity. For many small to mid-sized companies, particularly those experiencing rapid growth, outsourcing information security, or perhaps all of their IT management operations, has been the best solution for several reasons.
What is Meant by Attack Surface in Cybersecurity?
Attack surface refers to the overall amount of points in a system that could be exploited by malicious actors, such as hackers, virus creators, and other bad actors. It is comprised of all the entryways into a system, such as application programming interfaces (APIs), open ports, services, scripts, devices, users with access permissions, etc. The more points of vulnerability exist in a system, the larger the attack surface is; thus making it easier for attackers to gain access to an organization’s data or compromise and other cyber criminals.
An attack surface is the sum total of all possible attack vectors or threat vectors across a company’s entire IT infrastructure. Attack surfaces can range from applications and services to hardware devices deployed in an organization.
An increase in attack surface often increases the risk of a successful cyber attack as it allows malicious actors to exploit more vulnerabilities. Attack surfaces can be minimized through strict network segmentation and tight security controls that limit device access, patch management, and secure password policies.
Brute force attacks are one of the most common techniques used to target an organization’s attack surface. In such attacks, an attacker attempts to gain access by repeatedly trying different combinations of usernames and passwords. To protect against this type of attack, organizations should use two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication, as well as frequently changing their passwords. They should also employ tools such as Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Firewalls to detect any suspicious activity on the network.
It is important for organizations to understand and monitor their attack surface in order to remain secure from malicious actors. By understanding the components that make up their attack surfaces, they can identify potential weaknesses and close them off before an attacker has a chance to exploit them. Additionally, regular security audits should be performed in order to ensure that all security measures are functioning properly and that no new vulnerabilities have been introduced.
Overall, reducing an organization’s attack surface is an important part of any cybersecurity strategy. By understanding and monitoring the various components that make up their attack surfaces, organizations can effectively protect themselves from malicious actors looking to exploit weaknesses in their infrastructure. Additionally, by implementing strong security controls and regularly performing security audits, organizations can further reduce their attack surfaces and ensure that they remain safe from potential threat vectors.
Credential-based attacks
You’ve undoubtedly heard about these before. Without strong, complex user account passwords that must be changed periodically and cannot be frequently reused, your organization is vulnerable to credential-based attacks. Your systems should be configured to only allow employees to create and use passwords that meet minimum security standards for complexity and should require employees to change them every 90 days or less. They should not permit the reuse of any of the previous ten or more passwords.
If login credentials are exposed in a data breach and if the passwords compromised have not been changed frequently or have been reused often, the likelihood that the attacker can access systems with the breached credentials increases dramatically. Passwords that are not sufficiently complex may also allow brute-force attackers to successfully gain access simply by hammering systems with thousands of randomly auto-generated credentials.
Using a password manager will help your employees to create complex passwords for multiple accounts without having to remember them all or write them down (not recommended). Using multifactor authentication wherever possible also significantly reduces the chances that credential-based attacks will succeed.
Social engineering attacks
Phishing and spear-phishing are the primary variants of social engineering attacks used to compromise business systems. Phishing attacks may involve the sending of a large number of emails to randomly targeted employees hoping for a response or that a malicious attachment will be opened, while spear phishing specifically targets individuals identified by attackers as being in a position to provide the information they seek.
Impersonation is a tactic frequently used. The cybercriminal may pose as a coworker, contractor, or customer when interacting with a targeted employee. An example would be contacting the help desk posing as an employee in need of a password reset. In addition to email, social engineering attackers may also use text messaging or phone calls to make contact with their targets.
No technical controls can stop 100% of these attacks because they directly target the human in the loop. Email filters cannot block all malicious messages because, once an attacker’s domain (i.e., @ImAHacker.com) has been tagged for filtering, they can simply get a new one.
An educated workforce is the best defense against social engineering. Regular training of employees to recognize possible attacks is a must, as is having a process in place to report suspicious activity. Involving employees in simulations and training sessions that require their participation yields the best results. Simply providing written training material assuming employees will read, understand, and retain it is relatively ineffective. Active participation in training events improves retention. Simulations, when done properly, add stress because employees don’t know whether the attack is real. This also makes the lessons learned more memorable.
Insider attacks
With access to critical systems, disgruntled employees can do a great deal of damage in a short amount of time. Vendors whose access is not removed after their work is complete also pose a risk. “Tailgaters” who follow employees into secure areas posing as coworkers or contractors can also wreak havoc on your infrastructure.
Employees should be trained to recognize warning signs exhibited by disgruntled coworkers, including frequent complaints about their work and/or supervisors, keeping strange hours, accessing areas they do not need to access, etc. Human resources departments should have a process place for employees to report such suspicious activity. HR is the department that maintains the personnel records, making it the logical choice to process and act upon this type of information.
Physical access controls and role-based access policies should also be implemented where needed. An example would be to secure doors with locks that allow access based on job requirements. A cashier probably shouldn’t need to access the data center to perform his or her job duties, thus the cashier’s proximity badge should not unlock the data center door. Employees should also be encouraged to challenge those they don’t recognize before allowing them into a secure area and to direct them to a public reception area, instead.
Insider Threats
Insider threats are a significant risk to an organization’s cyber security. An insider threat is a malicious actor, such as an employee or contractor, who has access to sensitive information and the systems that store it. These actors can exploit their privileged positions to gain unauthorized access to data, manipulate resources, or gain financial benefit from the organization. Insider threats can also include malicious actors that have physical access to an organization’s systems, such as contractors who are providing services to the organization.
To reduce the risk of insider threats, organizations should regularly review and audit their security policies and practices. They should ensure that all employees have a clear understanding of their responsibilities when it comes to protecting data. Additionally, user accounts and privileged access rights should be monitored to ensure that users are not abusing their access rights. Organizations should also take steps to limit physical access to sensitive systems and data, with appropriate permissions granted only when necessary. Finally, organizations should consider implementing a security awareness program for employees so they can learn how to identify suspicious activity and report any potential threats.
Technical attack vectors
The most common of these attack vectors would include, but not be limited to, taking advantage of insufficient network perimeter security, a lack of data encryption, failure to install system updates and security patches, failure to properly secure SQL implementations, improper configuration of services, and missing or outdated malware protection.
Perimeter security is your network’s first line of defense, separating your internal resources from the Internet. The lack, or improper configuration, of secure access points, can allow an attacker to explore your entire infrastructure where he or she can search for other exploitable vulnerabilities. Additionally, unless your systems are protected by anti-malware applications that are kept up to date and that perform regular scans, the potential for damage that could be done by the attacker once access is obtained increases exponentially.
Ideally, both your at-rest and in-transit data should be encrypted to ensure that, if a hacker can intercept any communications in progress or compromise a system and gain access to stored data, that data would be unusable without the encryption key. Consider the possible ramifications of a cybercriminal obtaining information like administrative account credentials with elevated access privileges, customer credit card numbers, and internal network maps identifying all critical resources. Using strong encryption to encode this type of sensitive data, wherever it resides and whenever it is transmitted, ensures that it will be useless to an attacker even if it is compromised.
System updates and security patches must be installed as soon as possible when they become available. In some cases, applications are running on operating systems that are no longer supported, thus they cannot be patched and are extremely vulnerable to attack. Accomplished hackers are very aware of the vulnerabilities associated with systems and applications. If you maintain your infrastructure, your IT support team should be staffed with enough well-trained employees to ensure system and environmental security.
If your environment includes SQL database installations, they should be configured with parameterized queries to safeguard against SQL injection attacks. In such an attack, the actor creates a SQL query that can be used to perform malicious actions including data extraction or deletion. Entire databases can be erased using SQL injection. Parameterized queries limit the commands that can be included in SQL statements to prevent them from being used maliciously. This is critically important considering that databases often house the most sensitive types of data, including medical information, credit card numbers, account credentials, etc.
These are some of the common attack vectors skilled hackers can leverage to do serious damage to your environment. Ransomware attacks, for example, can cost companies millions of dollars, destroy their reputations when sensitive data is compromised, and cause damages so extensive that the organizations may be unable to recover.
Recommendations
If your organization is facing challenges associated with maintaining IT infrastructure and security along with finding qualified personnel to staff your IT department, you are not alone. For several reasons, more organizations are choosing to partner with third-party providers of Security as a Service (SECaaS) and IT as a Service (ITaaS).
As you might guess, SECaaS providers focus on security while ITaaS companies provide a wider array of services including security to meet all of their client’s IT needs. Custom-tailored hybrid agreements with those who wish to maintain on-site infrastructure and staff are also an option. There is an ongoing shortage of qualified IT professionals that is expected to worsen over the next few years, so sharing a team of professionals with other companies has its advantages. Additionally, these service providers charge a predictable monthly fee that may be adjusted as your needs change. This eliminates high lump-sum annual license and maintenance renewal fees and system replacement costs by dividing them among other clients and spreading the costs over time. These providers may also offer 24/7 security and environment monitoring services that most of their clients could not otherwise afford.
For these reasons, Cybriant created CybriantXDR. This comprehensive threat detection and remediation service provides all the services and tools that most businesses will need to meet their compliance and cybersecurity needs. Learn more about CybriantXDR here.
Conclusion
Those whose organizations have been in business and maintaining their internal IT infrastructure for some time now are probably well aware of the challenges they face. New threat vectors are being rapidly developed and the level and complexity of the threats constantly increase. Damages resulting from successful attacks, particularly those involving ransomware, can put companies out of business.
If yours is a growing, small to mid-sized business, you must be aware of the threat environment, and what actions you need to take to harden your IT infrastructure, and partner with an organization like Cybriant that can offer the best and most cost-effective solutions going forward.
