Cyber threats and attack patterns are evolving fast, keeping up with the pace of tech inventions. As businesses slowly move towards more flexible environments like cloud or Kubernetes replacing the traditional monolithic architecture, the attack surface on a network increases simultaneously. Hence, effective endpoint security and external threat management are no longer optional—they are necessities. Implementing strong data security measures is the need of the hour to prevent possible cyber attacks and potential data breaches.

The recent webinar, “Combating External Threats with Unified Endpoint and Data Security Measures,” offered a deep dive into these critical issues, featuring insights from Setu, Co-founder and CTO of 1763986604-74d06f1bdede78c5.wp-transfer.sgvps.net, and Gunjan Chillar, a seasoned cybersecurity specialist from CrowdStrike. The discussion illuminated strategies, real-world use cases, and the future of unified threat management in a rapidly evolving cyber landscape. Below is a breakdown of the key insights shared during the session.

Understanding External Threats

83% of security breaches are caused by external threats, as presented by the panel host, Setu Parimi. Among the modern-day threat landscapes, external and internal threats are the most common threat landscapes that attackers use to pry on an organization’s system. External threats are malicious actions stemming outside an organization’s internal network and targeting its assets, data, or operations. They include malware, impersonation, phishing attacks, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, and even state-sponsored cyber espionage. If left unchecked or unmonitored, these types of attacks can cause data breaches and financial losses. A cyberattack like this can also cause significant damage to the brand’s reputation and even bring legal consequences.

Gunjan expanded on this by recounting a real-world scenario: “One of our enterprise customers, despite having top-notch tools, discovered through an External Attack Surface Assessment that they had overlooked assets from an acquisition made years ago. These forgotten assets were left exposed and vulnerable, highlighting the importance of a comprehensive asset inventory.”

External Attack Surface Management solutions thus focus on securing all possible attack surfaces like websites, cloud attack surfaces, APIs, misconfiguration, integrations, authentication, etc. EASM solutions also help businesses discover unregistered or shadow assets, helping the business monitor and address all possible security weaknesses present in a network, and offering a proactive brand protection approach. 

Key takeaway: Visibility is the cornerstone of effective external threat management.

The Role of Endpoint Security in Mitigating Risks

When securing an organization’s network system, businesses need to focus on a holistic approach that can secure both internal and external attack surfaces for maximum protection against attackers. Endpoints—ranging from laptops to mobile devices—are frequent entry points for cybercriminals. Integrating endpoint security solutions with External Attack Surface Management (EASM) platforms solidifies your network security. Using the latest generation antivirus, ERDs, and vulnerability management software allows you to secure your network endpoints.

Gunjan also mentions the importance of the automated response mechanism in Endpoint Security. In her words, if a business detects “a vulnerability in one of the external assets you would immediately want your Endpoint security solution to take a remedial call, maybe by implementing a patch or updates to mitigate the risk that automated response mechanism has to be there.”

Highlighting the importance of implementing a strong EASM solution, Setu added, “An External Attack Surface Management solution feeding threat intel to endpoint protection tools can be a game-changer. For instance, if a vulnerable external-facing server is identified, the endpoint tool can deploy patches or block malicious traffic automatically.”

The Power of Integration: Endpoint Security and External Threat Management

Integrating powerful tools with your security practices often helps you strengthen your security efforts. The security solutions can integrated seamlessly with vulnerability detection tools, firewalls, and other security services. These tools also help you automate threat detection and addressing protocols, offering a proactive threat management solution for brand protection. Several practical use cases highlighted the power of integration:

Shadow IT Management

External attack surface management platforms often identify shadow IT assets—unapproved systems running outside the organization’s purview. Left undetected, these software or hardware can be used by malicious actors to penetrate the system, causing security breaches, data loss, business impersonation, and damage to reputation. Enabling endpoint solutions can cross-verify the online registered assets against the number of listed assets and ensure they are either secured or removed.

Prioritized Remediation

Once the threats are identified using the intels, the next priority should always be addressing these vulnerabilities with a proactive threat management approach. Threat intelligence helps prioritize vulnerabilities based on risk and impacts. This presents a logical alternative to security practices, where instead of tackling thousands of issues, IT teams can focus on the top threats that matter.

Automated Incident Response

Once a threat is detected, the remediation efforts can be time consuming, especially in case of complex network system or severe security threats. This can lead to waste of crucial hours that can help attackers gain access to the business system. Thus, automated incident response is essential in reducing response times. For instance, if an exposed server is detected, endpoint tools can instantly isolate it or deploy protective measures. 

Challenges in Unified Security Approaches

Organizations implementing unified security in their business often face several challenges as each individual component tends to have its unique security requirements. Often times the systems come under threats due to some of these concerns being undermined or overlooked during security checks and implementations. 

Technical Hurdles

Integrating multiple security solutions often involves compatibility challenges. Many legacy systems are not designed for seamless communication, necessitating custom APIs or middleware to ensure data flow. Another concern is scaling these integrations to cover vast and diverse endpoints without performance degradation.

Human Factors

Although humans make up a critical and irreplaceable part of any workforce, they remain a critical contributor to vulnerability. Practices like password reuse, unintentional data misplacement, and lax offboarding protocols, among other things can expose organizations to significant risk. For instance, former employees might retain access to cloud resources if privileges are not promptly revoked. This might lead to future security or data breaches due to a lack of foresight.

Cloud Complexity

With the shift to multi-cloud environments, securing cloud-based assets adds another layer of complexity. Cloud-native solutions, like the Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP), are emerging to address these challenges by offering tools for workload protection, posture management, and entitlement reviews.

Addressing the Ransomware Attack Challenge

Ransomware attacks pose extreme challenges to business organizations as these special types of malware block all access paths until a ransom is paid, delaying the recovery period and causing critical loss to business hours, data, and reputation. malicious actors typically take an online system hostage and use encryptions on the device files to render them inaccessible. 

The Rise of Ransomware-as-a-Service

Ransomware attacks have also become a commoditized threat, thanks to Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) platforms. These platforms allow attackers to deploy pre-built ransomware tools, significantly lowering the technical barrier to entry. Organizations must counter this trend with robust incident response plans and enhanced endpoint security measures.

Preventing Ransomware Attacks

Preventing ransomware attacks is a challenge that every business organization needs to stay prepared for. They need to fortify their security systems and integrate external attack management solutions to stay vigilant of any possible attack paths to prevent the chances of ransomware attacks. Here are some of the top methods companies can adopt for brand protection against these kinds of threats:

1. Backup Resilience: Regularly back up critical data and test recovery mechanisms. Keeping backups in place will help you bring the system back online as the earliest possible in case of a ransomware attack. 

   
   

2. Behavioral Monitoring: Use AI and ML tools to identify suspicious traffic on the network and encryption activities. It helps you detect risky activities prior to the incident and stop the attacks before they take place. 

   
   

3. Automation: Enabling automated threat detection and response processes helps speed up the ransomware campaigns.

Embracing Zero Trust Principle for Holistic Security

Zero Trust is a security model that assumes all network activity is potentially malicious until verified. It emphasizes:

• Least Privilege Access: Limiting user permissions to the minimum necessary.

  
  

• Continuous Authentication: Regularly verifying user and device credentials.

  
  

• Granular Controls: Applying fine-grained policies at every access point.

Applying Zero Trust Principle to Endpoint Security

Endpoints should only access resources if they meet strict health and compliance benchmarks. For example, endpoints scoring below a set threshold in vulnerability scans should be denied access to critical applications. Applying the zero-trust principle to your endpoint security allows you visibility to all the devices connected across your system. All activities are constantly monitored across the endpoints that allow the system to detect any suspicious activity in real-time and deploy suitable counter measure for threat protection.

Zero Trust in External Threat Management

Zero Trust principles extend to external threat management by ensuring all internet-facing assets are subject to continuous monitoring and validation. The constant visibility allows security protocols to identify suspicious behavior anywhere on the network, life unnatural traffic, API activity, or user activity on the network. For instance, tools can scan cloud environments for misconfigurations and prioritize exposed assets based on potential risks.

Future Technologies in Endpoint and Data Security

Despite pre-recognized objectives, proper regulations, and remediation plans, security teams are often limited by their work capacity. In the event of an aggressive cyber attack, the manpower of the team often falls short in battling the challenges and implementing security protocols. This allows the attackers an advantage to gain access to sensitive information or cause service disruption. However, leveraging modern technologies like AI and Machine Learning, automation, and continuous monitoring can help businesses streamline their security activity. 

AI and Machine Learning

AI-driven solutions are transforming external attack surface management with capabilities like:

• Behavioral Analytics: Detecting anomalies in user or device behavior.

  
  

• Predictive Threat Intelligence: Anticipating attacks based on historical data.

  
  

• Automated Response Mechanisms: Isolating endpoints or blocking malicious traffic autonomously.

Continuous Integration and Monitoring

The future of cybersecurity lies in perpetual vigilance. Continuously monitoring your network system enables real-time visibility and threat detection options. It also allows businesses to stay aware of all shadow assets, possible vulnerabilities, and attack paths on the systems that can be used by attackers to gain unauthorized access. Implementing cloud attack surface management also allows constant visibility across all endpoints, helping them stay aware of all activity across their network. By integrating solutions like CNAPP, SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), and external attack surface platforms, organizations can maintain a 360-degree view of their security posture.

Conclusion

External threats and endpoint vulnerabilities are not isolated challenges. They represent interconnected facets of a broader cybersecurity landscape that demands unified, proactive strategies. By integrating external attack surface management with endpoint protection and embracing technologies like EASM, Zero Trust, and AI, organizations can stay ahead in the ever-evolving battle against cyber adversaries.

The road to robust security is not a destination but a journey, requiring constant adaptation and innovation. As organizations continue to expand their digital footprints, they must rise to the occasion, armed with the tools, strategies, and insights necessary to defend against modern cyber threats.