The Importance of Attack Surface Management

COVID-19 and digital transformation have created a massive attack surface that security teams find challenging to manage. ASM solutions help security teams monitor these external assets (including shadow IT, orphaned development websites, public code repositories, rogue servers, and third-party vendors) while continuously updating vulnerability detection capabilities.

ASM also helps teams identify risky exposures by comparing them against commercial and open-source threat intelligence, which allows teams to establish security standards for previously unmanaged assets and close vulnerabilities faster than attackers can exploit them.

Most security teams use internal and external tools to identify and track assets. Still, sometimes these tools cannot remember all threats posed by assets that could pose threats - this is especially true with cloud assets which can be challenging to track when misconfigured or dependent upon internal monitoring telemetry for monitoring purposes, leading to blind spots which attackers will gladly exploit.

Randori is the only solution that combines advanced Internet data intelligence and analysis with an efficient vulnerability scanning engine to offer complete visibility over all Internet-facing assets, such as cloud services and IoT devices. Our unique centre-of-mass approach discovers assets other solutions miss while giving an evolving picture of your attack surface, making managing and mitigating risk easier.

Maintaining an ever-increasing attack surface can be daunting, yet failing to identify and protect unknown assets exposes your business to threats from adversaries that pose the highest threats. One effective strategy for closing any gaps between known and unidentified assets would be identifying unknown ones and how best to secure them.

Mapping the Attack Surface

The attack surface refers to all avenues hackers could access your data, including passwords and encryption protocols. Furthermore, this term also encompasses code that safeguards critical paths and vulnerabilities that could be exploited.

Identifying your attack surface involves:

• Understanding the relationship between systems and applications in your environment.
• Mapping their interactions.
• Pinpointing which users have the highest-level access rights in different parts of your system.

Before attempting to mitigate internal attack surfaces, it is critical to identify and map them. Pay particular attention to software packages that access data stores directly; these tend to be more accessible than backend accounts for automated processes that extend your attack surface but are harder to address effectively, such as systems which need access to SQL servers for functionality but might become an entryway for attackers.

After identifying your internal attack surface, you can begin reducing it through security best practices. This should include access rights management for internal areas and third-party risk analysis for external assets.

Attack surface management is an integral component of your cybersecurity strategy, given that hackers attempt a hack every 39 seconds and vary their attacks constantly to bypass your defences and avoid detection.

A practical attack surface management program identifies assets vulnerable to hacker compromise, classifies them according to their susceptibility, and closely monitors for new threats or security gaps in the landscape. It should augment your current defences by giving more visibility into active ecosystems within your network and increasing control over data movement.

Prioritizing Remediation

As well as considering the organizational risk associated with each vulnerability, it is also crucial to evaluate its remediation effort. Vulnerabilities that can be resolved quickly with one patch have lower severity ratings than those requiring multiple steps since patch implementation depends on factors like asset visibility, ownership, function, and value - prioritization allows organizations to identify those with the highest risks while mitigating organizational effects.

With attacks occurring every 39 seconds, the attack surface expands faster than security teams can keep pace. To stay one step ahead of attackers and prioritize remediation efforts more effectively, an attack surface management (ASM) solution that offers forward-looking and human-validated views of its attack surface is key for keeping up.

Traditional ASM solutions rely on penetration testing and threat intelligence to identify and prioritize vulnerabilities based on their relative importance to an organization. However, attackers' methods to exploit these vulnerabilities constantly change, resulting in false positives for the security team and an inability to measure impactful business issues.

A practical approach involves a human-first process that considers the business impact of each vulnerability and any required resources to resolve it. Attack graph analysis technology can assist by locating short paths to critical assets, assessing the effects of chained low vulnerabilities, and suggesting cost-efficient remediation options.

Coalfire Attack Surface Management offers a leading ASM solution which integrates OSINT reconnaissance, automation and human penetration testing to identify new exposures, track public-facing assets and continuously scan and monitor the externally-facing infrastructure of your organization. With its holistic, continuous approach, ASM enables organizations to prioritize remediation efforts based on an attacker's perspective and effectively confidently manage external threat surfaces. In addition, bidirectional APIs support existing vulnerability management workflows, including SIEM systems, ticketing systems and asset management tools.

Monitoring the Perimeter

Modern Attack Surface Management necessitates continuous monitoring of every online asset owned or hosted externally by an organization, including assets owned directly by them or third parties, like cloud infrastructure, IaaS/SaaS services, wikis, and code repositories. Regular discovery, monitoring, and swift remediation are fundamental elements of an effective security posture program.

Many organizations contain thousands, if not millions, of internet-facing assets, which often go undetected by traditional tools and processes - leaving attackers to exploit any vulnerabilities uncovered through hidden blind spots to bypass hardened defences. Gaps in coverage could include forgotten assets, misconfigurations and vulnerabilities needing to be addressed quickly enough by organizations.

An Attack Surface Management solution can assist organizations undergoing significant transitions such as digital transformation, cloud migration or shadow IT. Such an attack surface management solution will detect new assets and vulnerabilities and misconfigurations across an ecosystem of internet-facing assets - it even helps reveal dark web assets or those exposed by data breaches!

A good solution should provide clear and prioritized action for each identified risk, which can be done by evaluating vulnerability ratings, business impact analysis, and other criteria. This information can then be passed directly to the team responsible for remediation and prioritizing defensive strategies like firewalls and micro-segmentation.

Virtually all modern compliances, regulatory standards and data protection laws rely on continuous Attack Surface Management of some sort. If implemented effectively, Attack Surface Management can significantly simplify the adoption of NIST frameworks, PCI DSS, GDPR etc. And can significantly decrease the chances of costly data breaches due to human error or other undetected exposures. In addition to continuous Attack Surface Monitoring and multifactor authentication for account accesses, good defences should also be in place against exploited weak points with password policies, multifactor authentication, and awareness training, thus making it much harder for attackers to gain entry and infiltrate organizations with malware/ransomware etc.

Why Attack Surface Management Matters

In the modern enterprise, every connected device, cloud service, web application, and human interaction can become a potential entry point for cyberattacks. This collection of all possible attack entry points is called your attack surface.

For Security Operations Center (SOC) teams and IT administrators, managing this attack surface is a mission-critical task. Without continuous visibility and control, organizations are vulnerable to breaches, data loss, and operational disruption.

Attack Surface Management (ASM) is the ongoing process of discovering, monitoring, assessing, and reducing these potential attack points — across both known and unknown assets — to proactively minimize risk.

Attack Surface vs. Threat Surface

While often used interchangeably, attack surface and threat surface mean different things:

• Attack Surface: Every possible vulnerability or exposure in your environment, regardless of whether it is currently being exploited.
• Threat Surface: The subset of vulnerabilities that attackers are actively targeting at a given moment.

Example:

If you have 500 exposed internet-facing assets, that’s your attack surface. If a new exploit emerges for one outdated web server, that server becomes part of your threat surface.

Why this matters: SOC teams must address both — reducing the total attack surface while prioritizing current threats.

Types of Attack Surfaces

A complete ASM strategy covers three main categories:

Digital Attack Surface

Includes all internet-connected IT assets such as:

• Websites and web apps
• APIs
• Cloud storage buckets
• Email servers
• IoT devices

Risk Example: An unpatched web application vulnerable to SQL injection.

Physical Attack Surface

Comprises physical access points and hardware:

• Lost or stolen laptops
• Unsecured data center access
• Unlocked server rooms
• Rogue USB devices

Risk Example: A stolen company laptop containing sensitive, unencrypted files.

Social Engineering (Human) Attack Surface

The human element — employees, contractors, partners — who could be manipulated into compromising security:

• Phishing emails
• Pretexting phone calls
• Malicious insiders

Risk Example: An employee clicking a malicious link in a spear-phishing email.

Common Attack Vectors

Attack vectors are the paths attackers use to exploit your attack surface. Common examples include:

• Phishing: Deceptive communications tricking users into revealing credentials.
• Malware & Ransomware: Malicious software designed to infiltrate systems.
• Web App Exploits: Attacks like SQL injection or XSS targeting websites.
• Network Attacks: Exploiting open ports or unsecured network protocols.
• Zero-Day Vulnerabilities: New flaws without available patches.
• Cloud Misconfigurations: Publicly exposed cloud storage or lax permissions.
• Supply Chain Attacks: Breaching through third-party vendors or code libraries.
• Insider Threats: Employees or partners abusing legitimate access.

How to Measure and Assess Your Attack Surface

Continuous assessment is key for SOC teams. Steps include:

1. Comprehensive Asset Inventory
   Discover all assets — including cloud, on-premises, remote endpoints, IoT, and shadow IT.
2. Network & Vulnerability Scanning
   Identify open ports, outdated software, and misconfigurations.
3. Penetration Testing & Red Teaming
   Simulate attacks to uncover weaknesses scanners might miss.
4. Risk-Based Prioritization
   Rank vulnerabilities by likelihood and potential impact.
5. Human Factor Evaluation
   Test employee susceptibility with phishing simulations and access audits.

Tools & Techniques for Effective ASM

SOC teams and IT admins use a combination of tools to manage the attack surface:

• Automated Discovery Platforms: Continuously identify internet-facing assets.
• Vulnerability Scanners: Detect and categorize known weaknesses.
• Penetration Testing Tools: Actively probe defenses to simulate real-world attacks.
• Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): Monitor cloud configurations for risks.
• Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR): Detect and contain endpoint threats.
• Identity & Access Management (IAM) Auditing: Ensure least privilege and detect anomalies.
• Threat Intelligence Feeds: Stay informed about emerging vulnerabilities.
• Dark Web Monitoring: Identify leaked credentials or data.
• Security Orchestration, Automation & Response (SOAR): Automate remediation workflows.

Best Practices to Reduce Your Attack Surface

• Remove Unused Assets & Services
  Decommission old servers, close unused ports, and delete stale accounts.
• Enforce Least Privilege Access
  Grant only the permissions necessary for a role or process.
• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
  Adds an extra verification layer for logins.
• Segment Networks
  Limit lateral movement if an attacker breaches one part of your network.
• Harden Configurations
  Disable default credentials, secure APIs, and review firewall rules.
• Regular Patching
  Apply updates promptly to close known vulnerabilities.
• Monitor for Shadow IT
  Identify and control unauthorized cloud services or devices.

Real-World Examples of ASM in Action

Case 1 – Cloud Misconfiguration Prevention

A global retail company discovered a publicly accessible cloud storage bucket during an ASM scan. Remediation prevented exposure of millions of customer records.

Case 2 – Zero-Day Vulnerability Response

A SOC team identified a critical zero-day affecting an internet-facing VPN. The system was patched within hours, averting potential ransomware deployment.

Case 3 – Insider Threat Detection

Regular access audits revealed a terminated employee’s credentials were still active. Immediate revocation prevented misuse.

External vs Internal Attack Surface

• External ASM (EASM): Focuses on internet-facing assets visible to attackers.
• Internal ASM: Covers internal networks, applications, and insider threats.

A complete ASM strategy integrates both to prevent breaches from any direction.

ASM vs Vulnerability Management

• ASM: Continuous discovery of both known and unknown assets, with an emphasis on external exposures.
• Vulnerability Management: Periodic scanning of known assets for known issues.

Key Point: ASM finds what you didn’t know existed; vulnerability management secures what you already know about.

Why SOC Teams and IT Admins Should Prioritize ASM

• SOC Teams: Gain real-time visibility into evolving external threats.
• IT Admins: Maintain accurate inventories, reduce configuration drift, and prevent shadow IT risks.
• Shared Benefit: Faster incident response, fewer blind spots, and reduced breach risk.

Conclusion

In an era of expanding digital footprints, Attack Surface Management is essential for SOC teams and IT administrators tasked with defending enterprise networks. By continuously discovering, monitoring, and reducing potential attack points — across digital, physical, and human domains — organizations can proactively minimize risk and stay ahead of adversaries.

Attack Mitre

• DDoS Attacks
• Phishing Attack
• Kerberoasting Attack
• External Attack Surface Management
• Golden Ticket Attack
• Cyberattack Kill Chain
• Silver Ticket Attack
• Brute Force Attacks
• Identity-Based Attacks