Sherlock Holmes gained fame for his remarkable skill in sifting through vast amounts of data. He discards the irrelevant and uncovers concealed truths. His philosophy, though simple, is brilliant: “After eliminating the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how unlikely, must be the truth.” Instead of pursuing every lead, Holmes zeroes in on the essential details that lead him to the solution.
Within cybersecurity, exposure validation follows Holmes’ methodology: Security teams often face an extensive list of vulnerabilities, but not all of them pose a genuine threat. Just as Holmes dismisses irrelevant clues, security teams need to eliminate exposures that are improbable to be exploited or do not present significant risks.
Exposure validation (also known as Adversarial Exposure Validation) allows teams to focus on the critical issues and reduce distractions. Similar to Holmes’ methodical approach, validating exposures guides organizations towards vulnerabilities that, if left unattended, could result in a security breach.
The Crucial Importance of Exposure Validation for Your Business
Before delving into technical specifics, let’s address the main question: Why is it vital to check for exposures in every organization, irrespective of its industry or size?
- Diminishes risk by concentrating on exploitable vulnerabilities.
- Enhances resource allocation by prioritizing the most critical issues.
- Strengthens security resilience through ongoing validation.
- Ensures compliance with audit and regulatory standards.
The Weak Points in Your Defenses: Understanding Threat Exposures
In the realm of cybersecurity, an exposure refers to a vulnerability, misconfiguration, or security loophole within an organization’s IT infrastructure that could be leveraged by malicious actors. Examples include software vulnerabilities, weak encryption, improperly configured security measures, inadequate access controls, and unpatched systems. Visualize these exposures as vulnerabilities in your armor – if left unaddressed, they create gateways for attackers to breach your systems.
The Significance of Exposure Validation: From Concept to Application
Exposure validation involves continuous assessments to determine if identified vulnerabilities are exploitable, aiding security teams in prioritizing the most severe risks. Not all vulnerabilities carry the same weight, and many can be mitigated by existing controls or may not pose a real threat in your environment. For instance, if an organization discovers a critical SQL injection vulnerability in one of its web applications, the security team tries to exploit this vulnerability through a simulated attack scenario – a form of exposure validation. They find that all attack vectors in the assault are effectively thwarted by existing security measures like web application firewalls (WAFs). This realization enables the team to shift its focus to other vulnerabilities that remain unaddressed by current defenses.
While CVSS and EPSS scores offer a theoretical risk assessment based on scores, they may not reflect actual exploitability. Exposure validation bridges this knowledge gap by simulating real attack scenarios and transforming raw vulnerability data into actionable insights, ensuring that efforts are directed towards critical areas.
Steer Clear of False Leads: Concentrate on Genuine Cyber Threats
Adversarial exposure validation offers invaluable context through simulated attacks and evaluating security measures.
For example, a financial institution identifies 1,000 vulnerabilities in its network. Without validation, prioritizing remediation would be a daunting task. However, through attack simulations, it becomes apparent that 90% of these vulnerabilities are mitigated by existing controls such as NGFW, IPS, and EDR. The remaining 100 vulnerabilities are immediately exploitable and pose a high risk to critical assets like customer databases.
Consequently, the organization can allocate its time and resources towards remedying these 100 high-risk vulnerabilities, leading to a substantial improvement in security.
Streamlining Sherlock: Expanding Exposure Validation with Technology
In today’s intricate IT landscapes, manual validation is impractical – hence, the necessity for automation.
Why is automation indispensable for exposure validation?
- Scalability: Automation swiftly validates thousands of vulnerabilities, surpassing manual capabilities.
- Consistency: Automated tools deliver consistent and error-free results.
- Speed: Automation expedites the validation process, facilitating prompt remediation and reduced exposure times.
Exposure validation tools encompass Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) and Penetration Testing Automation. These solutions allow organizations to validate exposures on a large scale by simulating real-world attack scenarios that test security measures against tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) employed by threat actors.
Moreover, automation relieves the burden on security teams overwhelmed by the sheer volume of vulnerabilities and alerts. By addressing only the most critical exposures, teams become more efficient and productive, thereby minimizing risks associated with exhaustion.
Handling Common Challenges in Exposure Validation
Despite the benefits, many organizations are still hesitant to tackle the validation of their exposures.might hesitate to establish validation of exposures. Let’s address a few common queries:
⮩ “Is it challenging to implement exposure validation?”
Absolutely not. Automated tools can seamlessly integrate with your existing systems with minimal disruption to your current workflows.
⮩ “Why should we prioritize this when we already have a vulnerability management system?”
While vulnerability management identifies weaknesses, exposure validation pinpoints vulnerabilities that are susceptible to exploitation, aiding in prioritizing significant risks.
⮩ “Is exposure validation exclusive to large enterprises?”
No, it’s adaptable for organizations of all sizes, regardless of their resources.
Diving Into the Core: Embedding Exposure Validation into Your CTEM Blueprint
The optimal return on investment in incorporating exposure validation occurs when it’s integrated within a Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) scheme.
CTEM comprises five crucial phases: Definition, Uncovering, Ranking, Validation, and Implementation. Each phase bears significant relevance; however, the validation phase holds particular importance, distinguishing theoretical risks from factual, actionable threats. This notion is echoed in the 2024 Gartner® Strategic Roadmap for Managing Threat Exposure: what appears as an “unmanageably vast problem” soon transforms into an “insurmountable challenge” sans validation.
Concluding the Puzzle: Eradicating the Improbable, Concentrating on the Crucial
Exposure validation echoes Sherlock Holmes’ deducible approach—it assists in eliminating the improbable to focus on the crucial. Even Mr. Spock underscores this logic, stating, “A predecessor of mine claimed that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how unlikely, must be the truth.” By validating which exposures are exploitable and which are safeguarded by current controls, organizations can streamline remediation efforts and bolster their security resilience efficiently.
Embrace this ageless wisdom in your cybersecurity strategy, embark on eliminating the impossible, and unearth the reality of your genuine threats. Explore how the Picus Security Validation Platform seamlessly merges with your existing systems, offering comprehensive exposure validation capabilities through advanced features like Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS), Automated Penetration Testing, and Red Teaming to help you mitigate risks, conserve time, and fortify your defenses against evolving threats.
Disclaimer: Dr. Suleyman Ozarslan, co-founder and VP of Research at Picus Security, authored this article.
About Author
