Where Could They Get In? — TechKnowSurge

About this interactive

An attacker looking at a network asks one question first: where are the ways in? Every answer is part of the attack surface, and the lesson sorts them four ways. Physical entry points need someone at the equipment: a live network jack in an empty room, an unlocked wiring closet, servers in a room anyone can walk into. Digital entry points need no visit: a firewall port left open, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth that accepts anyone, software that keeps a two-way connection to the internet, and old data files that are there to be stolen. Human entry points are people who can be tricked by an email, a text, a call or a video call. Outside entities are the vendors, contractors, partners, customers and suppliers who have been given a way in, or who sell you equipment you then plug in. Shrinking the surface means working each kind: fewer and locked-down ports and rooms, closed services and cleaned-up data, trained staff and call-back rules, and fewer, better-vetted outside entities. It is never done once: review it, because the surface changes.

What you'll learn

Sort an entry point into the attack surface by its kind: physical access to the equipment, a digital path such as an open port, wireless link, installed software or stored data, a person who can be tricked, or an outside entity such as a vendor, partner or customer
Name the step that would shrink each entry point: fewer or locked-down physical ports, closed services and cleaned-up data, trained staff and verification steps, fewer and better-vetted outside entities

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

2.2 Explain common threat vectors and attack surfaces.

3.2 Given a scenario, apply security principles to secure enterprise infrastructure.

2.5 Explain the purpose of mitigation techniques used to secure the enterprise.

Key terms

Attack Surface: The total set of points in a system where an unauthorized user can attempt to enter or extract data.
Attack Vector: The specific path or method a threat actor uses to gain unauthorized access to a system or network, such as a phishing email, an unpatched vulnerability, or a misconfigured network port.
Trust Boundary: A point within a system or network where the level of trust or security changes, separating more trusted zones from less trusted ones.
Social Engineering: A manipulation technique that exploits human psychology to trick individuals into revealing confidential information.
Supply Chain: The network of vendors, suppliers, and service providers whose hardware, software, or services an organization depends on, each representing a potential source of security vulnerability.
Managed Service Provider: A third-party company that remotely manages a customer's IT infrastructure or end-user systems. MSPs can introduce shared security risks; a compromised MSP can serve as a launchpad for attacks against all of its clients simultaneously.

Topics

Attack Surface Attack Vector Social Engineering Supply Chain Interactive Categorize

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