The threat of data breaches is higher than ever. Recent surveys showed that there were 1,291 data breaches in the first nine months of 2021, which was 17% higher than the number of total data breaches in all of 2020.
One of the most common ways hackers will attempt to steal information from your company or compromise it is by utilizing an external attack surface. You can’t afford to ignore these threats when instituting a data security strategy.
In this article, you’ll develop an understanding of the reasons companies should be aware of their external attack surface, how cyber-attacks are conducted through them, and what you can do to help protect your company’s data from cyberattacks.
What is an External Attack Surface and What Are the Consequences for Data Security?
External attack surface is a phrase used in information security to describe the number of ways hackers can get into your computer or utilize your network. It refers directly to the public Internet and any servers you have access to. However, even private networks can sometimes be hacked and used as attack vectors.
Backdoors are good examples of an External attack surface. If an attacker can get on your network, they can use the same ports you do to steal data, send spam, and even launch denial of service attacks against other servers.
If you have any unmonitored backdoors into your network that you don’t use anymore but haven’t disabled, they’re considered part of your external attack surface. You have to address these concerns as part of your data security strategy.
Am I At Risk of Cyber Attacks?
First off, once your Internet-connected devices are breached, hackers can rapidly take over your network ‘and your business ‘at their whim. You can’t leave your vulnerable data at risk, so you must make sure that you have carefully assessed your data security.
This can result in your Web traffic being re-routed to a scam website, attackers stealing data from your organization and storing it on their own data server (often without your knowledge), and denial of service attacks which can force you to shut down completely.
How to Proactively Protect Data from Cyber Attacks
1. Always Keep Your Software Up-To-Date
One of the most important data security safeguards is keeping your software up-to-date. Remember that this includes your operating systems, security software, productivity tools, and even your routers! If you don’t have automatic updates enabled for these applications, go to their websites and download the latest versions immediately. Doing so will protect you from known exploits, which the developer constantly patches.
2. Minimize Access Points Into Your Network When Feasible
Even if running a wholly locked down server or internal network accessible only via VPN or SSH tunnels isn’t practical, it still keeps your ports closed on firewalls. Doing this can significantly reduce the risk of attack and increase compliance with industry standards PCI DSS.
The less surface area people have to work with, the easier it is to keep your data safe and secure.
3. Monitoring Dark Web and Monitoring Your Data
Regularly monitoring the dark web and monitoring your data helps you discover any security leaks that might be present in your network. You can do this by signing up for a Dark Web monitoring service, which scans hidden networks for your information.
A trusted partner can monitor the dark web in real-time so that you can discover any breaches in your security immediately. This gives you enough time to fix the problem before it spirals out of control.
Final Thoughts
The only way to keep all potential threats and external attack surfaces out of your business is to arm yourself with knowledge and use best practices for digital security and physical safety.
That way, there’s no chance for a would-be attacker to steal your sensitive data or harm your hardware silently from anywhere.