As a business owner, you understand the importance of protecting your assets. One area that is often overlooked is supply chain risk. In today’s interconnected world, supply chains are becoming increasingly complex, making them vulnerable to attack. Attack Surface Intelligence (ASI) is a powerful tool that can help you monitor your supply chain and mitigate risk. This article will explore what ASI is, why it is essential in supply chain monitoring, and how you can implement it in your business.
Introduction to Supply Chain Monitoring
Supply chain monitoring is the process of tracking and analysing the flow of goods and services from suppliers to customers. It involves identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities and implementing strategies to mitigate them. A supply chain can be complex and involve multiple suppliers, making it difficult to monitor and control.
There are many potential risks associated with supply chains, including cyber attacks, natural disasters, and geopolitical instability. A single supply chain disruption can significantly impact your business, leading to lost revenue, damaged reputation, and increased costs. When it comes to cyber attacks, some of the most prominent incidents in the last several years have all originated from supply-chain compromises, such as SolarWinds and CCleaner.
Understanding Attack Surface Intelligence
Attack Surface Intelligence is a cybersecurity concept that involves identifying and analyzing the digital footprint of an organization. It involves mapping out all the assets, systems, and networks that are exposed to the internet and analyzing them for potential vulnerabilities.
ASI provides a comprehensive view of an organisation’s attack surface, making identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities easier. It enables businesses to proactively monitor their digital footprint and take action to mitigate potential threats. This enables you to take the necessary steps to mitigate a potential situation before an adversary has weaponised it.
The Importance of Attack Surface Intelligence in Supply Chain Monitoring
Supply chains are becoming increasingly complex, making them vulnerable to attack. Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in the supply chain to gain access to sensitive information or disrupt operations. Attack Surface Intelligence is critical in identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities in the supply chain. By monitoring the digital footprint of suppliers and partners, businesses can identify potential risks and vulnerabilities before this weaponisation can occur. This information can be used to implement strategies to reduce the risk of a severe incident impacting your business and your customers.
Year-on-year, cybercriminals are rapidly increasing the pace at which they can move from a vulnerability being disclosed, to having working code to exploit that vulnerability. This can have serious consequences if your business is targeted. With ransomware almost certainly the end goal for the majority of threat actors.
The Risks of Supply Chain Attacks
Supply chain attacks can have a significant impact on businesses. From the aforementioned exploitation of vulnerabilities to gain access to sensitive information or disrupt operations. A single disruption in the supply chain can have a ripple effect, leading to lost revenue, damaged reputation, and increased costs.
Supply chain attacks can take many forms, including phishing attacks, malware, and ransomware. Hackers can also exploit vulnerabilities in third-party software or hardware to gain access to a network.
How Attack Surface Intelligence Helps to Mitigate Supply Chain Risk
Attack Surface Intelligence provides businesses with a comprehensive view of their external digital footprint, making identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities easier. By monitoring the digital footprint of suppliers and partners, businesses can identify potential risks and vulnerabilities in the supply chain.
ASI can be used to identify potential vulnerabilities in third-party software or hardware. It can also be used to monitor social media and other online channels for potential threats.
By proactively monitoring the supply chain, businesses can identify potential risks and vulnerabilities before they become a problem. This enables businesses to take action to mitigate potential threats and reduce the risk of supply chain attacks.
Implementing Attack Surface Intelligence in Your Business
Implementing Attack Surface Intelligence in your business requires a comprehensive strategy. The first step is identifying your digital footprint and mapping your attack surface. This involves identifying all the assets, systems, and networks that are exposed to the internet.
Once you have identified your attack surface, you can monitor it for potential risks and vulnerabilities. This involves using ASI tools to scan for potential threats and vulnerabilities.
Choosing the Right Attack Surface Intelligence Tools
Many ASI tools are available on the market, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. When choosing an ASI tool, it is essential to consider your specific needs and requirements.
Some ASI tools focus on mapping out an organisation’s attack surface, while others focus on monitoring social media and other online channels for potential threats. Some ASI tools are designed for large organizations, while others are more suitable for small and medium-sized businesses. At Perspective Intelligence, we use a combination of tools, research and information from the criminal underground to support our customers and their understanding of what the attack surface looks like for them, with bespoke reporting and briefings as required.
Best Practices for Using Attack Surface Intelligence
When using ASI, it is important to follow best practices to ensure that you get the most out of your investment. This includes regularly scanning your attack surface for potential risks and vulnerabilities, keeping your software and hardware up to date, and implementing access controls that make sense, such as principle of least privilege.
It is also important to have a plan to respond to potential threats and vulnerabilities. This involves identifying potential risks and vulnerabilities and developing a mitigation plan.
Case Studies: Successful Implementation of Attack Surface Intelligence
Many examples of businesses successfully implementing Attack Surface Intelligence to monitor their supply chain and mitigate risk could be discussed. For example, a large financial institution used ASI to identify potential vulnerabilities in its supply chain and implement strategies to reduce the risk of supply chain attacks.
Another example is a healthcare organization that used ASI to monitor their digital footprint and identify potential risks and vulnerabilities. This enabled them to proactively mitigate potential threats and reduce the attack risk via their supply chain.
Future of Supply Chain Monitoring with Attack Surface Intelligence
As supply chains become increasingly complex, the importance of ASI in supply chain monitoring will continue to grow. ASI tools are becoming more sophisticated, making it easier for businesses to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities in their supply chain.
In the future, we can expect to see ASI tools that are more integrated with other cybersecurity solutions, making it easier for businesses to monitor their entire cybersecurity posture.
Conclusion
Supply chain monitoring is critical in protecting your business from potential risks and vulnerabilities. Attack Surface Intelligence is a powerful tool that can help you monitor your supply chain and mitigate risk.
By understanding what ASI is, why it is important, and how to implement it in your business, you can take proactive steps to protect your assets and reduce the risk of supply chain attacks.
Contact Perspective Intelligence today to discuss your needs for Attack Surface Intelligence.
About Perspective Intelligence
Perspective Intelligence is a United Kingdom-based cyber intelligence specialist. We offer services across attack surface, cyber threat and open-source intelligence in addition to intelligence training services both in-person and online.
About Aaron Roberts
Aaron Roberts is an intelligence professional specialising in Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) and Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT). He is focused on building intelligence-led cyber capabilities in businesses of all sizes and conducting online investigations and research. He has worked within the public and private sectors and the British Military. As such, he understands how intelligence can and should be utilised within all environments and the fundamental approach businesses must take to get the maximum value out of their cyber intelligence program.
Aaron founded Perspective Intelligence in 2020 as he identified several ways in which his experience could support and improve the underlying security posture of organisations across the UK and globally. Aaron delivers training on behalf of Perspective Intelligence and is the author of the book Cyber Threat Intelligence: The No-Nonsense Guide for CISOs and Security Managers.