Attack Path Verification for Reliable Exposure Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing exposure management systems lack accurate and reliable breach simulations due to insufficient knowledge of target network layouts, leading to incomplete and potentially misleading assessments of vulnerabilities and security weaknesses.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for exposure management that utilizes security agents to verify attack paths by simulating potential breaches, considering factors like network layout, firewall rules, and user privileges, ensuring only valid attack paths are included in the simulation results.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If breach simulations are performed without in-depth knowledge of target network layout, then the exposure management system can operate with simplified data requirements, but the simulation results become incomplete and potentially misleading
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by collecting network layout information, firewall rules, user privileges, and other contextual data before executing breach simulations. This preliminary data gathering ensures that simulations are based on accurate network representations, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability by preparing necessary information in advance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary layer that collects and validates network layout information from multiple sources (security agents, configuration files, APIs) before feeding it into the simulation engine. This intermediary ensures data accuracy without requiring direct complex interactions between simulation components and network infrastructure, maintaining ease of operation while improving reliability.
2Measurement precision
If attack path mapping is performed with comprehensive vulnerability information, then the security assessment becomes more thorough, but the complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the attack path mapping process into distinct modules: vulnerability collection, network layout analysis, simulation execution, and result validation. Each module handles specific aspects of the assessment, allowing comprehensive vulnerability analysis while managing system complexity through modular design. Security agents on individual hosts perform localized assessments that are then aggregated centrally.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds another dimension by incorporating network layout context (firewall rules, routing, user privileges) as a separate layer of analysis alongside traditional vulnerability scanning. This multi-dimensional approach enables thorough security assessment by combining vulnerability data with network topology information, while the layered structure manages complexity by organizing analysis in distinct dimensions.
3Measurement precision
If security agents verify each attack path in the attack path, then the accuracy of simulation results improves, but the time required for verification increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial verification by having security agents validate only critical path elements and high-risk vulnerabilities rather than exhaustively checking every possible attack vector. Agents focus verification efforts on the most significant threats identified in the simulation, achieving sufficient accuracy for security decision-making while reducing verification time through selective validation.
Solution Approach 2:
Security agents on individual hosts perform self-verification of attack paths by checking local security controls, firewall rules, and system configurations against simulated attack scenarios. This distributed self-service verification reduces central processing time while maintaining accuracy through localized validation at the source.
Data Source
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AI summary
An exposure management system, a server (102, 202) of an exposure management system and a method for exposure management in a network, the network (201) comprising at least one host, such as an endpoint (101, 205a-205h) and/or a server (102, 202), wherein a security agent (206a - 206h, 204a) is installed to at least one host. The method comprises requesting and/or receiving a list of vulnerabilities and/or misconfigurations of the at least one host in the network (201) and/or a list of vulnerabilities and/or misconfigurations of the network (201) and running an attack path simulation, e.g. at a backend system and/or at the at least one server (102, 202), for the at least one host of the network and/or the network (201). If an entry attack vector to a host is found with the attack path simulator, the method comprises determining and/or creating at least one attack path related to the host, e.g. for each identified attack path, based on the vulnerability and/or misconfiguration information. The method further comprises forming an attack path map based on the attack path simulation, verifying each determined attack path of the attack path map by the at least one agent (206a - 206h, 204a) in the attack path, e.g. by verifying by the agent (206a - 206h, 204a) that an attack or a part of the attack can be carried out as simulated, and removing the attacks and/or paths from the attack path map which are attacks and/or paths that were determined by the agent (206a - 206h, 204a) for being prevented, e.g. by a security control, in such a way that they cannot be carried out as simulated.