Cybersecurity challenges increase as our digital landscape expands. Connected systems, remote workforces, and cloud services offer innumerable potential entry points for attackers and have expanded the potential attack surface that businesses must defend. This increasing complexity, along with the sophistication of cyber threats, elevates the importance of attack surface management (ASM), a critical modern cybersecurity practice aimed at proactively identifying, managing, and reducing attack vectors.
An indispensable focus for any ASM practice is your organization’s identity systems—particularly Active Directory (AD). A specialized identity attack surface management (IASM) practice is not optional but a fundamental necessity for organizations that rely on identity services.
This guide aims to provide a broad understanding of ASM, its role in your greater cybersecurity program, and the specialized IASM strategies and tools necessary to protect AD—and your critical business operations.
What is attack surface management?
ASM acts as the first line of defense, aiming to reduce an organization’s attack surface and exposure to threats by identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities. The practice of ASM creates a systematic way for security teams to continuously scan for and address weaknesses, misconfigurations, and unintentional exposures across the digital landscape. Effective ASM plays a crucial role in protecting sensitive data and maintaining regulatory compliance.
As a preventive measure, ASM is an integral part of a broader cybersecurity strategy, working in tandem with threat detection and incident response mechanisms across the IT ecosystem. The key goals of ASM include minimizing vulnerabilities, continuously monitoring changes, and prioritizing risks based on their potential impact.
In particular, managing the identity attack surface is vital for securing identity systems—including AD, Entra ID, and Okta—which function as the backbone of the enterprise IT environment, governing user access, permissions, and authentication. Given its central role across all your critical business functions, the identity system is a prime target for threat actors looking to escalate privileges, establish persistence, and execute wide-ranging attacks.
A compromised AD could potentially grant attackers broad access to sensitive resources, enable lateral movement within the network, and lead to devastating data breaches. An IASM practice serves as the single point of truth for identities across a hybrid infrastructure, including on-premises and cloud environments.
What components make up the attack surface?
The full attack surface consists of all potential points where an unauthorized actor could exploit a vulnerability. These include hardware, software, network—and people. By reducing the number of points of exposure and increasing the security stance of critical assets like AD, ASM enhances an organization’s overall security posture; protects resources; and integrates seamlessly with broader cybersecurity strategies as well as threat detection and incident response plans.
Because the term attack surface refers to the sum of all potential entry points through which an attacker can gain access to a system or network, the attack surface is typically broken down into several components, such as networks, endpoints, applications, and users. Each of these component areas can be exploited, and understanding their relationship to ASM is essential for effective cybersecurity.
- Networks: Network devices and configurations, including firewalls and routers, contribute to the attack surface. Misconfigurations or weak security settings can lead to unauthorized access.
- Endpoints: Computers (including workstations and servers both on premises and in the cloud), mobile devices, and IoT devices (such as industrial control devices, security cameras, sensors, and more) can be exploited if not properly secured.
- Applications: Unpatched software, unauthorized software, misconfigured software, and open ports can be entry points for attackers.
- Users: These “human factors” include employees, contractors, and partners who have varying levels of access to the organization’s systems and data. Users may set weak passwords or be susceptible to phishing, opening up critical vulnerabilities.
Attackers treat the attack surface as a roadmap for infiltrating the organization’s network. These component attack surface areas present unique risks to AD environments. Phishing directly targets user credentials, while unpatched software vulnerabilities and misconfigured software or devices can enable attackers to escalate privileges within the organization’s network. From an attacker’s perspective, an unmonitored or inadequately protected component within the attack surface is a valuable opportunity.
In addition, attackers may leverage a combination of components to achieve their goals. For instance, a compromised endpoint could allow an attacker to launch credential-harvesting activities, seeking access to privileged accounts.
In many cases, malicious actors don’t even have to obtain passwords; for example, techniques like Pass the Hash or Golden Ticket attacks can be launched with an encrypted password hash rather than a plaintext password. Techniques like Kerberoasting specifically target accounts with high privileges in Active Directory.
Thus, even when passwords are encrypted, a misconfigured endpoint with direct AD access could allow an attacker to run reconnaissance activities, establish persistence, and escalate privileges. Furthermore, a lack of proper multifactor authentication in AD can leave identities exposed to brute force or credential-stuffing attacks that quickly provide entry points for attackers.
Why prioritize Active Directory in attack surface management?
Active Directory holds the keys to your organization’s crown jewels. Its central role in managing user identities and access makes it the prime target within the broader attack surface, and AD is the identity system used by 90 percent of organizations around the world.
Attackers employ a vast catalog of identity attack methods to gain unauthorized access to AD, where they can escalate privileges, and move laterally across your network—undetected by security controls—leading to a complete compromise of AD. Once an attacker controls the identity system, they have the power to steal data, shut down critical systems, and extort ransom.
The issue has become a critical focus in cybersecurity—so much so that Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) has become central to comprehensive ASM programs. ITDR ensures continuous monitoring and proactive remediation of AD misconfigurations, unauthorized changes, and potential vulnerabilities while putting in place practical solutions for protecting AD before, during, and after an attack.
Key strategies for effective attack surface management
Effective attack surface management requires implementing strategic and tactical measures aimed at minimizing vulnerabilities, securing assets, and enhancing visibility into potential risks. Consider implementing the following best practices, paying special attention to minimizing identity system exposure.
- Network segmentation: Separate critical systems to limit lateral movement in case of a breach. Use segmentation to limit direct communication between workstations and AD domain controllers.
- Minimizing vulnerabilities: Regularly scan and patch systems such as VPN software, endpoints, and identity systems to mitigate known vulnerabilities and promptly address security alerts or indicators of compromise.
- Continuous monitoring: Use automated tools to maintain real-time visibility of the attack surface and detect changes or anomalies. Automated alerting systems can identify unusual login behaviors, unauthorized modifications, and suspicious account activities. Monitor AD for changes in Group Policy Objects or modifications to accounts in the Domain Admins group to catch suspicious activity early.
- Least-privileged user account (LUA) models: Minimize potential attack vectors by granting users only the permissions necessary for their roles. In AD, reinforce LUA by granting temporary admin privileges through privileged access management (PAM) solutions—rather than permanent elevated access—to minimize exposure to privilege escalation attacks.
- Proactive risk management: Evaluate risks based on their potential impact and prioritize remediation efforts accordingly. External audits, red teaming, and tabletop attack simulation exercises can uncover hidden risks, providing valuable insights to strengthen security measures.
What tools are required for attack surface management?
A range of platforms and tools are available to address security challenges across the IT ecosystem and help ensure consistent, effective ASM. The right combination of traditional IT and purpose-built identity-first security tools enable you to systematically identify vulnerabilities, monitor changes, and implement proactive security measures.
Tools designed to support ASM generally across components in the IT ecosystem fall into a few major categories.
- Vulnerability Management Systems (VMS): These solutions typically include a suite of tools that continuously scan for known vulnerabilities across components including applications, endpoints, and network devices. They assess the organization’s infrastructure against an up-to-date database of vulnerabilities and provide actionable insights for remediation. By identifying critical vulnerabilities in applications or configurations, these systems can help reduce exposure of AD servers to exploitation. Some VMS solutions include automated patching capabilities and provide prioritized recommendations based on the severity of vulnerabilities.
- Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): SIEM technology aggregates and analyzes security-related data from across the organization, providing centralized visibility into the attack surface and helping to detect anomalies. SIEM solutions may both generate real-time alerts and support forensic investigations. Leading SIEM platforms allow organizations to monitor AD logs for unusual, repeated, and failed login attempts; unauthorized changes; or potential signs of lateral movement.
- Endpoint detection and response (EDR): EDR solutions focus on identifying suspicious activities at the endpoint level. They provide visibility into endpoints, detect malicious behaviors, and enable rapid response to potential threats. Leading EDR solutions help secure endpoints that are interconnected with identity systems and can serve as direct entry points for attackers.
While these traditional IT ecosystem tools play an essential role in broad-scope attack surface management, protecting Active Directory requires specialized solutions that are tailored to the identity system’s unique requirements. This is where solutions from Semperis come into play, with a focus on providing robust, AD-specific attack surface management and protection.
- Directory Services Protector (DSP): DSP is a comprehensive ITDR platform that continuously monitors AD and Entra ID environments to provide full visibility into vulnerabilities and risky misconfigurations, and it delivers guidance for proactive mitigation. The platform supports systematic and ongoing hybrid identity attack surface management with:
- Real-time threat detection: DSP’s Lightning Identity Runtime Protection (IRP) employs AI and machine-learning to monitor AD in real time for indicators of compromise such as privilege escalation attempts, unauthorized changes, and anomalous user behaviors.
- Automated response capabilities: DSP uses multiple data sources to detect advanced attacker activity that would not typically be found in logs. The platform enables you to set alerts and rules for automatically reverting unauthorized changes (using the Auto Undo feature) or isolating compromised accounts.
- Detailed auditing and reporting: DSP provides comprehensive reports on AD security posture, empowering accelerated attack response and mitigation to reduce damage. The rich data enables teams to quickly find and eliminate malware—and isolate compromised accounts to prevent follow-on attacks.
- Active Directory Forest Recovery (ADFR): AD recovery is often a single point of failure in many organizations. Semperis’ patented technology helps organizations quickly recover from security incidents or disasters by ensuring a clean and secure AD environment post-recovery, reducing the likelihood of retaining compromised objects or accounts. ADFR empowers identity attack surface management with:
- Automatic, immutable backups: ADFR’s integrations with Azure cloud storage and Cohesity storage clusters provide robust, automated storage of uncompromised AD backups.
- Rapid restore: ADFR fosters rapid file processing times, helping accelerate AD forest recovery, minimizing downtime and reducing the risk of prolonged exposure.
- Secure and trusted restoration: ADFR provides an isolated recovery environment, ensuring that compromised elements are not carried over during migrations or restoration, resulting in a more secure and hardened environment that is resistant to follow-on attacks.
Combining traditional tools like VMS, SIEM, and EDR with specialized identity security tools such as those from Semperis ensures comprehensive protection for both the organization’s broader attack surface and key identity assets in AD. This layered approach allows security teams to continuously monitor, detect, and respond to potential threats, thereby reducing risk and strengthening the organization’s overall security posture.
How to implement an attack surface management program
An effective ASM practice involves multiple steps that will cross departments and disciplines.
- Define the attack surface: Identify all potential entry points and assets that could be targeted by attackers.
- Identify vulnerabilities: Conduct comprehensive assessments to uncover weaknesses and prioritize risks.
- Prioritize risks: Develop a risk management strategy based on the potential impact of identified vulnerabilities.
- Collaborate across departments: Ensure cross-functional collaboration and assign clear responsibilities for ASM.
- Integrate with disaster recovery and incident response: Ensure ASM is integrated into broader business continuity plans.
- Measure effectiveness: Define metrics and KPIs to track the success of ASM efforts and continuously improve the program.
For most organizations, the complexity of achieving such a program—and maintaining its rigor over time—is difficult, if not impossible, without assistance. Particularly when addressing the intricacies of identity systems, specialized expertise is required to ensure you’ve addressed all contingencies.
Identity Forensics and Incident Response (IFIR) services can strengthen an IASM practice by taking a pragmatic approach to not just threat prevention but also incident response planning, containment, and recovery. Semperis’ IFIR empowers cybersecurity teams with full-attack-lifecycle services including:
- Attack prevention and response planning: Starting with a deep understanding of your business objectives and recovery metrics, the IFIR team details actions for stopping an attack and restoring business operations quickly, with minimal downtime.
- Identity-specific forensics: In the event of a cyber incident, identity experts perform immediate triage, containment, and investigation, providing compliance reporting and recommendations to improve identity system security posture.
- Attack surface reduction: While the ultimate goal of IASM is to reduce the likelihood of a cyberattack, IFIR services encompass attack surface reduction before, during, and after an attack.
In addition, IFIR experts ensure that remediations are incorporated into your broader ASM and cybersecurity programs and workflows to strengthen your enterprise crisis response planning and execution.
How do organizations tailor ASM to real-world needs?
The overarching elements of an ASM program can be outlined—as we have done here. But in practice, each organization must define the outcomes that matter most to their business.
Let’s take a quick look at how different organizations have successfully implemented identity attack surface management strategies that meet their needs for compliance and business continuity.
Case Study 1: Quick response and forensic analysis
For a large financial services institution (FSI), the top requirements included faster detection and response to threats—and providing comprehensive data to regulators.
- Reduced detection and response time: Implementing DSP reduced the time to detect and respond to threats by 75%. This significant improvement was achieved through automated alerts and detailed forensic analysis, allowing the security team to act swiftly.
- Enhanced security posture: Continuous monitoring and proactive threat hunting helped the institution identify vulnerabilities and mitigate risks before they could be exploited.
- Compliance and reporting: DSP’s robust reporting capabilities ensured compliance with financial industry regulations and provided clear audit trails for security incidents.
Lessons learned:
- Proactive monitoring is key: Continuous monitoring of AD environments is essential for early threat detection and response.
- Automation enhances efficiency: Automated alerts and responses significantly reduce the workload on security teams and improve overall efficiency.
Case Study 2: Rapid restoration of critical services
A government agency used ADFR to recover from a ransomware attack. Their priority was restoring their essential public services without losing public trust.
- Rapid recovery: ADFR facilitated the rapid recovery of the AD environment, minimizing downtime.
- Data integrity: ADFR’s patented Clean OS recovery technology prevented data loss and maintained the consistency of security policies and configurations.
- Operational continuity: By restoring the AD environment swiftly, the agency was able to resume normal operations with minimal disruption.
Lessons learned:
- Preparation is crucial: Having a robust recovery plan in place is essential for minimizing the impact of ransomware attacks.
- Automated recovery saves time: Automated recovery solutions like ADFR can significantly reduce recovery time and ensure data integrity.
Case Study 3: Safeguarding PII
A healthcare provider employed Semperis solutions to secure their AD environment, where their priorities included bolstering security to comply with HIPAA regulations.
- Enhanced security posture: Implementation of DSP and ADFR significantly improved the provider’s security posture, ensuring the protection of sensitive patient data.
- Compliance with HIPAA: The Semperis platform helped the provider achieve and maintain compliance with HIPAA regulations by ensuring the integrity and security of AD data.
- Continuous monitoring: DSP provided real-time visibility into AD changes, enabling the provider to detect and respond to threats proactively.
Lessons learned:
- Compliance requires continuous effort: Maintaining compliance with regulations like HIPAA requires continuous monitoring and proactive security measures.
- Integrated solutions are effective: Combining monitoring and recovery solutions provides comprehensive protection for AD environments, before, during, and after an incident.
Navigating trends and preparing for the future with IASM
Active Directory is now more than 25 years old. At the time it was created, its developers could not have foreseen the full scope of digital transformation we have experienced.
Today, cybersecurity professionals are challenged to manage an attack surface that encompasses touchpoints in every realm of life. And every touchpoint connects through the identity system.
Identity threats will only grow in number and scope as we see the effects of emerging and ongoing challenges such as:
- Increasing complexity: Ubiquitous cloud services, remote work, and IoT devices have created an ever-expanding attack surface, exposing new vulnerabilities daily.
- Supply chain attacks: Attackers are targeting supply chains, leveraging interconnections between organizations—compounding the layers of the attack surface and the profits from their attacks.
- Zero-day vulnerabilities: Attackers stay abreast of cybersecurity news, positioning themselves to instantly exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities—making rapid, automated response and remediation imperative.
- AI and machine learning: These technologies are enhancing the sophistication of threat actors—but they also enhance the effectiveness of IASM by improving threat detection, automating responses, and providing deeper insights into the attack surface.
Across this shifting landscape, Active Directory remains essential as it is foundational for every aspect of digital operations, from cloud services to Zero Trust architectures.
Staying ahead of emerging threats requires a proactive, continuous approach to ASM. By managing the attack surface—and prioritizing management of the identity attack surface—companies are better positioned for operational resilience, no matter what comes.
Want to understand how Semperis solutions can help you with identity attack surface management? Contact us to request a demo.
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