Why Automated Analysis Is Essential for Proactive Network Vulnerability Detection

Network vulnerabilities don’t usually pop up out of nowhere. Rather, they build slowly as organizations deploy and grow their networks. 

The growth of networks throughout cloud environments, on-prem environments, and partner environments, combined with the routine nature of the way organizations are connecting to each other, has caused the creation of new exposure paths through constant configuration changes, policy updates, and new deployments.

In this article we’ll discuss the importance of automated network analysis as an essential tool for proactive vulnerability discovery. We will also discuss how the gradual build-up of exposure has taken place within modern organizations, the difficulties of current vulnerability discovery processes to maintain accuracy with the growth of organizations, and how it is used for the continual discovery of actual connectivity and to provide risk insight. 

Why are traditional methods to detect vulnerabilities not effective?

The majority of organizations still use occasional scanning, auditing, and penetration testing to identify any existing vulnerabilities.

These methods were adequate, as network environments were undergoing a slow rate of change before the rapid growth and development of modern enterprise environments.

Currently, these static methods of discovery struggle to keep pace with the speed of change within modern infrastructures.

• Periodic assessments provide organizations with snapshot visibility.
• Manual analysis does not provide continuous visibility of configuration changes.
• Static scans can only provide visibility of exposed services, not exposure paths.
• Audits only provide insight into “intended” network configuration and not “actual” network connectivity.

This means that network vulnerability may exist for an extended period of time between review cycles, and therefore attackers have a significantly greater opportunity to exploit these vulnerabilities before the organization detecting them as per Netpicker.

How are vulnerabilities allowed to accumulate in a network?

Modern enterprise networks are constantly evolving due to the numerous operations occurring within the organization’s environments.

For example, organization’s deploy cloud workloads daily; firewall policies are constantly evolving; routing changes occur frequently; remote users and/or partners are added to the environment, etc. 

While each of these operational changes may appear controlled and intentional, collectively they ultimately change how the multiple systems can communicate with each other in network vulnerability.

Due to the continual evolution of an organisation’s network, there are numerous situations that develop over time, including:

1. Multiple environments with uncontrolled access
2. Internal resources accessible via the Internet
3. Multiple environments on the same network with no segmentation
4. Conflicting policies and exceptions
5. Unexpected lateral movement paths.

Due to the gradual emergence of these types of issues, there is a high probability of these issues going unnoticed until the organization experiences a significant attack or breach in network vulnerability.

What can be discovered through automated network analysis?

Automated network analysis provides organizations with the ability to evaluate their entire network as a system of connected devices, versus evaluating each device in isolation from other devices located on the organization’s network as per Netpicker.  

By employing automated analysis, organizations can gain insight into the following questions, which may otherwise be difficult for an organization to determine through manual review:

1. Which systems can connect to sensitive data?
2. Where is network segmentation broken between multiple cloud environments or geographic regions?
3. What firewall configuration allows excessive access?
4. Where are the potential lateral movement paths between environments?
5. What known exposure were unknowingly created that violate an organization’s security intent?

Understanding these types of issues provides organizations with the ability to move from being reactive to proactive about network vulnerability detection and allows organizations to have a clear “overall” exposure picture versus a single exposure issue in network vulnerability as per Netpicker.

How does automation enables proactive vulnerability detection?

• Continuous awareness of real connectivity
• Aligning security policy with reality
• Detecting risk due to changes that occur early
• Contextualizing risk prioritization

Not all vulnerabilities have an equal amount of impact. Automated analysis solutions allow organizations to prioritize the most impactful risks associated with their exposure based on reachability, asset sensitivity, and exposure scope in network vulnerabilities.

Collectively, these features shift organizations from relying on periodic discovery to proactive prevention of vulnerabilities.

Why does early detection change the outcomes of an organization’s security?

The time frame in which a vulnerability is detected directly correlates to the level of likelihood and impact that breach will have in network vulnerability. 

The longer that an organization can maintain an exposure condition unidentified, the more likely this breach will be able to be exploited by an attacker through methods such as reconnaissance and lateral movement before the organization is able to effectively respond to that exposure as per Netpicker.

The faster an organization can identify and close an exposure condition, the less time an attacker has to potentially gain access to the organization’s systems in network vulnerability.

Organizations that are using automated vulnerability analysis solutions will experience multiple key benefits:

• They will find out sooner if and when they have an exposure or opportunity for an exposure.
• They will have fewer potential lateral movement pathways.
• They will maintain more consistent segmentation across their various business environments.
• They will be able to reduce the time required to address the vulnerabilities discovered through automated analysis.
• They will have improved audit readiness and assurance that their policy is being adhered to.

In addition, as the majority of today’s attacks are conducted by attempting to exploit the network as opposed to exploiting software vulnerabilities, controlling exposure at the connectivity level is one of the most effective means of improving an organization’s overall security posture in network vulnerability.

What are the practical steps to implement automated vulnerability analysis?

Most organizations that adopt automated vulnerability analysis solutions will follow a structured series of steps:

• Step 1: Consolidate network visibility
• Step 2: Document security intention
• Step 3: Implement continuous exposure and policy assessment
• Step 4: Integrate with change management and security operations
• Step 5: Prioritize and fix critical exposures identified by automated analysis
• Step 6: Continually monitor for newly identified exposures as the various business environments change.

To conclude, using this structured approach allows organizations to incorporate automated vulnerability analysis into their daily business operations, which in turn will help improve an organization’s security posture. To know more about network vulnerability, contact us at Netpicker!