A human attack surface is the portion of a system that is vulnerable to attack by a human adversary. This can include both physical and logical components, such as entry points, administrator interfaces, and user accounts. The goal of a human attack surface analysis is to identify and quantify the risks posed by human adversaries, and to recommend mitigation strategies.
The term "attack surface" is derived from the field of military strategy, where it refers to the area exposed to attack by an enemy force. In the context of network security, the term has been adopted to refer to the exposure of systems and networks to potential security threats. The human attack surface is the portion of a system that is vulnerable to attack by a human adversary.
A human attack surface analysis is a systematic examination of the potential vulnerabilities of a system to attack by a human adversary. The goal of such an analysis is to identify and quantify the risks posed by human adversaries, and to recommend mitigation strategies.
There are a number of factors to consider in conducting a human attack surface analysis. These include the number and types of entry points into the system, the number and types of user accounts, the level of access granted to each type of user, the interfaces used by administrators, and the system's overall security posture.
The first step in conducting a human attack surface analysis is to identify the potential entry points into the system. These can be physical entry points, such as doors and windows, or logical entry points,
What are the possible attack surfaces?
The most common attack surfaces are networks, servers, applications, and user devices.
Networks can be attacked through a variety of means, including denial of service attacks, sniffing, and spoofing.
Servers can be attacked through a variety of means as well, including denial of service attacks, SQL injection, and cross-site scripting.
Applications can be attacked in a number of ways, including buffer overflows, cross-site scripting, and SQL injection.
User devices can be attacked through a number of means as well, including viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.
What are the three categories of attack surface threats?
There are three main categories of attack surface threats:
1. External threats: These are threats that come from outside of the organization, such as hackers and malware.
2. Internal threats: These are threats that come from inside the organization, such as disgruntled employees.
3. Third-party threats: These are threats that come from third-party vendors, such as insecure software.
What is the attack surface of an application?
An application's attack surface is the sum total of the different points where an attacker can try to gain access to the application. This includes both the surface area exposed to the network and the application's internals.
The surface area exposed to the network is the most obvious part of the attack surface. This includes all the different network ports that the application is listening on, as well as any exposed API endpoints. Attackers can try to exploit vulnerabilities in these network-facing components in order to gain access to the application.
The application's internals are also part of the attack surface. This includes the application's code, configuration files, and database. Attackers can try to exploit vulnerabilities in these internals in order to gain access to the application or to sensitive data stored within it.
What is meant by attack surface?
The attack surface of a network refers to the potential points of entry that an attacker could use to gain access to the network. This includes any open ports, vulnerable services, and weak authentication mechanisms. Reducing the attack surface is a key part of securing a network.
Ports are openings in a firewall that allow traffic to flow in and out of a network. Services are applications that run on servers and listen for incoming connections. Authentication mechanisms are used to verify the identity of users who are trying to access a network.
One way to reduce the attack surface of a network is to close any unnecessary ports, disable any unused services, and strengthen authentication mechanisms. Another way to reduce the attack surface is to segment the network into smaller, more secure zones. This makes it more difficult for an attacker to move around the network and increases the chances of detection.