Understanding Attack Surface Management Platforms: A Key to Cybersecurity

Businesses today are increasingly reliant on complex IT infrastructures, which inevitably expands their attack surfaces. This makes it crucial to manage and secure these surfaces effectively. Attack Surface Management (ASM) platforms are designed to address this need by continuously identifying, assessing, and monitoring a business's digital assets to safeguard against potential cyber threats.

What is Attack Surface Management?

ASM involves the continuous process of discovering, analyzing, and mitigating vulnerabilities across a business's digital assets. These assets include websites, cloud services, public APIs, databases, and connected devices.

ASM tools provide real-time visibility into exposed assets and entry points, enabling organizations to identify and prioritize risks for remediation.

Why is Attack Surface Management Important?

As previously stated, as businesses grow and adopt new digital services, their attack surface expands. This makes it challenging to maintain visibility and control over potential vulnerabilities.

Without effective ASM, businesses risk leaving critical gaps in their security posture, which can be exploited by cyber adversaries. ASM tools help tackle these hidden risks by cataloging both external and internal assets, ensuring a resilient cybersecurity posture that evolves with the digital landscape.

Key Benefits of ASM Platforms

Here are key benefits of ASM platforms:

1. Enhanced Visibility: ASM platforms provide comprehensive visibility into all digital assets, both external and internal, allowing businesses to maintain an updated view of their environment.
2. Proactive Risk Management: By continuously monitoring assets, ASM tools enable businesses to identify and prioritize vulnerabilities for remediation, reducing the threat of unauthorized access to data.
3. Improved Security Posture: ASM platforms help businesses take action on emerging threats in real-time, ensuring a resilient cybersecurity posture.
4. Operational Efficiency: Automated asset discovery, documentation, and change detection streamline auditing and reporting processes, significantly reducing time spent on manual tasks.
5. Compliance and Reporting: ASM tools often include built-in security and compliance templates, making it easier for businesses to meet regulatory requirements and demonstrate their security efforts to stakeholders.

An Example of an ASM Platform

One such example of an ASM platform is Liongard. With Liongard, misconfigurations can be detected quickly, audits can be performed, and assessments can be conducted. Liongard's platform offers consistent, automated asset discovery, inventory, and documentation, allowing you to stay ahead of risks caused by unknown changes.

Liongard's key features include:

• Automated Documentation: Liongard automates the documentation of system configuration details, including users, devices, and software licenses, helping to stay ahead of risks. 
• Proactive Alerts: The platform provides actionable alerts to proactively protect and quickly assess users, assets, and changes in critical systems. 
• Enhanced Operational Efficiency: Liongard drives operational efficiency by surfacing critical issues and insights, allowing effective prioritization of efforts. 

Learn more about how Sourcepass uses Liongard to help protect clients  

With the right ASM platform, your business benefit from increased security, improved compliance, operational efficiency, and enhanced visibility. 

Contact Sourcepass to speak with a Sourcepass Specialist to learn more!