What is Identity Attack Surface Management (IASM)

Organizations rely heavily on digital identities for access and authorization. This reliance has led to a significant increase in identity-based attacks, making it crucial for organizations to prioritize identity security.

Identity Attack Surface Management (IASM) is a critical security practice that addresses this growing concern by proactively identifying, assessing, and mitigating vulnerabilities and risks associated with an organization's identity attack surface. Before delving into the specifics of IASM, it's important to understand the broader context of attack surfaces.

There are several types of attack surfaces, including:

• Digital: This encompasses all internet-connected assets, such as web applications, APIs, and cloud environments.
• Physical: This includes physical devices and infrastructure, such as servers, laptops, and network devices.
• Social Engineering: This involves exploiting human psychology to gain unauthorized access or information.
• Human: This refers to vulnerabilities related to human behavior, errors, and social engineering tactics.

IASM specifically focuses on the digital and human aspects of the attack surface, particularly those related to identity and access management. This article provides a comprehensive overview of IASM, including its definition, benefits, challenges, best practices, and future trends.

What is Identity Attack Surface Management (IASM)?

IASM is a proactive security practice and technology solution that provides identity discovery, risk assessment, and mitigation workflows for an organization's identity assets and relationships. It involves graphing and analyzing these assets for exposures and risks, along with mitigation actions to infuse protection.

IASM aims to improve security programs by providing a unified and consistent approach to identity and access management. It is designed to secure access and transactions by using identity as the foundation for security policies, controls, and threat protection.

The identity attack surface encompasses all systems of a corporate network, both on-premises and in the cloud, that authenticate user or automated interactions and grant access to corporate systems based on that authentication. This includes directories, user accounts, authentication mechanisms, and privileged access and permissions management.

Unlike traditional security approaches that react to threats after they occur, IASM emphasizes proactive risk management. It encourages organizations to understand how an attacker might perceive their attack surface and prioritize vulnerabilities accordingly. By taking an attacker's perspective, organizations can identify and address weaknesses before they are exploited.

Understanding Attack Vectors in IASM

Attack vectors are the methods or pathways that attackers use to gain unauthorized access to systems or data. In the context of IASM, attack vectors often exploit vulnerabilities related to identity and access management. Some common examples of attack vectors include:

• Phishing: Tricking users into revealing sensitive information through deceptive emails or websites.
• Malware: Malicious software that can steal data, disrupt operations, or gain control of systems.
• Social Engineering: Manipulating individuals to bypass security measures or divulge confidential information.
• Web Application Vulnerabilities: Exploiting weaknesses in web applications to gain unauthorized access.
• Network Attacks: Targeting network infrastructure to intercept data or disrupt services.
• Zero-Day Exploits: Taking advantage of newly discovered vulnerabilities that have not yet been patched.
• Cloud Misconfigurations: Exploiting misconfigured cloud services to gain unauthorized access.
• Supply Chain Attacks: Compromising third-party vendors or suppliers to gain access to an organization's systems.
• Insider Threats: Employees or other trusted individuals misusing their access privileges.
• Physical Attacks: Gaining unauthorized physical access to systems or data centers.

Organizations needs to implement hygiene and posture management policies, monitoring configuration changes, and conducting regular identity audits and access reviews. The challenges of managing the identity attack surface in hybrid IT environments, where organizations must maintain consistency across on-premises and cloud identity providers. This challenge arises from the decentralized nature of identity data in such environments, making it difficult to gain a comprehensive view of the attack surface.

Vendors Offering IASM Solutions

Several vendors offer IASM solutions to help organizations manage and secure their identity attack surface. These solutions typically provide capabilities such as:

• Identity discovery: Identifying and inventorying all identities, including human and non-human identities, across on-premises and cloud environments.
• Risk assessment: Analyzing identity-related risks, such as weak passwords, excessive privileges, and misconfigurations.
• Mitigation workflows: Providing automated workflows to remediate identified risks, such as enforcing password policies, managing access controls, and provisioning/deprovisioning identities.

Some notable vendors in the IASM space include:

IAM Solutions:

• JumpCloud: An open directory platform that provides a comprehensive suite of IAM solutions, including Zero Trust security capabilities.
• Rippling IT: Offers federated identity management, multi-factor authentication, and an enterprise password manager.
• Okta Workforce Identity Cloud: A leading IAM provider with a focus on workforce identity and access management.
• Microsoft Entra ID: Microsoft's cloud-based IAM solution that integrates with other Microsoft services.
• IBM Security Verify: A comprehensive IAM platform with features like risk-based authentication and access management.

PAM Solutions:

• CyberArk: Offers privileged access management (PAM) solutions that help secure privileged accounts, which are often targeted in identity-based attacks.
• Thales SafeNet Trusted Access: A cloud-based PAM solution that combines single sign-on, risk-based policies, and universal authentication methods.

Security Ratings Tools:

• SecurityScorecard: Provides security ratings and assessments to help organizations understand their security posture.

How IASM Has Been Used to Improve Security

Organization used an External Attack Surface Management (EASM) tool to continuously scan cloud assets for misconfigurations. This proactive approach helped them identify and secure a misconfigured cloud storage bucket that contained sensitive customer payment information, preventing a potential data breach. It's important to note that EASM is a specific type of Attack Surface Management that focuses on external-facing assets, while IASM specifically addresses identity-related risks.

In another case, an organization conducted regular access control audits as part of their attack surface management strategy. This allowed them to identify and revoke unnecessary access privileges for former employees, preventing potential insider threats and intellectual property theft.

Several other cases highlight the importance of IASM in mitigating identity-related attacks:

• Snowflake Breach: Attackers exploited compromised credentials and lack of multi-factor authentication (MFA) to access Snowflake customer accounts, resulting in a significant data breach.
• Microsoft Breach: APT29, a sophisticated threat actor, used password spraying and credential stuffing attacks to compromise test cloud identities lacking MFA.
• Okta Breach: A threat actor gained access to Okta's customer support system by compromising a personal Google account linked to an Okta-managed device.
• MGM Breach: Attackers exploited a vulnerability in MGM's identity infrastructure, leading to a significant outage of IT systems.
• Retool Breach: A threat actor compromised third-party OAuth integrators to gain access to Retool customer accounts.
• GitHub Breach: Attackers exploited vulnerabilities in third-party OAuth integrators to access GitHub customer accounts.

These studies demonstrate the various ways attackers can exploit vulnerabilities in identity and access management systems. They also highlight the importance of implementing IASM principles to proactively mitigate these risks.

Cost of IASM Solutions

The cost of IASM solutions can vary depending on several factors, such as the size of the organization, the complexity of the IT environment, and the specific features and capabilities required. Some vendors offer subscription-based pricing models, while others charge based on the number of identities or assets managed.

Basic security ratings tools and vulnerability scanning add-ons may cost in the $25,000-$50,000 range. However, these tools may not provide the comprehensive capabilities of modern EASM solutions, which are typically priced per asset under management. An average enterprise has over 50,000 assets, which can give you a better understanding of the potential cost. It's important to consider the cost-effectiveness of IASM solutions in light of the potential financial losses associated with data breaches. The average cost of a data breach is $13 million, making IASM a worthwhile investment for many organizations.

Benefits of IASM

Implementing IASM can provide several benefits to organizations, including:

• Improved security posture: IASM helps organizations gain a comprehensive understanding of their identity attack surface, enabling them to proactively identify and mitigate vulnerabilities and risks.
• Reduced risk: By proactively addressing identity-related risks, IASM helps reduce the likelihood of successful identity-based attacks.
• Improved compliance: IASM can help organizations meet regulatory compliance requirements by providing documentation and reporting on their identity security practices.
• Early threat detection: Continuous monitoring of the identity attack surface enables early detection of potential threats or changes in the environment. This continuous monitoring is crucial for maintaining a strong security posture as new vulnerabilities and threats emerge constantly.
• Improved incident response: Understanding the identity attack surface in detail allows for a more robust incident response strategy.
• Reduced operational costs: Proactively managing the attack surface reduces the likelihood of security incidents, minimizing potential financial losses associated with breaches, downtime, and remediation efforts.
• Prioritization: IASM helps organizations prioritize risks based on their severity and potential impact, allowing them to focus their resources on addressing the most critical vulnerabilities first.

Challenges of Implementing IASM

While IASM offers significant security benefits, organizations may face several challenges when implementing it, including:

• Lack of centralized view: As organizations adopt cloud services and hybrid IT environments, their identity data becomes decentralized, making it challenging to gain a comprehensive view of the identity attack surface.
• Complexity of managing privileges: Matching users with the correct privileges can be complex, especially as organizations grow and evolve.
• Scaling problems and performance drag: As the number of users and applications increases, IAM systems need to scale effectively to avoid performance issues.
• Interoperability and app sprawl: IAM services must work seamlessly with various network assets, including on-premises legacy applications, SaaS tools, and third-party resources.
• Integration with legacy systems: Integrating IASM with legacy systems can be challenging, requiring careful planning and consideration.
• Human attack surface: The human element remains a significant challenge in IASM. Human error, negligence, and susceptibility to social engineering tactics can create vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit.
• Identity provisioning: Managing and granting user access to various systems and resources becomes increasingly complex as organizations grow and adopt more applications and devices.
• Non-human identities: Applications, APIs, and other non-human entities require different protocols and considerations for access management compared to human users.

Best Practices for Implementing IASM

To effectively implement IASM and overcome the associated challenges, organizations should consider the following best practices:

• Establish a unified governance framework: This framework should encompass all identity and access management processes, including policies, standards, and procedures.
• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of authentication.
• Enforce strong password policies: This includes requiring complex passwords and frequent password rotations.
• Deploy identity-specific security solutions: These solutions can help identify, manage, and remediate identity-related risks.
• Conduct regular security assessments: This includes penetration testing and vulnerability scanning to identify weaknesses in the identity attack surface.
• Develop and test incident response plans: These plans should outline procedures for responding to identity-related breaches.
• Invest in employee training and awareness: Educating users on identity security best practices can help reduce the risk of human error and social engineering attacks.

Future of IASM

The future of IASM is likely to be shaped by several trends, including:

• Increased automation: AI and machine learning will play a more significant role in automating identity discovery, risk assessment, and mitigation workflows.
• Passwordless authentication: The adoption of passwordless authentication methods, such as biometrics and security keys, will continue to grow. This trend aligns with the increasing focus on IASM, as passwordless authentication can significantly reduce the risk of credential theft and account takeover attacks.
• Zero Trust security: IASM will become an integral part of Zero Trust security frameworks, ensuring that only authorized users and devices have access to sensitive resources.
• Cloud adoption: More organizations will move their IAM to the cloud, enabling greater scalability and flexibility.

Conclusion

IASM is a critical security practice for organizations of all sizes. By proactively managing their identity attack surface, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of identity-based attacks and improve their overall security posture. As the threat landscape continues to evolve, with attackers becoming more sophisticated and targeting vulnerabilities in identity and access management, IASM will play an increasingly important role in protecting organizations' valuable assets and data.

The increasing reliance on digital identities and the rise of hybrid IT environments have made IASM more critical than ever before. Organizations that fail to prioritize IASM risk significant financial losses, reputational damage, and disruption to their operations. By implementing IASM best practices and staying ahead of emerging trends, organizations can strengthen their defenses and ensure the security of their digital identities in an increasingly interconnected world.

The insights presented in this report highlight the importance of IASM in the broader cybersecurity landscape. IASM is not just a security practice but a strategic imperative for organizations seeking to thrive in the digital age. By embracing IASM, organizations can proactively manage their identity-related risks, protect their valuable assets, and build a more secure and resilient future.