Eliminate Your Attack Surface by Becoming Invisible: Hackers Can't Attack What They Can't See
Feb 03, 2025
Most IT security professionals would agree that the key ingredient for safeguarding networks is "reducing the attack surface." Fewer avenues for breaches mean reduced risk and fewer incidents for an enterprise: Hackers can't attack what they can't see. Reducing attack surface is the key to securing your network, applications, and—most importantly—your data. Calling all servers . . . The "attack surface" comprises the sum of all exposed points through various vectors that an attacker could target to compromise a computing device or network. You can group the attack vectors into three main categories: the channel (a listening TCP/UDP port), assets (which include applications, services, webpages, files, executables, etc.), and access (user credentials). Below is a breakdown of the various attack vector options available to attackers. The channel —typically an exposed-to-the-internet communications protocol like TCP or UDP—allows all entities on the internet to communicate with each ot...