Simply relying on traditional password security measures is no longer enough. When it comes to protecting your organization from credential-based attacks, it’s critical to lock down the basics first. Keeping your Active Directory secure is like making sure your front door is locked before investing in a high-end alarm system. Once the basics are covered, look at how to integrate external attack surface management (EASM) can significantly increase the security of your password, offering robust protection against potential cyber threats and hacks.
First, secure your Active Directory
IT administrators must not only adhere to minimum password policy standards, including complexity requirements. To improve the security of Active Directory, they should implement a policy that prevents users from generating weak passwords and include a tool to detect and block the use of compromised passwords. passwords and adding a solution that can verify the use of cracked passwords. Using a tool like Specops Password Policy enforces strong password entry practices and detects password-related vulnerabilities, which is critical to protecting against credential-based attacks and other risks such as password reuse. Once these basics are covered, EASM tools can further improve security.
What is EASM and how does it work?
An EASM solution starts with identifying and cataloging all of an organization’s public digital assets, including both known and unknown assets. The EASM tool then scans these assets for vulnerabilities, scrutinizing configurations and identifying potential security risks. It then prioritizes these vulnerabilities based on their severity and the specific context of the organization, helping IT groups address the most critical issues first.
Finally, EASM provides actionable recommendations to mitigate or fix these vulnerabilities. This continuous monitoring and real-time feedback mechanism helps IT professionals maintain a secure and reliable public digital infrastructure.
How does EASM increase password security?
An IT administrator may want to consider adding an EASM solution to improve their password security strategy for several reasons. EASM can proactively monitor for credential leaks, detect compromised accounts, and provide real-time alerts and notifications. This capability helps in investigating the source of a breach, understanding the context of a credential leak, and identifying at-risk users who may need additional training.
In addition, EASM assigns risk scores to credential leaks, allowing an organization to prioritize its response and focus on remediating the most critical leaks first. This comprehensive approach helps reduce the risks associated with credential leaks and strengthens your overall cybersecurity defenses in several ways.
- Vulnerability detection and recommendations: EASM solutions continuously monitor and assess a company’s public digital assets to detect weak passwords, unencrypted passwords and other password-related security weaknesses. When vulnerabilities are identified, EASM provides recommendations to resolve or mitigate these issues.
- Dark web monitoring: EASM integrates with Threat Intelligence sources to monitor the dark web for credential leaks. This helps identify when any organizational credentials have been compromised and are available for purchase on underground forums.
- Adding contextual information: It provides contextual information about the origin and impact of a credential breach, helping to understand how the breach occurred and the potential risks associated with it. Such information helps IT groups think about future sources of breaches, rather than simply extinguishing existing leaks.
- Identifying at-risk users: EASM identifies users whose credentials are at risk or have been compromised, allowing IT teams to take specific actions, such as forcing a password reset or increasing monitoring of those accounts. It can also help identify end users who need additional password security training.
- Risk assessment: It assigns risk scores to leaked or compromised credentials, helping to prioritize response actions based on the severity and potential impact of the breach. This is especially useful in large organizations where there may be an extensive patch list.
- Real-time alerts and remediation: EASM is a continuous process, so the solution can offer real-time alerts and remedial actions. This proactive approach allows organizations to quickly respond to problems as they are identified.
Increase your password security with EASM
An organization can effectively combine such a solution as Specops Password Policy with the EASM tool to enhance security measures. The Specops password policy ensures that strong password requirements are met and prevents the use of continuous scanning of the organization’s Active Directory for compromised passwords, minimizing the risk of credential-based attacks.
At the same time, you can proactively monitor your organization’s public digital assets for vulnerabilities, identify sources of credential leaks, and receive real-time alerts with a tool like Outpost24’s EASM solution. By integrating password security management and EASM, an organization can achieve robust protection against credential-based attacks and effectively manage the external attack surface. This integration provides not only continuous monitoring, but also proactive measures against credential leaks, providing a comprehensive approach to securing both internal and external aspects of an organization’s IT infrastructure.
By adding EASM capabilities to your existing password security solutions, you can proactively monitor your organization’s domain-related credential leaks, investigate the sources of breaches, and target the right employees to educate them about the risks associated with credential leaks. This helps mitigate the potential impact of credential-based attacks and strengthens your overall cybersecurity defenses.
Map your attack surface
By understanding and implementing EASM strategies, organizations can strengthen their defenses and ensure that their sensitive information remains protected in an increasingly vulnerable digital landscape. See how you can strengthen your organization’s password security and strengthen your defenses with Outpost24’s EASM solution. Get a free attack surface analysis with current information.
This, combined with your existing password policy, will give you the tools you need for a more secure and resilient IT environment.
