The number of cyber-attacks on organizations is steadily rising. In 2016, an attack is mounted on a business every 40 seconds. But in 2021, an attack is expected to happen every 11 seconds. This statistic clearly shows that cybersecurity will become more and more important as we become more reliant on online access and web applications and services in a post-pandemic new reality.
IT administrators should take all of the necessary precautions and implement robust security protocols to protect their network and servers from malicious attacks from criminals. But the one big challenge of securing a network is the number of methods employed by malicious actors to try and gain access to an organization’s network or server. It is painstaking work to figure out what kind of attack they should prepare for, and it is equally tedious to plug in vulnerabilities based on these methods.
Breach and attack simulation
That’s why automation plays a big role in providing a comprehensive way of securing systems. This is where breach and attack simulation comes in. It is by far, one of the best methods to test and secure an organization’s IT Infrastructure.
But what is a breach and attack simulation?
A breach and attack simulation, also known as BAS, is a security testing method that is employed to imitate how a full cyber-attack on a system happens. The attacks will be seen as realistic ones and are based on multiple types of vector scenarios. These attacks are an efficient and fast way of looking at the resilience of a company’s servers. The attacks will mimic a full attack cycle, including lateral movement, exfiltration of data, and other insider threats. The methods used will include virtual machines, software agents, and other types of methods that are known to be used by cybercriminals.
Breach and attack simulations are able to perform their functions by utilizing MITRE ATT&CK. This is a comprehensive and constantly updated knowledge base of all known adversarial tactics and techniques used by cybercriminals to try and access systems and networks all over the globe.
BAS is employed for the following reasons:
- It allows organizations to emulate different adversary campaigns in a manner that is comprehensive and swift
- The simulated, but realistic attack will be monitored and then a summary of the attack’s results will be generated, which will outline any failures that happened during the attack as well as identify any capability gaps in the system.
- The reports will be used to assess these vulnerabilities and also give IT administrators a snapshot of the system and the organization’s readiness if a true attack does happen.
- The results will be used to plug in the identified vulnerabilities and then subsequent BAS cycles will then assess if new configurations and fixes would potentially open up new risks.
Why is BAS important to security teams?
Quantification that is done by many companies is indicated in the form of financial impact and the chances of damages. Unfortunately, the calculations that are done are usually based on assumptions and what would be considered as mere informed opinions, as opposed to real quantitative numbers. This does not equate to actual improvements to security.
What BAS provides is the reality because what it does is mimic actual attacks, which will allow organizations to truly test the mettle of their systems and also get true feedback on the security controls it has put in place.
Another great thing about BAS is that these simulations are a proactive way of preventing attacks. Instead of just providing protocols that are applied when a real attack happens, BAS already simulates that attack, which allows IT administrators to plug in the vulnerabilities before anyone exploits it. This saves organizations a lot of money in terms of potential damages. And the cost can be tremendous. A Statista report published in 2018 showed that the annualized cost of cyber-attacks on companies is about $11.7 million. It most likely increased in the last few years.
Furthermore, BAS is done automatically. This means security teams can continue doing their control validation with minimal personnel intervention. It is cheaper, faster, and gives teams the luxury of conducting more simulations to truly expose and scrub all vulnerabilities. This is a huge contrast to doing security checks and tests manually, as it is not just time-consuming, but is also prone to errors because of the insertion of the human factor.
The report generated by the BAS also serves as the roadmap for the IT security teams. They can determine which vulnerabilities should be prioritized. They can plan the vulnerability fixes in phases, which saves time and money.
The benefits of a breach and attack simulation
Beyond the cost benefits of implementing breach and attack simulations there are three distinct benefits to using BAS:
- BAS allows the C-Suite and other decision-makers within the organization to make more informed decisions. Security issues, as previously mentioned, cost a lot of money. Plugging vulnerabilities can increase the company’s ROI and allow for more responsive company growth.
- BAS assesses the whole organization, not just a portion of it. This means it can actually help in increasing productivity, and make for more effective processes across the whole enterprise.
- BAS provides truly valuable 360-degree insights into the organization’s infrastructure. This allows the organization to formulate a thorough plan that ensures truly efficacious security controls, which is the hallmark of effective risk management.
Conclusion
A breach and attack simulation (BAS) is an effective and extremely helpful method in determining and assessing the level of security of an organization’s IT infrastructure. It provides a comprehensive insight into the whole enterprise’s network by simulating a real-world cyber-attack, using MITRE ATT&CK knowledgebase-recognized methods and techniques. These automated, but simulated attacks provide a thorough report that shows the vulnerabilities and security gaps in the system. This valuable information is then used by cybersecurity teams to strengthen the system by plugging in these identified security issues. BAS provides organizations with a more cost-effective, but extremely thorough way of ensuring the security of their systems.
