Data security is crucial as worldwide data breach events continue to trend upwards. The most recent cost of data breach report by IBM states that the average cost of a data breach increased from $4.24 million last year to $4.35 million in 2022! With these glaring stats looming over our heads, protecting clients’ data has never been more important than it is now, which explains why companies spend so much money to secure their systems and prevent data breaches.
Despite the different security measures put in place to safeguard data, increasing data breach incidents suggest that these tools may not be all we need to secure our networks from data thieves. This means that more companies should, in addition to protecting their data with cybersecurity solutions, diagnose possible causes of data breaches in their systems. One way to do this effectively is by carrying out a breach and attack simulation (BAS) from time to time.
What is a Breach and Attack Simulation?
Breach and attack simulation is a unique solution that carries out various customizable simulated attacks to check if a data security solution is valid. Put simply, BAS creates actions that are similar to real threats to find out if your security defenses can ward off those threats.
This means that a breach and attack simulation can point out the vulnerabilities in a system and help users understand the possible cyber threats to their system. So, BAS allows companies to adopt cybersecurity automation practices. This technology makes it possible to carry out seamless assessments without putting business or individual resources on hold.
How Does a Breach and Attack Simulation Work?
Breach and attack simulation goes beyond traditional methods of testing for cyber threats like vulnerability scans, penetration testing, and many others. The process simplifies how users conduct checks on their security controls. Many modern breach and attack simulation platforms are presented as Software as a Service (SaaS). Compared to traditional tests (where people carry out the hacking attempts), cloud-based breach and attack applications work by hosting different modules that run tests automatically.
When conducting a breach and attack simulation, software agents are installed on a computer between the networks. These software agents handle interactions with the cloud solution during the test phase. Simulated cyber-attacks are done with malware, especially customized hacking tools that can trigger and monitor the responses from a deployed security solution.
In comparison to real-life cyber-attacks, the malware used in BAS can’t do any real damage to your infrastructure and just works for simulation purposes.
How Breach and Attack Simulation Promotes Data Security
BAS Provides Actionable Report Insights
When carrying out a vulnerability scan, one must go through the information and make sense of it before taking action. Going through the entire process can drain resources and consume time. While trying to diagnose the security vulnerabilities, your system becomes exposed to threats.
BAS helps with data security because it can provide actionable report insights quickly. With the information provided, you can narrow down the security threats, make more informed adjustments to your security measures faster and prevent a data breach.
BAS Allows Users to Carry Out a Larger Range of Tests
The agreed-upon practice with testers often limits pen testing and red teaming in checking for vulnerabilities. Traditional testing methods cannot carry out a wide range of tests to decipher if a chosen data security tool can identify threats. However, breach and attack platforms allow testers to conduct multiple tests across all possible attack threats. They can also ramp up red teaming and pen testing, giving room for continuous and repeated testing. So, you’re assured of a holistic view of your data security and can tighten your defenses where necessary.
Most BAS Solutions are Easy and Convenient to Use
One of the unique aspects of BAS solutions is that they offer intuitive, user-friendly dashboards and interfaces for effortless navigation. Users will not always require expert white hat hackers to carry out simulated attacks to diagnose vulnerabilities in their chosen cybersecurity defense tool. In addition, most BAS platforms are cloud-based, which allows users to run tests any time.
Some Methods BAS Employs to Reveal Cybersecurity Gaps in a System
● Carries out simulation tests to identify the browser and website cybersecurity gaps
The BAS solution utilizes HTTP and HTTPS protocols to connect to fake web pages and sites that contain malicious scripts and forms. The simulation process also tests the pages to scale through internet security filters. It can equally diagnose whether the endpoint protection can protect the browser from downloading corrupt files.
● Diagnosis of Firewall Strength
A breach and attack platform can organize simulated attacks on specific URLs like a company’s app or web portal. The test is done to determine if the firewall can prevent possible malicious traffic from causing any damage.
● Fish Out Potential Network Attack Vectors
Another important simulation created by BAS solutions is creating instances where attackers successfully breach networks. The simulation is essential to assess if a threat can move laterally across different devices through privilege escalation and exploits. It is also vital that the test passes all the necessary hash validation requirements. BAS platforms can then assess if sensitive information can be easily targeted, copied, and transferred to locations outside the initial network. Breach and attack solutions also test email security by sending out emails containing different types of malware to the user’s email service. Antivirus software, email filters, and sanitation solutions are not exempted from the email security tests either. BAS can also create fake campaigns similar to real-life social engineering attacks on email systems.
Final thoughts
No security solution will guarantee that your data security measures will be impenetrable. Nonetheless, you can upgrade your defenses and safeguard confidential data, systems, and valuable assets through breach and attack solutions. It is advisable to continuously test potential and existing defenses to ensure that your cybersecurity defense options remain solid in the near future. So, search for affordable BAS solutions best suited for your company’s data security needs. In addition to leveraging BAS technologies, your team should stay many steps ahead of cybercriminals by visiting the MITRE ATTACK Framework to learn recent data breach tactics.