Organizations today face a lot of cybersecurity challenges with ransomware attacks being of topmost concern to many organizations, especially healthcare. Not only can ransomware be a massive blow to an organization’s reputation, but also lead to major financial losses as businesses need to pay sometimes millions of dollars in an attempt to get their data back without being leaked.
Security teams implement various protection mechanisms to prevent ransomware, but it isn’t always enough. Commonly, manual pen tests are a part of the key to giving us point-in-time insight into our weaknesses that can be exploited by a hacker and how we often litmus test ourselves on the likelihood of being attacked. With Horizon3.ai’s NodeZero Platform entering the cybersecurity game, you can change your cybersecurity approach to finding, fixing, and validating weaknesses in your networks to combat threats to your organization without relying on a manual pen tester. Read on to learn more!
NodeZero Platform Enters the Game
Did you know that human pen tests often have poor coverage due to cost, can require long preparation or scheduling waits, take weeks to perform, and often flag things that are extremely impractical to exploit?
NodeZero Platform is a solution that has the following advantages:
- Full coverage
- No need for lengthy preparations
- Immediate results
- Identifies and flags exploitable issues
Let’s take a closer look at how the NodeZero Platform works to allow organizations to perform continuous assessments of their cybersecurity posture through autonomous pen testing:
How NodeZero Platform Works
NodeZero kicks off by performing reconnaissance against your assets and then exploits weaknesses that could potentially compromise your system. It leaves no stone unturned, probing for poor configurations, missing patches, weak credentials, and other blind spots to advance its attacks.
The platform identifies poor credential policies and instances of credential reuse, which are common gateways for cybercriminals.
NodeZero takes a holistic approach by chaining weaknesses together to compromise hosts and domains. This strategic approach mirrors the tactics employed by real-world attackers.
NodeZero explores additional attack paths within the network. This mimics the lateral movement characteristic of advanced cyber threats.
The platform doesn’t stop at identifying vulnerabilities. It goes further to determine if data can be accessed, stolen, or held for ransom. This comprehensive evaluation ensures a thorough understanding of potential risks.
NodeZero simulates phishing attacks, harvesting credentials, and revealing the subsequent chain of events. This aids organizations in fortifying their defenses against social engineering threats.
Even after patches have been applied, NodeZero shines a light on exploitable software that patching missed. This ensures that organizations stay vigilant and proactive in addressing potential security gaps.
NodeZero Platform VS Manual Pen Testing
So, why put NodeZero to the test? NodeZero provides a prioritized list of vulnerabilities, allowing organizations to address the most critical issues first—the exploitable vulnerabilities. This eliminates the noise of false positives and enhances the efficiency of security and IT teams.
By offering continuous assessments, NodeZero helps eliminate risk and validate security measures. It tracks improvements over time and generates user-friendly reports with detailed fixes for both inernal analysis and external audits.
NodeZero also allows organizations to perform assessments on demand, enabling them to evaluate their security posture as often as needed.
NodeZero’s Additional Perks
On top of all that, NodeZero can help fortify your security program in other ways such as:
Tuning Defenses for Optimal ROI
NodeZero reveals any gaps in detection and response capabilities. This insight is invaluable for teams looking to enhance the efficacy of their security tools, ultimately maximizing their return on investment (ROI). Whether it’s identifying blind spots or refining configurations, NodeZero ensures that your security arsenal is optimized to its full potential.
Verifying SOC Effectiveness
For healthcare organizations, the effectiveness of their Security Operations Center (SOC) is paramount in handling and mitigating cyber threats. NodeZero proves to be an essential tool in verifying SOC effectiveness by simulating realistic attacks. By executing NodeZero attacks that mimic user or domain compromises, or even ransomware takeovers, organizations can accurately assess their SOC’s ability to identify and respond to various cyber threats.
This hands-on verification process empowers organizations to fine-tune their SOC, ensuring that it remains a robust line of defense against evolving cyber threats. NodeZero provides the confidence that when a real attack occurs, the SOC is well-prepared to detect and respond effectively.
Assisting Blue and Red Teams
In cybersecurity, blue and red teams are terms used to describe two distinct roles involved in testing and enhancing the security of an organization.
The blue team represents the defensive side of cybersecurity implementing and maintaining security measures, monitoring for suspicious activities, and responding to incidents. They often engage in tasks such as vulnerability management, security operations, and incident response.
The red team, on the other hand, takes on the role of an adversary attempting to breach the security defenses implemented by the blue team. Red teams conduct penetration testing, ethical hacking, and other simulated attacks against the organization’s security posture.
For blue teams, NodeZero becomes a strategic ally in identifying and prioritizing exploitable vulnerabilities. After a NodeZero pen test, blue teams can remediate identified vulnerabilities.
Meanwhile, NodeZero also acts as a force multiplier for red teams. By autonomously executing pen tests, it frees up red teams to focus on more sophisticated, pinpointed attacks. The insights provided by NodeZero help red teams understand an organization’s exploitable attack surface, allowing them to refine their strategies and move beyond generic tactics.
At RedEye Network Solutions, we are dedicated to keeping your organization safe from cyber threats by leveraging the most advanced cybersecurity tools. Contact us today!