Reducing the threat surface to minimise the impact of cyber-attacks

© 2018 Elsevier LtdAs datacentre operations and the accessing of applications over the Internet increases, cyber-attackers view this as a surge in the threat surface area that they are able to attack. The increase in available area is directly proportional to the inbound access ports as well as application and network device vulnerabilities. These are available in form of open exploits that can be utilised during an attack. As datacentre operations and the accessing of applications over the Internet increases, cyber-attackers view this as a surge in the threat surface they are able to attack. The increase in available attack area is directly proportional to the inbound access ports as well as application and network device vulnerabilities. Akashdeep Bhardwaj and Sam Goundar propose a method for reducing the threat surface area by measuring security vulnerabilities to produce a score and then reducing the benefits obtained when exploiting the resource.