Exploit Intelligence

In order to stay ahead of today’s emerging threats, it’s critical that defenders have a clear picture of the vulnerabilities present in their environment, and work diligently to close these gaps before an adversary can take advantage of the exposure.

While it sounds simple, the scale of the problem makes it a monumental challenge for most organizations - because fundamentally exploitation happens faster than remediation:

• The number of known vulnerabilities is increasing rapidly. MITRE’s CVE program has more than 250K vulnerabilities, and is on pace to add more than 25K every year.
• The time to weaponize a vulnerability is shrinking just as fast. Today, attackers weaponize vulnerabilities in 8 days or less. Five years ago, it took 1 year on average.

In this environment security teams need to go beyond simple vulnerability management in order to stay ahead of attackers. Exploit Intelligence provides the critical insights that security teams need in order to prioritize and act before a damaging breach.

What is Exploit Intelligence?

Fortunately, the news is not all bad for defenders. While the number of vulnerabilities is high, the number that are actually exploited in the wild is quite low. In practice, while security teams may face tens of thousands of known vulnerabilities, only 2-3% of disclosed vulnerabilities are exploited or likely to be exploited. If we can correctly identify that 2%, the effort needed to remediate is slashed dramatically, and the balance swings back in the defender’s favor.

Exploit Intelligence offers actionable insights into which vulnerabilities are being actively exploited, or are likely to be soon, and how organizations can prioritize their defenses accordingly.

Unlike traditional vulnerability management, which focuses on cataloging software flaws, Exploit Intelligence helps narrow the scope to those vulnerabilities that pose the most immediate and active threat to your environment.

This intelligence is gathered from multiple sources, such as threat actor behavior, exploit kits, public as well as underground forums, and real-world attacks, giving security teams the necessary context to understand which vulnerabilities are being used as attack vectors at any given moment. With Exploit Intelligence, organizations can move beyond just knowing which software is flawed and take steps to prioritize remediation based on real-world exploitation activity.

Exploit Intelligence helps technical buyers answer key questions such as:

• Which vulnerabilities are being actively exploited by attackers?
• Which vulnerabilities are likely to be exploited in the near future?
• Which patches should be prioritized to mitigate the greatest risk?

Exploit Intelligence provides critical decision-making support, enabling organizations to focus their resources where they matter most.

How Does Exploit Intelligence Work With Vulnerability Intelligence?

Vulnerability Intelligence provides raw information about weaknesses in software or hardware systems, but it doesn’t provide sufficient information to allow security teams to understand the potential real-world impact. Exploit Intelligence augments and enriches vulnerability data with key contextual information, such as:

• Exploit Availability - A vulnerability with a known exploit available in the wild introduces more risk to an environment than one without any known exploits, and deserves higher prioritization.
• Exploit Maturity - Not all exploits are created equal. There is a big difference between a theoretical proof-of-concept exploit described by a researcher vs. an exploit that has been weaponized in a common malware or exploit framework.
• Exploit Type - Exploits can allow an adversary to achieve a wide range of goals, from gaining initial access to a system remotely, to leaking sensitive information from a target, to causing a crash of a service or application.
• Exploitation Timelines - Understanding the evolution of exploits associated with a vulnerability can help defenders predict how it will impact their systems in the future.
• Threat intelligence - Exploit intelligence links vulnerabilities to known threats, including ransomware families, botnets, and named threat actors, allowing security teams to see the bigger picture and understand how exploits fit into an adversary’s broader goals and tactics.

What Are Some Practical Applications of Exploit Intelligence?

Exploit Intelligence can be applied across several key areas within an organization's cybersecurity operations. Here are some practical ways in which it improves security outcomes:

1. Vulnerability Prioritization: Generalized vulnerability scores such as CVSS don’t provide enough context to reduce mountains of vulnerabilities into a manageable amount of work. Exploit Intelligence enriches the process with real world insights, ensuring that the most pressing vulnerabilities are addressed first.
2. Early Warning: Exploit Intelligence can provide security teams with real-time notifications on vulnerabilities in their devices or software being exploited in the wild by threat actors, or new exploit PoCs affecting their devices or supply chain.
3. Threat Hunting: Armed with knowledge of potential exploits, threat hunters can proactively search for signs of compromise in their environment, identify potential attack vectors, and improve defenses before attacks occur.
4. Patch Management: Traditional patch management strategies often focus on the base severity of a vulnerability, but this can leave organizations exposed to lower-severity exploits that are actively being used in the wild. By integrating Exploit Intelligence into the patch management process, security teams can better allocate resources and reduce exposure to active threats.
5. Incident Response: In the event of a security incident, Exploit Intelligence can help responders to quickly develop a more complete picture of the breach. Understanding how the incident began, what threat actors are tied to the relevant TTPs, and what other tactics they are likely to employ helps security teams to respond more quickly and effectively, minimizing the potential for additional damage.

Features of a Strong Exploit Intelligence Solution

For organizations evaluating Exploit Intelligence solutions, it's important to understand what makes a platform effective. Here are some key features to look for:

• Breadth of Data Sources: A strong Exploit Intelligence platform should pull data from a wide range of sources, including threat actor activity, exploit kits, dark web forums, and real-time attack data in order to provide the most comprehensive intelligence possible..
• Timeliness: It can take days or even weeks for basic vulnerability data to be updated on well-known public feeds such as NIST NVD and CISA KEV. Real-time data is critical in Exploit Intelligence. The ability to detect and report on exploits as they emerge gives security teams the edge they need to stay ahead of accelerating attacks.
• Integration with Existing Security Tools: By itself, Exploit Intelligence is just data; it’s only useful when it’s helping to enrich and accelerate workflows in the SOC. Exploit Intelligence should seamlessly integrate with other security tools, such as vulnerability management systems, SIEMs, and SOC platforms. This enables security teams to correlate exploit data with existing alerts and data, making the intelligence actionable.

Conclusion

Exploit Intelligence is a critical tool for organizations who need to prioritize their defenses against real-world threats. By focusing on vulnerabilities that are actively being exploited, organizations can make informed decisions about where to focus their efforts, optimize their remediation efforts, and quickly improve their security posture.