Organisations these days have to rely heavily on their IT infrastructure. No matter whether it is just a device connected, a software, or anything that’s smaller to see – all of it forms a part of a larger network. If anything goes unchecked, businesses might face risks that they never even thought of.
Coming to the overlooked aspect, one of the most common ones is incomplete network discovery. This single aspect comes with major consequences. Let’s understand in detail how and what!
But, what is network discovery?
Network discovery is actually a complete process. It starts from the identification and mapping. This includes servers, routers, switches, endpoints, cloud assets, and even virtual machines.
The motive here is simple. The business should have a complete view into its inventory. Once they have a clear view of all the interactions happening among assets, monitoring gets easier.
But, where do the problems arise? When the process is not fully carried out. When some devices or connections are actually missed. And because of this, gaps start forming in the security perimeter. The blind spots then become an entry point for all the cybercriminals as per Slurp’it.
How incomplete network discovery can be a threat?
Let’s look at it this way – there’s a fortress and you are thinking of guarding it but you are not aware of all the entrances. That’s what exactly happens when businesses miss out on their network. The risks?
● First things up, unpatched systems. Devices that are not discovered are often left unmonitored and even unpatched.
● Next up, employees might come up with unauthorised devices or even software that remains much invisible to the IT team
● With more and more IoT devices joining in, the discovery would get even more complicated. There will be multiple communication protocol and alot of hidden configurations
● All the regulatory frameworks out there actually demand accurate asset tracking. If the assets are mixed, businesses might up end up violating certain things and have to pay penalties
● And lastly incident response delays. If any breach happens, teams will then struggle to isolate threats in networks they don’t fully understand.
Let’s look into the consequences, to understand better! (Real world)
What organisations can’t see, cyber attackers have an eye on the same. If we are talking about the high profile breaches that have happened, it is all because of overlooked assets or unauthorised devices. In fact, in most of the cases, businesses were not even aware of the problematic devices until it was very much late.
For example, outdated systems. If there is one in a hospital or some manufacturing unit, it can halt a lot of operations immediately.
When it comes to finance, an undiscovered server can open doors to a lot of data theft as per Slurp’it.
How are modern networks more complex in nature?
There are a lot of devices that are connected to a business, starting from cloud platforms to virtual networks. There could be a lot of remote work endpoints. Employees could be using multiple mobile devices, and a few third party integrations.
Third-party integrations
Because of this sprawling infrastructure, sometimes both manual or traditional network discovery tools might fail to offer results as per Slurp’it.
How did incomplete discovery actually happen?
There could be many reasons, but some common ones are
● The business might have lacked unified tools. They might be using multiple tools that actually don’t communicate with each other
● Next up, configuration oversights. Misconfigured scanning tools might skip certain IP ranges
● And if many employees are working remotely, traditional discovery tools might bypass these
● Lastly, neglected legacy systems. Some older systems wouldn’t be quite compatible with the newer, modern discovery tools, hence cracks might happen here
So, what’s the solution?
Automated and continuous discovery.
With this, businesses can actually:
● Identify all the rogue devices and shadow IT
● Track multiple configuration changes
● Provide instant alerts on unauthorized access
● Make sure that the inventory data is up to date.
Best practices for network discovery you must know!
Businesses must start with a full baseline scan of all subnets, IP ranges, and known zones. Next, they should make sure that every new device or connection is detected as it appears in network discovery. The best thing to use here could be a unified dashboard. This will actually help the business to manage and visualize all discovered assets in one place as per Slurp’it.
Businesses must next know which devices are critical. To these devices they should apply more stringent monitoring and patching protocols. And lastly, schedule periodic audits.
Incomplete network discovery might seem like a technical oversight at first, but in reality, it’s a serious cybersecurity risk. The only way to avoid this risk is to have complete visibility. Invest in automation now! To know more about network discovery, contact us at Slurp’it!