Adversarial Exposure Validation Tools

Adversarial Exposure Validation technologies has become one of the key enablers of the modern Exposure Management programs. Gartner®'s Hype Cycle for Security Operations 2024 report now integrates Breach and Attack Simulation, Automated Penetration Testing, and Red Teaming technologies under this umbrella. These advanced solutions simulate real-life attacks, replicating adversaries' tactics to verify and prioritize cyber risks.

In this blog, we will categorize Adversarial Exposure Validation tools and review differences among each, discussing how they enable the holistic Exposure Management lifecycle of more productive, impactful, and prioritized mobilization efforts.

What are Adversarial Exposure Validation Tools?

Adversarial Exposure Validation (AEV) tools are advanced technologies used to identify the critical risks that genuinely impact an organization’s security posture. AEV technologies achieve this by simulating and emulating real-world attacks, using the adversaries' tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) observed in the wild. By mimicking both external and internal attacker behaviors, Adversarial Exposure Validation solutions help verify the exploitability of cyber exposures within the organization’s specific digital environment, including the effectiveness of compensating controls, network segmentation, and the implementation of the least privilege principle.

In line with this, Gartner®’s Hype Cycle for Security Operations 2024 report highlights that 

• Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS), and

• Automated Penetration Testing and Red Teaming Technologies 

have now been integrated into the broader category of Adversarial Exposure Validation. 

Figure 1. Adversarial Exposure Validation Tool Categorization by Gartner®.

This reflects the growing recognition of these tools as essential components in validating and prioritizing cybersecurity risks. In this section, we will discuss these technologies in more depth.

Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)

Breach and Attack Simulation solutions are great examples of Adversarial Exposure Validation tools, running a variety of attack simulation and emulation scenarios. For instance, to ensure a strong return on investment (RoI), Picus Security Control Validation (SCV), powered by cutting-edge BAS technology, provides a diverse set of attack vectors, including but not limited to those listed below.

• malware & ransomware download attacks,
• atomic attacks (such as credential dumping scenarios),
• attack scenarios for APT & threat groups,
• data exfiltration attacks,
• web application & email attacks, and
• vulnerability exploitation attacks.

By simulating various attack vectors and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of sophisticated adversaries, BAS tools allow organizations to validate their cyber exposures, both external and internal, in real-life-like attack simulations. Therefore, BAS solutions can provide one of the most realistic settings for adversaries' real-life attack campaigns in a non-destructive and safe manner.

Automated Pentesting and Red Teaming

Even though Gartner® mentioned Automated Penetration Testing and Red Teaming together; it is best to talk about them separately as the market involves technologies that are separate for each with different capabilities and services.

Automated Penetration Testing Software

Automated Penetration Testing software is an Adversarial Exposure Validation technology that targets specific systems, applications, or networks of an organization. Thus, the main objective of these technologies is to identify and exploit as many security vulnerabilities as possible within the pre-established scope. 

Figure 2. Integration of Automated Penetration Testing into Adversarial Exposure Validation Platforms

The engagement of penetration testing has picked up huge momentum in recent years, as more organizations realize the gravity of having a robust security posture. With demands for regulatory compliance and industry standards increasing across businesses, Automated Penetration Testing software is one of the most popular choices due to its efficiency and effectiveness.

Automated Penetration Testing solutions are designed to identify and exploit seemingly isolated security vulnerabilities, such as Kerberoastable accounts, weak passwords with easily crackable hashes, and others that can be chained together to gain access to an organization’s crown jewels. For instance, solutions like Picus Attack Path Validation (APV) run attack vectors in an organization’s internal network with the assumed breach mindset, mimicking the attack techniques of real-life advanced attackers. This evolution shows that there is an increasing expectation to see AI being adopted by Automated Penetration Testing vendors to mimic the thought processes of a sophisticated real-life hacker.

With this similarity to real-life attackers, Automated Penetration Testing technologies chain seemingly isolated cyber exposures to access an organization's most business-critical assets, providing comprehensive visibility into an organization's most critical cyber exposures. 

Ultimately, Automated Penetration Testing technologies support the most efficient and effective mobilization process in exposing only what actually matters to an organization for the Exposure Management lifecycle, enhancing a cybersecurity posture.

Automated Red Teaming Software

Automated Red Teaming Testing software is an Adversarial Exposure Validation technology that continuously assesses an organization's security posture by simulating real-world attack scenarios. The approach focuses on the assessment of compensating controls, including both prevention and detection layers solutions, to provide data-driven visibility of the organization's overall security posture.

Figure 3. Integration of Automated Red Teaming into Adversarial Exposure Validation Platforms.

Automated Red Teaming technologies are designed to test the effectiveness of implemented compensating controls by mimicking sophisticated attack techniques of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) and threat groups. The objective is to simulate realistic scenarios that assess how well prevention and detection controls react under a possible attack.

These tools mimic Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) used by real-world attackers with the intention of stress-testing security controls against a complete cyber kill chain of adversaries, starting from initial access to privilege escalation or data exfiltration, just as observed in attack campaigns by attackers in the wild.

It is important to note that not only do Automated Red Teaming tools test the effectiveness of preventative compensating controls such as NGFW, WAF, and IPS, but by measuring metrics such as "time to detection," these tools also provide data-driven visibility into the effectiveness of detection measures (e.g., whether alerts are being generated or logged). This approach ensures that the organization's security controls are tested against the most realistic and persistent threats.

Thus, Automated Red Teaming solutions greatly enhance the mobilization process within the Exposure Management lifecycle by validating exposures in the way adversaries would leverage them, underlining which exposures are truly critical to the organization. Such technologies pinpoint gaps both at the prevention and detection layer solutions for actionable insight as to where the security controls are missing. This takes the burden off of immediate, likely disruptive patches while giving security teams the opportunity to tune their security measures in an as-focused-as-possible manner such as implementing mitigation suggestions, configuration updates, and many more.

How Picus Powers Adversarial Exposure Validation

While many vendors treat Automated Penetration Testing, Red Teaming, and Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) as separate technologies, Picus Security Validation Platform uniquely integrates them, providing a comprehensive view into an organization’s most critical risks and the potential for exploitation by attackers. Through our Security Control Validation (SCV) module, powered by advanced BAS technology, Picus helps organizations simulate a full range of attack scenarios, validating both prevention and detection mechanisms against sophisticated adversarial tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).

The SCV module continuously tests defenses against a range of attack vectors, from initial access through to data exfiltration. Relying on cutting-edge BAS technology, SCV allows organizations to safely and effectively simulate and emulate realistic adversarial behaviors in a controlled, non-destructive environment. By running diverse attack scenarios, organizations can verify whether these threats are blocked and, if not, ensure they are logged and alerted accurately by detection mechanisms. This approach validates the effectiveness of security controls without risking actual exposure.

In addition to BAS, Picus’ integrated platform offers specialized solutions for Automated Penetration Testing and Red Teaming, enabling organizations to identify high-impact exposures. With Picus Attack Path Validation (APV), security teams can uncover seemingly isolated security vulnerabilities and chain them together to reveal attack paths leading to the organization’s crown jewels. Moreover, with automated red teaming, security teams can simulate multi-stage attack scenarios that mimic the tactics of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). This allows security teams to assess how well not only their prevention but also detection measures respond to the behaviors of sophisticated, real-life adversaries with specific agendas. For instance, the platform also provides in-depth analytics on detection effectiveness, measuring key metrics like "mean-time-to-detect" (MTTD) and tracking real-time logging and alerting performance for unblocked attacks. 

In addition to identifying gaps in security controls, the Picus Security Validation Platform provides ready-to-apply mitigation suggestions tailored to a variety of security solutions. This approach ensures that you are not only informed about existing weaknesses but also supported with actionable, tailored remediation steps, eliminating the need for extensive manual research.

By integrating BAS, automated penetration testing, and red teaming within a single solution, Picus Security Validation Platform streamlines the exposure management lifecycle, enhancing prioritization, refining security posture, and offering tailored mitigation suggestions from a wide array of vendor solutions. This integrated approach enables faster, more efficient responses to validated threats, ensuring that only the most critical exposures receive immediate attention.