How Can Zero Trust Safeguard Your Organisation from Reconnaissance?

In today’s modern workplace environment, where employees are required to access the company’s network resources via public internet or BYOD devices, the risks of data breaches and hacking attempts have gone at hand, and they are only increasing with time.

Cybercrime is projected to cost $10.5 trillion worldwide by 2025, with a 15% annual growth rate. Hence, take the utmost preventative measures and secure your network with tools that meet your modern requirements. Reconnaissance is usually a major and common step cyber attackers take when planning a cybersecurity attack and accessing your network.

This article will delve into what reconnaissance in cybersecurity and how the Zero Trust solution can help prevent reconnaissance attacks.

What is Reconnaissance in Cyber Security?

Reconnaissance in cybersecurity is the preliminary phase of a cyberattack. The term “reconnaissance” originates from military operations, which refers to the exploratory spying and surveying of the enemy.

During reconnaissance in cybersecurity, cyber attackers conduct systematic scanning and surveying of networks, systems and applications to identify potentially vulnerable areas. There are various types of reconnaissance in cybersecurity.

Passive Reconnaissance

Passive reconnaissance is a covert form of reconnaissance where cyber attackers do not directly interact with the target system. In this type of reconnaissance in cybersecurity, hackers collect information while remaining undetected. 

Some of the common methods used include monitoring public channels, scrutinising public databases and files, or analysing network traffic. 

The purpose of passive reconnaissance in cybersecurity is to collect as much information as possible without alerting the target.

Active Reconnaissance

Another type of reconnaissance in cybersecurity is active reconnaissance, which involves direct interaction with the target. The processes involved in active reconnaissance are port scanning, network scanning, vulnerability scanning and more. 

Unlike passive reconnaissance, active reconnaissance leaves a trace in the target system's logs. Hence, it gets detected. 

Despite the risk of detection, active reconnaissance is valuable for attackers because it provides more detailed information about the system's vulnerabilities.

How Reconnaissance in Cyber Security Works?

Whether it involves perimeter reconnaissance or any other type of reconnaissance, the work requires systematic steps by cyber attackers or hackers. Here are some of the common steps involved in reconnaissance attacks:

Collect Data About the Target

The first step involved in reconnaissance attacks in cybersecurity is collecting data about the target system or network. Some of the common steps involved in collecting data include monitoring public profiles and network traffic. 

The purpose of these steps is to gather as much information as possible about the target network, application and system. This would help in identifying potential vulnerabilities in the network.

Identify the Scope of the Target Network

After gathering the information about the target system, the next step is to define the network target scope. This step involves verifying the IP addresses associated with the target system and then mapping them out in the network’s structure. 

By doing this, hackers can determine the target’s network range, which will help them identify potential entry points for the attack. For this step, the processes used are port scanning and IP scanning.

Identify Active Tools

Another step involved in reconnaissance attacks is identifying the active tools within the target network and system. These active tools can be intrusion detection systems, firewalls and other security measures that could potentially prevent the attack.

By being aware of these active tools, hackers can plan their attacks more effectively and avoid detection. To bypass the active tools, a high level of expertise and technical methods are required.

Find Access Points and Open Ports

To execute a reconnaissance attack, hackers first look for an open port or an unsecured access point within the network. These access points and open ports can result from poor IT work, network configuration, or default settings that have never been modified. 

Hackers took time to identify these ports and used automated tools to speed up the process without getting detected.

Identify Services on the Ports

After identifying the access points and open ports, the next step involves determining which services are running on those ports. Cyber attackers generally use automated scanning tools to identify the services running on open ports.

These tools also identify the software version used on the port. By knowing about software versions and services running, cyberattackers plan their attacks.

Map the Network

The last step of a reconnaissance attack is mapping the network. The process involves creating a visual representation of the target network, including the connection and location of all devices, such as routers, servers and other network components.

This mapping gives a clear understanding of the target’s network architecture to the attackers. It helps in revealing the most valuable assets, their location and the path to reach them. Based on that, attackers plan their attack.

How to Prevent Reconnaissance Attacks?

With the evolving landscape of cybersecurity, businesses and organisations can prevent reconnaissance attacks by utilising proactive measures. Some of the defence ways to prevent the reconnaissance in cybersecurity are:

Network Monitoring

One of the common methods to prevent reconnaissance attacks is by doing thorough network monitoring. 

By employing solutions such as intrusion prevention systems or detection systems, businesses can promptly detect unusual network activity and take the necessary action. 

Patch Management

Another way to prevent reconnaissance attacks is through patch management. Regularly updating and patching systems helps close known vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit to gather information about your network and systems.

Dark Web Monitoring

Another way to prevent reconnaissance in cybersecurity is through monitoring the dark web. By monitoring leaked credentials, sensitive data, or organisational information on dark web forums, security teams can identify early warning signs of targeted attacks and take proactive measures.

Advanced Threat Intelligence

Advanced threat intelligence plays a crucial role in preventing reconnaissance attacks by providing organisations with timely insights into emerging threats, attacker behaviour and tactics. 

An analysis of data sources, including global threat feeds, dark web activity and previous incidents, will reveal patterns that could indicate reconnaissance activities, such as scanning, phishing, or domain spoofing.

Firewalls and Access Controls

Firewalls and access controls are fundamental components in defending against reconnaissance attacks. Firewalls screen incoming and outgoing network traffic according to pre-established security rules and can help prevent unauthorised scanning, probing and access attempts. 

The principle of least privilege is enforced through access controls, ensuring that only the user and system entities have access to the resources they require for their specific function.

Role of Zero Trust in Blocking Reconnaissance Attacks

The Zero Trust Application architecture is a network security model that eliminates excessive implicit trust and trusts no one, whether within or outside the network perimeter.

It enforces continuous user and device identification, authentication and authorisation before granting access to the network and its applications and sensitive assets.

Moreover, it also cloaks the network through server blackening, preventing network visibility.

Here are some Zero Trust solutions that help prevent and completely block the risks of reconnaissance by malicious hackers and attackers.

The Secure Zero Trust Application Access

The problem with traditional remote access solutions is that they offer excessive trust, allowing lateral movement within the network and encouraging reconnaissance. They also increase the attack surface, allowing untrusted users to access your network applications and exploit them to steal critical data and information.

On the other hand, Zero Trust Application Access secures your IT infrastructure and provides only “Need to know” application access to the users.

Instead of accessing the entire network, ZTAA ensures that users have access only to the specific applications they need to complete their work.

Thus, it helps prevent lateral movement and active scanning and collecting of host information, as ZTAA hides this information and vulnerabilities from the attackers.

Allows only Authorised Users and Devices through MFA

Zero Trust Application Security also prevents the collection of user information, such as email addresses and passwords, thereby blocking unauthorised users and untrusted devices from entering or accessing your network.

It eliminates the latency issues and lags associated with traditional solutions, allowing only authorised and authenticated users to access your enterprise network and its applications.

Zero-trust security measures, such as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), allow users to access specific applications. And since the network isn’t visible to everyone, even if hackers successfully gain access to the network, they cannot access applications without user credentials, reducing the impact and chances of reconnaissance.

Granular User Controls

With Zero Trust Application Access, you gain better control and visibility over who can access the applications and through which device.

Setting the least privileged access minimises the attack surface. In addition, you can easily define access policies and rules at a granular level for each user, device, or group.

Moreover, it also allows you to control and restrict access to devices based on their security posture and risk assessment, preventing reconnaissance risks and their negative impact on your organisation.

Conclusion

Reconnaissance in cybersecurity is the most sophisticated technique used by cyber attackers. By understanding all the nuances of reconnaissance attacks, businesses can secure their digital assets. One such type of cybersecurity solution is zero-trust security. 

The zero-trust security solution not only protects internal and external traffic but also restricts application access to unauthorised and unauthenticated users. If you are a business facing reconnaissance attack risks, InstaSafe is there to help you.

InstaSafe offers a ZTNA solution to provide secure, single-click unified network access and applications hosted anywhere for your remote employees, thereby preventing reconnaissance attempts on your network. Learn more about our ZTAA services and book a demo today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can organisations identify reconnaissance attacks?

Yes, organisations can identify reconnaissance attacks using tools such as intrusion detection systems, security information and event management and advanced threat intelligence that monitors for unusual scanning, probing, or data-gathering activities on the network. Early detection helps prevent attackers from progressing to more damaging stages.

Can a Zero Trust solution prevent reconnaissance attacks?

Yes, a Zero Trust solution can help prevent reconnaissance attacks by limiting access to only authenticated and authorised users, reducing the information attackers can gather. 

It also uses continuous monitoring and micro-segmentation to detect and block suspicious activity early.

Can Zero Trust be applied to cloud environments?

Yes, Zero Trust is especially beneficial for cloud environments where traditional perimeter-based security models fall short. It ensures secure access regardless of location or device.

Key Products

Zero Trust Application Access | Zero Trust Network Access | Multi Factor Authentication | IAM Identity And Access Management | Secure Enterprise Browser

Key Features

SSO Single Sign On | Endpoint Security | Contextual Based Access Controls | Always On VPN Connection |Clientless VPN | Device Binding | Device Posture Check | Domain Joining

Key Solutions

VPN Alternative Technology | Secure Remote Access Solutions | Cloud Application Security | DevOps Security | VoIP Security Solutions